Empyrean Rebirth |Jing Yuan & Dan Heng|

☾-In Sickness and in Health-☽

The following morning, (Y/n) was supposed to go to the training hall at the Exalted Sanctum to start teaching Yanqing as his new trainer. However, her actions of walking through a snowstorm for a prolonged period of time paired with being hit multiple times by Yanqing's ice the day prior had finally caught up to her.

Waking up in the middle of the night with a sore throat, the young woman thought that perhaps she was simply dehydrated. But when she woke up, she found that she could no longer breathe through her nose. After sneezing a few times followed by coughs that hurt her throat, she was disappointed by the realisation that she was indeed sick. Not only would she have to deal with all the effects of a cold but there was also the problem that whenever she was sick she would become slightly more tired. What's worse was that (Y/n) wouldn't be able to down her mother's home brewed herbal tea and congee to help relieve this cold!

As she sneezed once more she could finally breathe through her nose but at the cost of needing to find tissues, and quickly. Oh how embarrassing this was for her, especially in the house of a man she's only known for four days!

Rushing out of the guest bedroom Jing Yuan was kind enough to lend to her, she ended up bumping into said white haired man. She had the sleeve of her nightgown covering her nose which looked odd to the general as he gave her a questionable look that was quite comical due to how sleepy he looked at the moment.

"Good morning, (Y/n)," he yawned. "Are you feeling alright?"

She shook her head in response and mumbled out that she needed tissues. When he questioned why, the young woman sheepishly mumbled out that her nose was runny. Blinking a few times before finally rubbing his eyes, Jing Yuan lifted his hand up to move her hair out of the way before placing it on her forehead. His brows furrowed as he felt how warm she felt.

"You're sick, aren't you?"

Reluctantly she said yes.

"I won't allow you to go out today," he said and gently guided her back into the guest bedroom she currently occupied. "I will inform Yanqing that you are sick later. In the meantime, please rest in bed so that you may feel better soon. I will take it upon myself to take care of you for the day." After making sure that (Y/n) was back in bed underneath her covers, the general opened one of the bottom drawers of the nightstand next to her bed revealing a box of tissues. He placed it on top and gave her a smile. "Let me know when you run out."

Thanking him, she grabbed a couple and blew. Finally that annoying feeling would be gone... until it came back again eventually.

"Don't tell me that this is just another excuse for you not to do any work," she called after the man just as he was about to leave her room. With a chuckle as his response, Jing Yuan left to presumably inform Yanqing of her absence. Undoubtedly he would surely comment something about being "weak" once they saw each other again.

Letting out a sigh, (Y/n), once she was finished taking care of her annoying runny nose, laid back in bed and stared up at the ceiling. She was imagining the smell of her mother's cooking and could almost hear her soft hums as she whipped up a bowl of congee just for her. A kettle boiled in her daydream as her mother moved about in the kitchen. Even when her family moved to the large mansion her father called the "palace" her mother still insisted on taking care of her little girl, even if she wasn't so little anymore.

Just as the young woman was about to close her eyes from the pleasant daydream she was having, Jing Yuan entered with some medicine in hand. Her droopy eyes opened as she sat herself up.

"You don't have to stay here to take care of me you know," (Y/n) said whilst quickly downing the medicine which tasted disgusting. "I'll be fine on my own here and you have a lot of work to get done, general."

Laughing at this, Jing Yuan sat down at the edge of her bed with a playful smile on his face. She groaned knowing that this was definitely just another excuse for him to not work and put it aside for later. Nevertheless, she couldn't deny that having just a little company made her a bit happy seeing as the general has been by her side since the night they met.

"How about another story? About..."

"I think it's your turn to tell me a story," (Y/n) interrupted him with a smile. She adjusted herself comfortably so that she would be able to fall asleep in comfort as the general told her a story. Ah, to feel like a child again having her parents tell her a bedtime story. "It's only fair that I get to hear about your life too, especially when I'm the one who's sick here."

"Fine, fine," he laughed. "I wouldn't mind telling a story or two every once in a while. Anything in particular you want to hear about?"

"Hm... not really. Feel free to tell me anything you'd like. I'm all ears until I eventually fall asleep."

"Very well then," he put a hand on his chin in thought before a story from his childhood came into his head. "When I was a child my parents hoped that I would become a scholar or official at the Realm-Keeping Commission as my family has served that commission for many generations.

"Foxians have a tradition of letting their children 'pick' their future by placing various objects and toys around their child. By doing this whichever item their child picks is essentially their future career path."

"Are you Foxian then?" (Y/n) asked with a yawn as she curiously eyed the top of his head. Jing Yuan chuckled at this and denied being a fox.

"I'm not sure why my parents did that, but I can assume that they didn't want to force me down a path they wanted me to go down and hoped that whatever career I chose to follow would grant me happiness. They had hoped I would choose an item having to do with being a scholar or official. Much to their dismay I had grabbed a toy sword and well, it seems 'picking' my future came true."

As the white haired general went on to explain how he joined the Cloud Knights to escape from the boring parts of life his family wished he'd followed, (Y/n) found herself in a daze. Maybe it was the cold but Jing Yuan looked so... ethereal and yes, maybe it was also because of the sunlight that was coming in through the bedroom window. She couldn't help but to admire how his hair looked majestic, much like that of a lion's mane. And paired with his dazzling golden eyes... She felt her eyelids become heavy and the last thing she heard the man say before falling asleep was about his invitation by the previous Sword Champion to join her team.

Once soft snores could be heard, Jing Yuan paused to look at the sleeping lady. With a small smile, he continued on with his story despite not having anyone to tell it to as (Y/n) was asleep.

In her dreams the young woman opened her eyes, only to find that she was back to being a young toddler in her crib looking up at the ceiling where the faces of her loving parents filled her vision. She cooed and raised her tiny arms up to grab at her parents. With large smiles on their faces, her mother and father looked at each other before her father said something to her. In response the toddler made more baby noises before her mother said something in response to whatever her father had said. When her father opened his mouth to speak again, everything in her dream seemed to go dark as that same unfamiliar man's voice spoke again.

"She's quite the sight to behold, no? It would only be fitting to call her the princess of—"

Her eyes shot open as she panted, sweating. (Y/n) placed a hand on her forehead only to feel it burning up. She sighed and noticed that instead of sunlight pouring in, moonlight was seeping through the window. Had she really slept the entire day without waking up once?

Something shifted next to her which gained her attention. She was relieved to see that it was only Jing Yuan who seemed to be sleeping with his arms resting on the edge of the bed. It made her wonder if he'd brought a chair over so that he could stay and keep watch. Curiously, (Y/n) lifted herself up just enough to see that the general was sitting on the cold hard floor before slumping back down. She wondered if he'd stayed by her side the entire day and if he did, boy was he going to get an earful once she recovered from her cold.

Tiredness still lingered around her as her eyes once again became heavy. After shifting her position in bed to be more comfortable, she stared at the sleeping general while thinking about that weird dream she had. As she admired and thought, it was only a matter of time before she went back to sleep.

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I swear there's gonna be Dan Heng content coming up soon.