The painting

The Crimson Moon Record

Ying Yue carefully carried The Crimson Moon Record home.

The entire journey back, she couldn't stop thinking about the strange sentence she had found inside the book.

"If you are reading this, then I have already forgotten everything."

And beneath it was a name she knew all too well.

Lu Xia Xia.

The same name from her dreams.

The same woman who had betrayed Junjie beneath the blood-red moon.

By the time she arrived home, her mind was filled with questions.

After greeting her grandmother, Ying Yue went straight to her room.

She placed the old book on her desk and glanced at the unfinished painting standing beside her easel.

The National Art Competition was approaching, and she still had work to do.

Taking a deep breath, she picked up her brush.

Without realizing it, her hand began moving across the canvas.

A crimson moon appeared in the dark sky.

Beneath it stood a lone figure dressed in black.

Long dark hair swayed in the wind.

Cold eyes stared into the distance.

It was Junjie.

Ying Yue paused for a moment.

Why did she keep drawing him?

No matter how many times she tried to paint something else, her brush always seemed to return to the same face.

Hours passed as she continued working.

The painting was almost finished.

Just then, her grandmother's voice echoed from downstairs.

"Yue! Dinner is ready!"

Ying Yue looked away from the canvas.

"I'm coming!"

She set down her brush and hurried inside, forgetting that the painting was still resting on the balcony.

After dinner, she helped clean up before returning to her room.

She was halfway up the stairs when a sudden flash of lightning illuminated the sky outside.

A loud rumble of thunder followed.

Then she remembered.

"My painting!"

Ying Yue rushed toward the balcony.

Rain was pouring from the sky.

By the time she reached the canvas, it was already soaked.

The colors had begun to run together.

Paint dripped from the surface, ruining hours of hard work.

Ying Yue carefully carried it inside.

For a long moment, she simply stared at it.

Then she let out a helpless sigh.

"Great..."

Not only was her painting ruined, but she was completely drenched as well.

Rainwater dripped from her hair and clothes onto the floor.

With another sigh, she headed to the bathroom.

A warm shower helped wash away some of her frustration.

After changing into comfortable clothes, she returned to her room.

The ruined painting stood in one corner.

The old book rested quietly on her desk.

Ying Yue's eyes slowly drifted toward it.

For some reason, she couldn't stop thinking about it.

Maybe reading it would finally give her some answers.

She climbed into bed and picked up The Crimson Moon Record.

The pages were old and yellowed with age.

As she turned each page, she found entries written by Lu Xia Xia herself.

Stories of distant mountains.

Ancient sects.

Demon hunters.

And a mysterious man whose name appeared again and again.

Junjie.

The more she read, the heavier her eyelids became.

Yet she refused to stop.

She wanted answers.

She needed answers.

At some point, the book slipped slightly from her hands.

Her vision blurred.

The words on the page became difficult to read.

Outside, rain continued to fall against the windows.

Slowly, Ying Yue's eyes closed.

The book remained open on her chest.

And before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.

The next morning, warm sunlight brushed against her face.

Ying Yue frowned.

Something felt strange.

The bed felt different.

The air smelled different.

Even the silence felt unfamiliar.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

For a moment, she simply stared at the wooden ceiling above her.

Confusion filled her mind.

She sat up abruptly.

Her eyes widened.

This wasn't her bedroom.

The modern furniture was gone.

The familiar walls had disappeared.

Instead, she found herself inside an unfamiliar room decorated with ancient wooden furnishings.

Her heart began pounding.

"What...?"

She quickly looked around.

Everything felt real.

Far too real to be a dream.

Ying Yue threw aside the blanket and jumped to her feet.

"Where am I?"

No one answered.

The only sound came from the wind outside the window.

A cold feeling crept down her spine.

The last thing she remembered was reading The Crimson Moon Record before falling asleep.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***