Blind and Bereft

Chapter 22 | Bao Bao-sitting

Zhanying had never cared enough to take notice of Bao Bao. But as he carried her to his bed, he realised how much frailer her body was compared to her voice. Her flow of Qi was terribly weak, almost as if she had been poisoned several times.

He laid her down on his bed and pulled the blanket over her. She snuggled against it, searching for warmth. Zhanying placed his finger on her forehead, and silver light whisked from it, patching her wounds until gradually, her stiff body relaxed.

Jingrui was Floating Abyss', so who in their right mind had the audacity to hurt someone under the God of War? Who in Heaven would be daring enough to hurt her?

There was only one person: the Heavenly Emperor himself.

But wasn't Bao Bao working under Yihuai?

Zhanying lit the incense burners around the room, pondering over the question. He had been careful all these years in order to survive within the Heavenly Palace. He could never let down his guard, even if it were towards someone as weak as Jingrui.

Jingrui had once saved him, and her voice held the purest innocence he had ever heard. But if she were truly innocent, why would she break into the archive and how did she come to own the lucky charm knot?

He cast a sideways glance at her. She was shivering from the cold and sniffling mumbles escaped her lips. Her eyelashes fluttered as she tried to lift her eyelid open. "Cold. . ." she muttered. "So cold."

Zhanying tilted his head to the side and placed his hand on her forehead, feeling her temperature. "Who hurt you?" he asked her again.

"It doesn't hurt . . . It doesn't," she spoke even though her body was wrenching from pain.

Zhanying nodded slowly. "If it doesn't, then take a good rest." He turned to leave, but her small hands desperately clutched onto his sleeves to pull him back.

She shook her head and began to sniffle. "Don't leave Jingrui." Tears slid down her cheeks as she tugged him to come closer. "Please don't leave Jingrui alone, Master. Don't leave this Jingrui alone like Sister did to the palace."

He listened to her nonsensical sobbings and deeply exhaled. "It's useless to cry. Noises are what I despise most."

At his words, her sobs grew louder as if to challenge him. "Master always hugs Jingrui when she cries, but why is Master spouting such cold-hearted words now? Do you not love me anymore?"

Zhanying closed his eyes as she trailed off into more vehement sobs, tormenting his ears under the torrent of sounds. "I'm already blind. I don't want to go deaf too," he muttered, and his face darkened.

Perhaps this was Yihuai's method of harming him?

He snatched his sleeves from her tight grip and wheeled around to exit the room. But before he could leave, she paused her wails and receded into soft sobs. "Father doesn't want Jingrui anymore. Sister doesn't want Jingrui anymore . . . and now, even Master doesn't want Jingrui anymore?" She choked on her tears. "Fine then, leave me. Leave me to cry to death!"

He rubbed his forehead that was beginning to ache. He would really leave her to cry to death.

"Jingrui knew that one day Master would also leave Jingrui just like others had before. So what will Master do now? Poison Jingrui? Sell Jingrui out?"

Zhanying turned to her as he stood still, tentatively listening to her words. "Why would I do that?" he asked. "Who would do that?"

"Father would. . ." she trailed off and looked up at him with tears brimming in her eyes. "Stay with me. Keep me company."

He took a deep breath, letting the smell of medication calm his senses. "I don't think I'm interested in keeping you—" he paused as he felt a crescendo forming in her soft sobs.

She was really testing his patience.

"You cry too much. My ears are hurting," he told her, and this time, his words seemed to make her cries stay hitched in her throat.

She looked up at him with red eyes. "Then Jingrui won't cry anymore. Just as long as Master tells me he still loves me."

Zhanying gave a dry and unamused chuckle. "How sick are you. . ." he mumbled as he walked towards her lying figure. Light wafted from his fingertips as he stretched his hand out to put her under a sleeping spell. But before the light could hit her, her small hands shot up, cradling onto his finger and extinguishing his magic. A smile etched over her face.

Zhanying stood frozen, blinking hard as his mind grew blank. He could feel the warmth of her hand on his and his jaw clenched. "Little, vulgar immortal, do you know whose hand you are holding onto right now?"

"Yours—my Master Liyu, of course—" she paused when the door was slammed open. Instantly, she let go of his hand and shrunk back behind him.

Yuansong stepped inside the room with a brooding expression. "Your Highness." He bowed at Zhanying before peering behind him. "Is she. . ."

"She is sick and mentally ill," Zhanying told his bodyguard.

Yuansong nodded slowly. "I've heard her from outside, she is really muddled. She even thinks that Your Highness, the supreme God of War, is her master." Yuansong snorted, shaking his head. "Was Your Highness really going to give in and tell her you love her?"

"Of course. If she would shut up." He gave a resigned sigh.

Yuansong chuckled. "Well . . . I can't imagine Your Highness being as sentimental as to actually say them."

"It cannot be considered a sentiment if there are no strings attached. Words are empty. Only what is tangible is fruitful." He looked up at Yuansong. "Forget it. Tell me how the investigation went?"

Yuansong lit up. "You've sent me to investigate the scroll regarding the Phantom Sect." He pulled out the scroll and handed it to Zhanying. "Within the Jade Dragon Mountain, owned by the Phantom Sect, lies a tree that grows Jade Fruits. If Your Highness would campaign to the mountain yourself and consume the fruit fresh, your eyesight can be recovered. They said the fruit is a miracle itself."

Zhanying stared blankly ahead. Yearning took over his eyes, but a frown stayed engraved on his face. "Recover my eyesight?"

Yuansong nodded as he observed Zhanying's expression. "What's wrong? I grew up with Your Highness, and isn't curing your eyesight your life long wish? Why do you look so solemn at such great news?"

Zhanying gave a hollow smile as he tilted his head to the side. "Life is a game of Wei Qi¹⁴, and we are pawns of fate. I have been blind for far too long. I can no longer recall the taste of colours and life. It haunts me to think of how dark my world has become."

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