Shimmer Forest

It was an evening that couldn't be more ordinary.The thick clouds are rendering colors layer by layer, pink, red, purple, and mottled color blocks are intertwined, reflecting the golden afterglow in the sky.A few strands of fallen leaves floated across the air, fluttering like butterflies.

Su Jin stood in the autumn wind, looking up at the distant sky, her eyes were misty and focused.The golden light shrouded him, and his tall and thin figure naturally blended into the scenery, imprinted into a picture scroll.

It was really an unforgettable scenery, if it hadn't been standing in the cold wind for half an hour.

Wu Hao, who was still wearing a thin shirt, was already shivering from the cold, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Study, what are you looking at?"

"Here." Su Jin pointed to the sky in a trance, and when he realized the source of the sound, he suddenly woke up again: "Where are your glasses?"

Wu Hao, who had been frozen in a daze, stared at the empty sky, stunned for a while, then remembered something, took out his glasses from his pocket and put them on.

In the purple sky, a long transparent ladder hangs down dangerously.It looks light and soft, swaying slightly with the wind opposite Su Jin, stretching all the way to the end of the sky.

At a distance within reach of his hand, Wu Hao raised his head and looked up to the sky: "Is this the ladder?"

"Probably." Seeing that he was eager to try, Su Jin reminded: "If you climb too high, you may go directly to another world."

"However, it's okay to climb a little bit." Turning the subject, Su Jin smiled evilly, then jumped up and grabbed the ladder, and climbed up cautiously.

Not to be outdone, Wu Hao stretched out his hand, but his palm went through the ladder and missed.

"Stupid muscular man, it seems that you have nothing to do with this ladder." Su Jin did not forget to lower his head to laugh at him, and soon his eyes became serious and deep again: "But it may be a good thing for you, if you don't have the strength, you can do it casually." Anyone who touches something from another world will be taken away by it.”

"Take it away?" Wu Hao looked up at him with a puzzled expression.

"Take off your glasses and try." Su Jin supported the ladder with one hand, and pointed to his eyes as a gesture.

Although Wu Hao was very curious, he took off his glasses obediently.While taking off the glasses, Ladder and Su Jin disappeared together.The sky was empty, as if nothing had ever existed.

He panicked for a moment, and quickly put his glasses back on. Sure enough, both the person and the ladder stayed in midair.

"Well, that's what happened." Su Jin seemed to sense his fear, and looked at him with a funny face: "Once you can touch it, it will be judged as the same kind by it, and it will hide together with the creatures it touches." stand up."

"That's too dangerous, come down quickly." Wu Hao hurriedly urged Su Jin, who still had lingering fears about Su Jin's disappearance just now.

"It's okay, I'm different from you." Feeling that he was making a fuss, Su Jin couldn't help but smile, and then turned his gaze to the depths of the sky: "Besides, I always feel that there is something there..."

Whispering, he dropped Wu Haowu and climbed up, as if attracted by something invisible, he gradually moved away from the ground.

"Study—come down quickly—stupid—" Wu Hao anxiously called his name from below, feeling more and more uneasy.

Slowly, the long ladder began to dissipate from the bottom, and the fragments that dissipated, like glowing petals, burned up in the air.But Su Jin didn't know it, and climbed up without looking back, no matter how the other party called, he never stopped.

As the long ladder dissipated, it gradually became transparent, and Su Jin's figure disappeared under the night along with the ladder.

Only Wu Hao's shouts were left, hovering alone over the village, lingering for a long time.

Perhaps it is because the burning clouds in the sunset are so beautiful that people can't help but want to explore.

Explore what kind of world lies in the clouds.

He didn't know how long he had been climbing, but he didn't stop until a compartment swaying like the surface of water appeared in front of him.

Someone looked at him across the water. It was a young man with a jade crown and a blue gown.Although his face is ordinary, he has a refined and gentle temperament.And that person's eyes were full of surprise at the moment: "Hey, what is this...?"

Su Jin wanted to answer, but suddenly seemed to realize something, and lowered his head abruptly.

The long ladder is gone, leaving only a small area where I can cling.He hung abruptly in mid-air, looking precarious.

"Ah, is it a little guest from the world?" The man seemed to understand something, and smiled slightly, with a gentle smile: "Come on, stretch out your hand."

An invitation from another world, dangerous but full of charm.Su Jin hesitated for a moment, but couldn't resist the gentle smile of the person in front of him. He pierced the water with his hand and held the person's outstretched hand.

It took a lot of effort for the other party to pull him up, and he collapsed to the side panting: "You, you look, so, so thin, I didn't expect it to be quite heavy..."

"...It's because you lack exercise." Su Jin didn't expect that this person was really just a scholar with no strength at all.

He patted the creases on his clothes helplessly, and when he turned around, he realized that he had crawled out of the pond under his feet. The water surface turned out to be the water of the pond, but his body was not stained with any water stains.

"That's not a real pond, it's just an enchantment." Seeing his doubts, the man in the green shirt casually knocked on the water surface, and there was a sound of hitting glass on the water surface.He hooked the corners of his lips, and there was a flash of helplessness in his eyes: "We can't penetrate the barrier."

"What is this place?" Su Jin looked around suspiciously without discovering this small detail.This place looks like the courtyard of an ancient mansion. The courtyard is full of flowers and strange stones, arranged in an orderly manner.

"...For you humans, it should be regarded as a heavenly palace." The man stared at the water surface of the pond and answered absently.After a pause, he continued: "Every fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Heavenly Palace will lower the ladder to host a banquet for guests from other worlds."

"So that's how it is." He had heard the story of Tiangong entertaining guests from his father a long time ago, but he didn't expect that he would actually meet him.When Su Jin was excited, he couldn't help being curious: "Who are you?"

"My lord, Xiao Qinghan." When asked his name, the other party almost instinctively rolled up his sleeves and saluted: "It's a...guest who lives in this palace temporarily."

"Guest?" Su Jin was stunned. The scene that felt like time travel, and the words that were obviously concealing something made him vaguely feel that he would be involved in troublesome things.So after thinking about it for a while, he turned around and was about to jump into the pool: "I think I'd better go home."

"Wait, wait!" Xiao Qinghan was taken aback by his decisive action, and quickly stepped forward to put his arms around his waist: "If you fall, you will fall to your death, really!"

"Then..." Su Jin pondered for a while, avoided a bunch of questions that would cause him trouble, and asked straightforwardly: "Do you have a way to open the ladder again?"

"That...it should be more difficult..." Xiao Qinghan couldn't catch up with his ability to jump thinking, and he was a little stunned, and answered seriously with his sleeves rolled up: "The sky ladder is only opened at a certain time, if you want to go back, I'm afraid you can only wait for the Mid-Autumn Festival After that..."

"Hey? This is not good!" Su Jin scratched her hair, with a troubled expression on her face: "I agreed to live with that muscular man..."

"It's okay, it's rare to come here, why don't you have fun. Is this a rare experience for human beings?" Xiao Qinghan didn't hear what he said, and warmly invited: "You should be hungry too. Why don't you come to the house and have something to eat?"

Although the warm and magnetic voice was just an ordinary narration, it was full of incredible charm, as if it could attract his consciousness, making him unable to refuse.

But when he mentioned it, Su Jin remembered that he had consumed a lot of energy while climbing the ladder, and he was really hungry.Anyway, I can't go back now, I should replenish my physical strength and think of a way.

Seeing his hesitation, Xiao Qinghan was slightly relieved, and brought him into the house.

The house looks simple and deserted, but it is spacious and comfortable.There are a few exquisite snacks on the table, a torreya chessboard is placed on the table by the window, and even the branches that extend into the house have been carefully pruned.It seems that this person is indeed a guest, so he will be treated so well.

"Please go ahead." Telling him to sit down, Xiao Qinghan went into the back room on his own.Su Jin stared at the direction where the person disappeared, hesitated for a while, and confirmed that the person should not be threatening, so he was careful and took a bite carefully.

The soft, glutinous and sweet taste spread in his mouth, Su Jin looked at the crystal cake with ecstasy, and muttered to himself: "I really want to give muscular men a taste..."

"What?" The person who just came out of the inner room heard him talking to himself and asked in confusion.

"It's nothing." After coping casually, he turned his head to look at Xiao Qinghan, and when he saw the pile of clothes in his hands, he had a bad feeling: "You just went... What did you do?"

"Oh, I'm going to get this." Xiao Qinghan replied, unfolding the white long gown embroidered with gold thread in his hand: "Your outfit is too conspicuous, it's better to change into this... more suitable for the occasion."

"... Is it necessary to change this?" The corner of Su Jin's mouth twitched.For a person who usually doesn't even bother to wear a shirt, this complicated dress is a nightmare.

"Of course." The other party completely ignored his reluctance, and his gentle smile looked extraordinarily sinister at this time: "It is also etiquette to do as the Romans do."

Su Jin reluctantly took the clothes, the texture of the clothes was soft and smooth, and it was very comfortable to touch.But even so, it couldn't resist the resistance in his heart.

"What's wrong?" Seeing him frowning and looking at his clothes, he looked like he was facing an enemy.Xiao Qinghan, who was pouring tea, asked curiously, and soon seemed to remember something, and couldn't help laughing: "Could it be...you don't know how to wear it?"

Although it was a little embarrassing, Su Jin could only nod and admit honestly.