Chapter 0001: The Other Shore Flower in the Desert

The lonely smoke rises straight in the great desert, the long river sets round the sun.

An endless desert, empty and lofty, magnificent and grand. As the red sun sets in the west, the horizon is dyed crimson, and amidst the grandeur there is also a sense of desolation.

The ancient flames of war have long faded with the years, and though the ancient path of the Yellow River has changed many times, it still remains.

William Carter was traveling alone, exhausted. He lay on the yellow sand, gazing at the blood-red sunset, not knowing how much longer it would be before he could leave this desert.

A few days ago, he graduated, and at the same time said goodbye to the goddess of his campus—perhaps never to meet again. After all, he had once been gently told that from now on, they would be worlds apart, and it was time to break up.

After leaving the academy, he set out to travel.

The setting sun was very red, hanging at the edge of the desert, and in the emptiness there was a tranquil beauty.

William Carter sat up and drank some water, feeling much more refreshed. His body was of the tall and strong type, with excellent constitution, and his fatigue gradually faded.

Standing up to look into the distance, he felt he was about to leave the desert. Perhaps after walking a bit further, he would see the tents of herdsmen. He decided to keep moving forward.

Heading west all the way, he left a long, far trail of footprints in the desert.

Silently, without a sound, fog began to rise—something extremely rare in the desert.

William Carter was surprised, and the fog was actually blue, bringing a chill in this late autumn season.

Unconsciously, the mist thickened, blue and swirling, hazy and shrouding the desert.

At the edge of the desert, even the setting sun looked somewhat eerie, gradually turning into a blue sun, with a kind of demonic beauty, and the fiery clouds were also dyed blue.

William Carter frowned. Although he knew that desert weather was the most changeable, what he saw before him was truly abnormal.

A deep silence. He stopped walking.

Before entering the desert, he had heard old local herdsmen say that when walking alone in the desert, sometimes one would hear strange sounds or see odd things, and should be especially cautious.

At the time, he hadn’t paid much attention.

Still, it was quiet. Other than the added layer of hazy blue mist, nothing else had changed in the desert. William Carter quickened his pace, wanting to leave this place as soon as possible.

At the edge of the desert, the blue setting sun was bizarre, dyeing the western sky blue, but it was about to disappear below the horizon.

William Carter moved faster and faster, starting to run. He didn’t want to stay in such a strange, unpredictable place.

In the desert, mirages usually occur under the blazing sun, but this didn’t match—this didn’t seem like a mirage.

Suddenly, a faint sound came from ahead, as if something was breaking through the sand, and the sounds were dense, one after another.

William Carter abruptly stopped, staring at the desert. The ground ahead was dotted with blue light, like scattered blue diamonds, crystal clear and shining in the afterglow of the setting sun.

They were one seedling after another, less than an inch tall, breaking through the desert soil, carrying a beautiful luster, translucent and strange, everywhere in sight.

After a brief pause, the rustling sound spread in waves, blue and dazzling, as all the seedlings rapidly shot up, growing in an instant.

On the horizon, the blue sun was sinking, about to disappear, mist spreading, and the vast desert seemed draped in a strange blue veil.

“Pop!”

The sound of flowers blooming echoed out, and the desert turned a deep blue. In the instant before the sunset vanished, these plants began to bloom in clusters.

Countless blue flowers, sparkling and dreamlike, somewhat intoxicating, blossomed all over the desert, utterly unreal.

These plants were over a foot tall, their whole bodies as translucent as blue coral, each petal long and curling backward, enchanting and alluring, as if blooming in another realm, with a demonic charm that captivated the heart.

William Carter took a step back, but behind him was already filled with these plants, blue light flowing, stretching as far as the eye could see.

He was astonished, looking carefully, trying to identify them. They looked just like the other shore flower, each petal unfurling and curling back, extremely beautiful.

However, the other shore flower is a vivid red, while these were blue—he had never heard of blue other shore flowers.

The other shore flower truly exists, carrying strong religious symbolism, and there are many legends about it. But William Carter didn’t believe in such things, only marveling at the scene before him.

The desert is dry and waterless, with only the rarest drought-resistant plants scattered here and there. The other shore flower prefers dark, damp environments, and by no means should appear here, let alone in such a bewitching form.

Yet here, they were everywhere, stretching to the horizon.

The vast desert, blue mist dyeing the sunset and soaking the sky, and the entire boundless desert was covered in blue other shore flowers—indescribably strange and mysterious!

A faint fragrance drifted by, intoxicating.

William Carter shook his head hard, carefully stepping to avoid the flowers. He found there was only one area without these plants—the ancient path of the Yellow River.

Having changed course many times over the years, it cut through the desert, now nearly dried up, with blue other shore flowers blooming on both banks, clustering around it.

Flowers bloom on both banks, gazing at each other from afar.