Lycoris Radiata, Flower of the Other Shore

Lycoris Radiata, Flower of the Other Shore

This was a stone bridge connecting the two banks of the river.

It resembled an arched bridge, its body piled from dark bluish-black stones. The entire bridge looked as though it had been formed by nature itself, a masterpiece of uncanny craftsmanship.

The bridge connected both banks and spanned several hundred meters. At a glance, it gave off an inexplicably majestic feeling. Su Mu did not know whether it was merely his imagination, but he always felt that it was somewhat eerie.

After approaching it, Su Mu carefully examined the stone bridge. The longer he looked, the more alarmed he became. This kind of construction skill left him utterly amazed.

He stretched out his right hand. The instant his palm touched the stone surface of the bridge, an intense chill spread from his palm throughout his entire body. He shuddered uncontrollably, and in that single instant, goosebumps rose all over him.

Seeing this, Su Mu hurriedly lowered his hand.

This chill was not the ordinary cold felt by the flesh. It reached straight into the soul, a cold that made even his soul tremble.

This place was deserted, without a single household in sight. The only living people he had seen were those River Crossing People riding boats across the river.

Then who had built this bridge? A bridge existed to connect the two shores and serve as a means of passage.

Could there be households on the other side of the river?

With that question in mind, Su Mu stepped onto the stone bridge.

The moment he took his first step onto it, he noticed something wrong. Dense little black specks were moving across the bridge deck.

Only after squatting down did he realize that countless tiny ants were crossing the stone bridge.

Su Mu extended his index finger and placed its tip on the bridge deck. The ants crossing the bridge instantly stopped where they were. They did not detour either, merely blocked by Su Mu's finger.

Ants were two-dimensional creatures. Anyone who had played with ants as a child knew that as long as one drew a circle around an ant with a pen, it would be unable to leave that circle.

Because in an ant's world, there was only a flat plane.

Only after Su Mu lifted his finger did the ants continue crossing the bridge.

When viewed while standing, the bridge-crossing ants seemed chaotic and disorderly. But if one lowered one's head and observed closely, one would find that they were all moving in lines. None ran or crawled about at random; they were extremely orderly.

Su Mu was no longer a child. He could not possibly keep studying ants here.

He stood and walked along the stone bridge.

With every step, he crushed a large swath of ants to death. Yet these ants seemed unafraid of dying. Even when those before them were trampled to death, the ants behind continued onward.

Su Mu was merely walking normally. If the ants got crushed, it could only be said that they had blocked his way.

He had heard of dog lovers and cat lovers, but he had yet to hear of ant lovers.

Before long, Su Mu reached the highest point of the stone arch bridge. Standing at its peak, he looked toward the opposite bank.

He found that there were no households there either. So what purpose did this bridge serve? Of course, it was not something worth digging too deeply into.

Perhaps many years ago, there had been households here, and people had lived here. Maybe they had all moved away. There was nothing strange about leaving behind a stone bridge.

Still, there were truly far too many ants on this bridge! Having found no other abnormalities, Su Mu lost interest and walked down from the stone bridge.

For some reason, the bridge was not even that long. He had only walked a few hundred meters, yet he actually felt a little tired.

Su Mu plopped down onto a pebble and rested.

After sitting down, he began observing the ants crossing the bridge.

He discovered that this endless stream of ants was crawling out of the river. After climbing onto the riverbank, they continued up the stone bridge.

Ants that lived in water?

Giant water ants?

But this world was a Mystical Fantasy World to begin with. Ants living in water were probably normal, right?

Could they be Treasure Ants? Su Mu's eyes lit up. He stood, swept out his hand, and caught an ant.

After placing it in his palm and examining it closely, he found that it was just an ordinary ant. He put it in his mouth and gave it a light chew.

In an instant, a rotten stench spread through his mouth.

Su Mu hurriedly spat it out.

Damn it!

It tasted awful! He could tell from the taste alone that this was no Treasure Ant.

Fine if it was not a Treasure Ant, but why did it taste so foul?

This stench was not ordinary foulness. It was like the smell of a rotting corpse that had been dead for several days.

After resting well, Su Mu prepared to head back.

At that moment, after taking a few steps, he noticed a patch of red flowers growing along the riverbank beside the stone bridge.

Su Mu's eyes lit up.

Treasure? He walked closer for a look and found that they were Lycoris Radiata. He immediately lost interest.

So that was all it was.

Lycoris Radiata, also called red spider lilies, had red petals and funnel-shaped perianths, resembling finely-leaved lotus flowers blooming apart. They liked to grow in damp stone crevices by streams.

These flowers had actually been quite common in Su Mu's hometown as well.

However, it was worth mentioning that Lycoris Radiata had a folk legend surrounding it, lending it a mysterious air.

Lycoris Radiata was also known as the "Flower of the Other Shore."

Legend said it was a flower that bloomed in the Heavenly Realm, flourishing in the seventh lunar month, growing in summer and flowering in autumn.

Su Mu had once heard elders spin tales about the Flower of the Other Shore. It was said to be a flower that had willingly fallen into hell, only to be sent back by the demons. Yet it still wandered upon the Road to the Yellow Springs. The demons could not bear it, so they allowed it to bloom upon that road, offering guidance and comfort to souls departing the human world.

Su Mu was not particularly interested in such mysterious legends. What he remembered most about Lycoris Radiata was its significant medicinal value. "Galantamine" could be extracted from its roots and stems and used to treat polio in children.

Why was Su Mu so familiar with flowers?

It was because in his previous life, Su Mu had taken an elective course in botany during college and had studied certain flowers quite extensively.

Actually, he had mainly wanted to learn the language of flowers.

For instance, roses represented passionate love and were suitable for lovers in the throes of romance.

Carnations represented maternal love and gratitude, making them suitable for giving to one's mother.

Speaking of this, Su Mu had to mention one particularly special flower—Steel Wool Flower.

Steel Wool Flower represented endurance and wealth.

One of his college roommates had told him that meaning. Rumor had it that the roommate later latched onto a wealthy older woman and climbed to the pinnacle of life.

Su Mu himself had later gone to guard a reservoir, but now that he had transmigrated, he was probably the one doing best out of everyone in that dorm, right?

Su Mu walked up to the patch of red Lycoris Radiata and examined it carefully.

He found that these red Lycoris Radiata were somewhat different from those he had known in his previous life. Their petals were not purely red, but carried a faint hint of purple.

Moreover, the moment he drew near, he could smell a peculiar, delicate fragrance.

The instant he caught that fragrance, Su Mu became fully alert.

Could it be a treasure?

When in doubt, take a bite first! Just like that, Su Mu plucked a petal and put it into his mouth.