Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume 5)

4 A Painting of the Past

Jinde, at this moment, was slowly strolling through the house he was using as his temporary hiding place. He didn't know how long it had been since he had fled from the special dimension to escape from Jin Ling. Time had long lost its meaning for him. Staying alone in the dimension every day, nursing his injuries and waiting for the person he loved to finally come back to him, the passing of a day was without meaning.

What was one day? What was a year? What was a century or even a millennium? As long as he had to wait it was all the same endless agony to him.

Jinde sighed and continued his walk through the house. He hadn't left the dimension for a long time so he had no idea who the host that had been forced to grant him his hospitality was. The house was located on what had been the sect master's peak once so it was quite likely that it was normally occupied by one of the current sect master's disciples. Jinde didn't know who the one presiding over the Yun Zou Sect at the moment was though so naturally, he also didn't know about any disciples of that person.

Who knew when his involuntary host would come back? It might be difficult to explain the situation so he could only hope that the person he'd be confronted with would turn out to be someone with an even temper.

Looking at the interior of the house ... Jinde couldn't help but feel a bit of appreciation toward this person. There wasn't much in regard to furniture or decorations but the few things that had been used to furnish the house exuded a simple elegance. It made him feel ... quite at home. This definitely was the kind of place he'd choose to stay at if he was in the position to do so.

He arrived at a study and sat down at the low table. Light filtered through the window and warmed his skin that had always felt a little cold since he had been injured back then. Jinde closed his eyes in satisfaction. Just when would he be able to completely leave that dimension and return to living a normal life?

"Chun Yin ... Hasn't it been enough time already? But maybe you've already reincarnated and just haven't found me." He sighed and stood up, restlessly walking to the window.

Back then what had actually ruined the perfectly good relationship they could have had, had been him taking the throne. For a person such a Chun Yin, having an affair with the person he had to formally pledge loyalty to was unthinkable.

He had understood that. But how could he have known ... From the very first day, he had always thought that Chun Yin would turn out to be their king. He was so strong, so dependable, so awe-inspiring. How could he lose in that dumb competition? How could he actually give up that seat that should have been his by all right ... to someone like him?

Jinde turned his back to the light, his golden hair sparkling in the sun while his face was cast in shadows. Why hadn't he questioned it more back then? Then maybe they would have been able to detect that all this was Jian Heng's doing. And if they had, then Chun Yin could have taken the place that was supposed to be his and maybe none of what had happened after that would have transpired.

He certainly ... wouldn't have minded becoming his king's beloved. At least not if that king was Chun Yin.

He gave another sigh and looked back at the table. It had been a long time since then and he knew that thinking about it was futile. They had all failed to recognize what was happening back then. The one with the biggest error in judgment was he himself. If Jian Heng hadn't said those things back then in the last battle before he died, he might never have pieced together how the desolate latter half of his life had come about.

Back then, for a while, he had entertained the thought that maybe Jian Heng had just wanted to make his death even more unbearable. To have him feel miserable in his last days while his soul slowly dissipated.

But in the end, how much more unbearable could it have become? Jian Heng had already managed to destroy everything important to him. The love of his life had already been killed back then, the only hope of them ever meeting again being his reincarnation. Even his child ...

Jinde sighed and gently placed a hand atop his chest. Well, at least he had managed to escape the danger of having his soul dispersed by the soul-devouring dagger. At least he had managed to keep the last bit of Chun Yin safe.

Waiting for him to return ... as unbearable as it was, he could endure it as long as he knew he'd be rewarded one day. And he was sure that he would. From the day he had first seen Chun Yin and that bright smile of his, he had always known that he could completely depend on this person. This conviction had only become firmer with time.

Chun Yin wouldn't leave him alone for the rest of his life. However long it might take, however many dangers might be lurking in the path, Chun Yin would find a way to return to his side. Until then, he just had to keep waiting.

With a small smile, Jinde picked up a scroll of paper from a shelf and went back to the table. He ground the ink and unfurled the scroll just to give pause when he wanted to fixate it on the table.

What he had thought to be an empty scroll of paper had actually turned out to be a half-finished painting. He couldn't help but admire the clear strokes for a moment but what truly astonished him was what the painting depicted.

How come this painting kept in the study of a human's house ... showed the courtyard of his master?