WangXian Forever 5

Chapter 105 Jian Ci

Wei Ying looked at the woman now passed out inside the clear bubble, her body still vibrating with the odd twitch.

"What's her name?"

"Jian Ci." Both Zhitiao and Yezi said together, holding hands.

They had caught up with this group, after watching the people they were fighting become trapped inside bubbles of their own, the remainder having personal issues with amphibians.

"Is she your leader?" Wei Ying asked, tapping his nose.

"Not any more." Zhitiao replied, vehemently. "Never again."

*********

Jian Ci had been involved in the thickest of the fighting, when she'd spotted the demon and the child. Putting aside her horror for a few seconds, because what was such a vile creature doing, out in the open, but the child...she recognised her.

That was her sister's child.

The traitor's child.

Who had to be destroyed.

She did not allow any more thoughts to come between her actions, propelling her sword at them both without mercy.

When the sword disintegrated, she remembered that happening before and realised that this was not the first time she had encountered the demon, either.

Very well, if he wanted a fight, he would get one.

She grabbed a dagger from her sleeve and marched forward, only to be enveloped by a clear bubble, one that would not break despite it looking so fragile. And then, even as she struggled, she discovered another terrible problem: oxygen was limited and running out fast.

The last thing she saw was a happily smiling girl, as her eyes closed.

Her thoughts wandered back, far into the past, to the beginning.

She remembered the signs. They came first, because she and her sisters had searched all over their mother, looking for the pod that would provide them with another sister, and yet there was nothing.

All the branches remained upright and steadily growing upwards, no bending to accommodate a new arrival.

And then...the blossoms.

White flowers adorned their mother, as if she was expressing elation and joy, and still no baby. The blossoms lasted for a long time, their sweet fragrance lifting the spirits of anyone who walked by, the soft petals caressing the faces of all who came to see the miracle. And it was a miracle because their mother had never given them flowers before.

Jian Ci was filled with expectant joy, a bubbling feeling of imminent happiness. The days were long and sunny, crops ready for harvest, and all their cultivation was going well.

All good signs.

And then they had the dream.

All of them, she and her sisters, had the same dream in a single night. Nobody talked about it, instead, the next morning, they were all there, by the sixth root, waiting for someone to take the first step.

She took control, as was in her nature. Folding back the soil that covered the roots and the ground, they all gasped at the sight of the pod, a different colour from those grown in the branches which were white and light green.

This pod was blue.

Jian Ci lifted it out carefully. She removed the seven petal layers to reveal the most beautiful baby she had ever seen.

"Zai Shu Xia." She whispered, smiling at the newborn.

The baby opened her big beautiful eyes, to show them crystal blue eyes, sparkling with joy.