To Love & To Loathe (Jingliu X Fem Reader)

Chapter 3: Reunion

The girl's body can feel the rush of excitement as she continues her journey towards Cloudford, her heart beating faster with each step she takes.

Yet despite the overwhelming sense of joy she's feeling inside, Y/n still manages to keep her thoughts together and remember her duty as a judge in the Ten-Lords Commission; she can't let her emotions get hold of her and make her lose focus.

And so, she makes an effort to stay observant of her surroundings at all times.

Y/n thinks that going at midnight would be a good idea as it's the best time for her to go unnoticed by most people. So, she starts walking through the vacant streets of the Cloudford while keeping a low profile so as not to attract any unwanted attention to herself. She moves quietly and slowly, her movements subtle and careful not to make a sound in case anyone is watching.

"...The night is cold..." Y/n whispered to herself.

The cold air blows gently against her face, giving her a chill. The girl's breath turns into white fog as she exhales. The darkness around her only amplifies her sense of unease, although she tries to shake it off by reminding herself that this is not the first time she had been out alone during late hours.

"Mentor... we used to walk hand in hand every night after my training..."

The memories of she and Jingliu had together suddenly flooded through the girl's mind. The image of her mentor gently holding her hand while they took a stroll in the night, the moonlight reflecting beautifully off their faces as they walked silently next to each other. Every single memory, even the small, insignificant ones, came rushing back through her mind, filling her heart with nostalgia.

Y/n remains silent for a good minute or so, simply taking in the peace and quietness of the surroundings around her. The sound of her own footsteps and of the wind was the only thing that could be heard on the otherwise empty streets that she was walking on.

The memories of her past with Jingliu only continued to play in her head, flooding her heart with bittersweet emotions which she tries to suppress.

"...?"

While the girl was lost in her old memories, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She turned her focus towards the direction of the source of the unfamiliar sound and instantly noticed a group of mara-struck soldiers patrolling the empty streets.

"Yaoshi..."

"The Abundance's benevolent nature led 'them' to grant their blessing upon anyone who seeks immortality. However, the consequences of these blessings often result in a fate worse than death."

The girl's lips curled into a grim, yet solemn expression upon seeing those poor souls.

Although she had seen the mara-struck before, a part of her heart still ached when seeing those afflicted with the mara's curse, as she could see the effects that they had on their minds and their bodies; the insanity that they suffer from as well as the torment that they had to endure.

"Gahh..."

The girl's eyes then widened in concern when she felt a sudden pain in her head. She instinctively placed her hand on her forehead, trying to relieve the unbearable pain that she had felt out of nowhere.

She had felt this pain before countless times in the past, but never like this; this pain had come to her suddenly and forcefully, almost making her lose her footing.

"...I know... But it's not time yet..." Y/n answered the voices inside of her head.

The pain however, only continued to grow, becoming more and more intense and unbearable.

She squeezed her head, as if she was trying to block out the voices in her head. But she couldn't stop the voices from coming through as they grew louder and louder, flooding her mind like a tide of dark and twisted whispers.

"...I understand..." Y/n replied.

After that, the voices finally left her, with the sudden silence flooding her mind. The pain still lingered inside of her head, but it was no longer as strong, making it much easier for her to bear it.

Still keeping her head down, she continued her walk towards the Cloudford for a little while longer.

As she walked, the twitching of the sprout instantly caught the girl's attention. She recognized it as one of the blessings of Yaoshi given to the Xianzhou during the times of peace back in the days before the Xianzhou Alliance ban the Aeon and their teachings.

Her curiosity piqued by the sudden poor appearance of the sprout, her thoughts wandered back to the past, and to the old days when the people of the Luofu used to believe in Yaoshi and worship them.

She noticed that the sprout was starting to wither away, as if it was dying. She couldn't help but feel sad for the dying sprout, as it served as a reminder of a forgotten past.

Now, the people of the Xianzhou have moved on from those days, no longer worshipping Yaoshi or believing in their blessings, for they now worship the Rainbow Arbitor, Lan The Hut.

A part of her felt sad at the thought of such a beautiful culture dying. But still, she continued to slowly approach the dying sprout. She kneeled down and then talk to the sprout.

"Rise."

The girl's fingers touch the fragile sprout, feeling the coldness that radiates off of it.

Despite the sprout's frail and fragile state, she instinctively commanded it to rise from the ground. Slowly, the sprout responded to her words, lifting itself up from the ground with its stem, as if it was still clinging to a bit of life that it had left.

The girl stayed there for a short while in silence, watching as the sprout slowly gained some of its life back. She also can't help but find a small smile on her lips as she sees the sprout slowly recover from its dying state.

Y/n was still not sure why Yaoshi's blessing was now dying, but she can't deny the fact that seeing it recover is a comforting sight.

"I finally found you."

A sudden chill ran down the girl's spine the moment an icy voice spoke to her from behind. She immediately stood up and turned her head around to see who's the one who had startled her.

She was not expecting there to be anyone else around this late at night for she has only one person in mind to confront her there at midnight.

"It's been a while... mentor. I was expecting of your arrival. I knew the moment I made something like this would notify you immediately from the shadows." Y/n said calmly.

Although she felt that Jingliu's eyes were just as haunting as before, if not more menacing behind that veil. This was not the calm and composed Jingliu she once knew; instead, it looked like she had embraced her more ruthless and cold side.

Without a moment of response, Jingliu summoned her sword before pointing it directly at Y/n.

"We meet again... traitor."