The Stone King's Lover (石王的愛)

Chapter 24

Xie Yi-jun

2004 years after The Long Night

Wúmeng

<Ruins of Old Town>

In the hopes of finding something familiar, something that might remind him of his old life, Xie Yi-jun wandered through Wúmeng in the early hours of the morning after being unable to sleep. Something was weighing on him. And it wasn't just loneliness or despair. He wasn't sure what it was. That feeling of wrongness stayed with him most of the day, torturing him.

Following the sound of running water, he ended up in a part of the forest east of town. Seven centuries ago Wúmeng stretched out even further than this, now all that was left of the old pathways, buildings and houses, were a few decrepit ruins and stone archways.

Songcai had loved coming to the outskirts, since all the children and families would rush out of their homes, waving and smiling at him, inviting him in or offering tea. Yi-jun had seen it happen countless times. It wasn't just because Songcai had been a skilled and well-known healer, but also because he was kind to everyone he met.

Yi-jun placed his hand over the side of what used to be a wall, feeling the cold stone and wet moss that now grew there, marking the passing of years. Beneath his feet, roots and vines tangled together, the old town having become part of the forest again. The young King couldn't bear to remember the faces of those that had lived here, how they died, completely innocent to a war that he'd lost after using their help. What right did he have to be here now? It may have been Songcai's home, but Yi-jun was the one who had let it fall into ruin...

He stayed there for several minutes, listening to the nearby stream and the sound of the birds in the trees. There were no calls to come see the famous healers from the city, no laughter, no crying babies or crackling fires. No one left for Songcai to heal, and no one for Xie Yi-jun to attempt to save.

Recalling the way his lover used to mend wounds, physical and spiritual alike, Xie Yi-jun suddenly thought of the other day. The day he saw Wen Reian do the same...

From what he understood, the boy was not trained in such magic. It was plausible Wen Reian healed his friend's injury spontaneously due to the adrenaline and danger of the situation, but the innate ability to heal was something so rare it was almost unheard of.

Yi-jun remembered Songcai telling him about it...

"We're mostly born blank-slates,"

"Then how are all of your ancestors healers?"

Jin-cai shrugged, "It's what we know. The knowledge has been passed down to each generation, and that's how it was passed down to me."

Xie Yi-jun blinked at him.

"What about those that are born with special talents?"

Songcai smiled, his eyes shining; "Maybe one in a thousand will have such a gift, I myself do not. What you see is centuries of wisdom, years of practice and failure and studying. We don't all become Kings in a day..."

Then how did Wen Reian?

Mindlessly walking through the ruins of an old building, stumbling over roots and catching the branches overhead, Xie Yi-jun continued toward the sound of the water. Without realising, he'd come upon the remains of an altar, the structure around him the skeleton of a church. He vaguely remembered one at the edge of town, used for ceremonies and offerings. Where one might have stood to receive a blessing, now a river ran through the ground, dividing the church in half.