C234 The Blood of the Verdant Wood

Snowflakes danced in the breeze, bamboo whispered in the wind, and a tranquil stream meandered by. The cicadas' cries melded with the music of the zither, floating away on the air.

Nestled beside a secluded spring, amidst the verdant bamboo, stood three thatched cottages and a pavilion.

Outside the pavilion, the landscape was blanketed in pristine snow. Inside