Time to Return

Oneshot

There had been no foretoken at all of the day the Venerable passed into parinirvana.

The young prince could only remember, he had hurried over several li of mountain trails, left his accompanying imperial guards outside that meditation room, removed his own riding boots, and stepped into the meditation room.

Though it was the frigid winter, inside the room, warmth pervaded.

Several young monks were falling over this way and that as they leaned together in one place, dozing off.

The person sitting cross-legged was thin to the bones, so gaunt that his original appearance was lost. He likely had heard movement, for his hands that had been held in front of him as he sat in Lotus Position were slowly set down. His eyes, which were so dark there was an ashen color to them, turned in the young prince's direction.

Those eyes, one year ago, had lost their ability of sight.

"Venerable." The young prince hurriedly took two strides forward and dropped to one knee.

This was a rule ordained by Imperial Father.

This Venerable had once been an imperial son of the previous dynasty and, in his days of youth, a friend of the present emperor. Later, His Imperial Majesty had risen up with armed forces in revolt. The ruler and officials of the previous dynasty had all been rooted up and deposed within the first ten years of this present dynasty's founding. Only he had surrendered and sworn allegiance to His Imperial Majesty.

"You carry on you a very strong scent of smoke and incense."

The young prince's expression shifted slightly. "It is..."

"Could it be that someone within the House of Xiao has..."

"It is my aunt."

Something seemed to flash within those gray eyes. The young prince was dazed when he saw this, and he uttered to himself, the demon of the heart was abound, the demon of the heart was abound, for he had actually seen light within the eyes of a blind man.

"I shall tell you about the first half of my life."

He was the least favored imperial son of the previous dynasty's ruler.

In his youthful years, he had guarded the lands along the borders. Countless skeletons had fallen at his feet. The hearts of the enemy troops beyond the borders would quake upon word of his coming. In his twenty-second year, he was bestowed the hand of the Ruyang Prince's youngest daughter, Xiao Jia, in marriage.

That night, as he rode back to camp, covered in blood, a girl charged directly at his horse, nearly causing him to fall from his mount. Never before had anyone on these hundreds of li of borderlands dared to act so impudently. Leaping off his mount, he picked up under his arm that young girl, who was garbed in red and brandishing a whip, and threw her beside the bonfire.

Only then, as he looked from a close distance, was he able to identify that her garments of red were a bridal gown, and this girl, whose eyes were a deep blue color, was Xiao Jia. Judging from her face, she appeared to be the age of merely thirteen or fourteen.

When he lowered himself to a half crouch and leaned in closer, she still dared to wield her little fists and threaten him. "How dare you lead your troops out for three days and nights during this time of my arrival. I shall divorce you!"

On the bridge of his nose, there was even a blade wound, which caused his fair-skinned countenance to seem as if it belonged to a ghost or demon. After a while, he narrowed his eyes and smiled. He gazed at this little woman, whose beauty could daresay be compared to that of a tanhua [epiphyllum flower], with the reflection of flames dancing in his eyes. "What's that? You are so young but already so anxious to go into the nuptial chambers?"