Blind and Bereft

Chapter 52 | Upon the Bell Tower

After the day Yuansong brought them the bad news, Jingrui was piled with several worries. The worries stacked so high, and they tumbled down upon her when she heard the answer regarding her master from the Phantom Lord.

The reason why her Master had sent Sister Jingyi to the Heavenly Palace fifty years ago could be for no other reason than to find his lost love. Her heart felt bleak. The person who her master had loved all this time was Consort Chen.

Consort Chen.

Her heart thumped whenever she thought of the name. Consort Chen was Prince Zhanying's mother, the one who had been poisoned to death by the Empress Dowager and the one Prince Zhanying devoted his life to bring justice to. And if Consort Chen were really Prince Zhanying's mother, there could only be one evident conclusion: Prince Zhanying was not a biological son of former Heavenly Emperor Yunyin, but her Master Li Yu's long lost son.

Jingrui had lived her whole life thinking the horizon was vast and never-ending, but who could have thought the world to be such a small circle. Who could have thought fate would tie her with this enigmatic Prince in such a bizarre way.

The new realisation made her heart quench as she feared there were more answers to the past lying within the soil of the Jade Dragon Mountain than met the eye. And these answers would stray her deeper towards something unknown, but away from finding the perpetrator behind her sister and master's death.

Jingrui didn't have time to ponder over it for long. That day, she woke up to a red dawn. Crimson clouds plastered across the horizon, and the guest compound she stayed her nights in was empty of souls. Jingrui breathed in the still air, foreboding an intense storm, and she took a run towards the training ground.

Her eyes widened when her sight met hundreds of disciples dressed in Jade hanfu, lining the training ground. Their swords glimmered in their grips as they held out a formation stance. The smell of odours radiated from the sweating disciples as they anticipated the upcoming bloodshed.

Above them, on the tallest bell tower, stood Prince Zhanying, Yuansong, Xiao, and the Phantom Lord. The Prince stared off into the distance as if he could hear the marching footsteps of Yihuai's army approaching. The furious wind blew against his hair, and when he spotted her, his eyes darkened. He beckoned her to come up to him.

Jingrui swallowed as she climbed up the bell tower and towards the Prince. Unlike Yuansong and Xiao, the Prince didn't clad himself in thick armour. He wore his usual loose hanfu and held a hand fan in his hand as he fanned himself.

"Why didn't you stay at the compound? Do you wish to die?" He waved for her to come closer.

Jingrui shook her head as she walked over. "I don't want to die, but you should have at least woke me up, not left me alone in the compound. At least . . . at least you should let me bid you luck."

There was a hint of a smile in his eyes as he tapped the fan against her forehead. "No need. Since you are here, be good and stay at the top of this tower. No matter what happens down below, you will not leave here, understand?"

Jingrui nodded as her lips pressed into a thin line. Worries grew in her heart as she rubbed her forehead where he had hit her. If the Prince told her to stay up here, she would obey.

They waited in unyielding silence, and sweat dabbed her forehead. Before she had the time to wipe off her sweat, least calm her mind, her eyes widened as defile shadowy figures swarmed up the mountain. They were like black blobs as they approached the clearing from both the ground and the air. Brazen horns blew and the sounds of drums beat at her ears.

Prince Zhanying held a sinister smile—one she had never seen on him. A certain thrill ignited in his eyes as he watched the disciples fret with fear and as Yihuai's army herded up the mountain with overflowing confidence. He waved the air and summoned a large incense burner. Casting a spell on it, smoke rose into the red dawn.

Jingrui coughed at the medication smell, and before she had time to process anything, every presence within the top of the bell tower vanished. She was stranded alone. Breathing hard, she rushed over to the railing and peered up at the sky.

Thunder roared above her head, and lightning smote down from the crimson sky. And with that, bloodshed alighted in front of her eyes. Jingrui clutched the railings as silver clashed with black, and jade clashed with red, igniting lights and explosions like the mortal's fireworks. Her eyes spun, and her head grew too misty to keep up, so she plopped down against the railing and hugged her knees close to her chest.

Although she hated the medicinal smell, she inhaled deeply, letting it eliminate the smell of blood that rose from the ground below.

She had faith in Prince Zhanying. He was the God of War; the one who brought victory in every battlefield. She didn't need to worry about anything, yet she clutched her hands over her ears to block out the screams and the screeching sounds of steel against steel.

Jingrui was from the Red Valley where the field of peach blossoms offered eternal peace, and she wondered how she came to be caught in the discord of a battle.

She entered the Heavenly Palace to find the cause behind her sister and master's death, but she ended up giving her word to the God of War to serve him for eternity.

She sighed as she glanced at the field below. The silver light still dominated, but the substantial power everyone started with began to wear off. Several ashes dissipated into the air as disciples fell one after the other.

Yihuai's men were like a pack of wolves while the Phantom Sect was prey. Even the God of War was kept busy as hundreds of immortals hurled his way at the same time.

As she scanned over the battlefield, her heart took a sudden leap, and her face was drained pale. Her senior, Xiao, was being attacked by several men, and he barely could hold them off. His stance was shaky, and pain swept over his demeanor.

Jingrui slung herself against the guardrail. Her eyes widened, and her face turned ashen. The sound of her heartbeat intensified so rapidly that every sound within the battlefield became nothing but mere echoes. A man was lunging at Xiao from behind, a sword gleamed in his grip.

"Senior," she called him, her voice scraped against her throat. Her hands reached out towards him. "Senior! Behind you—"

Splattered.

The gleaming metal pierced into her senior's stomach in a quick swish.

Tears verged in her eyes as she slumped against the railing. Her vision and mind became muzzy as an urge to throw up crawled up her throat. The distinct memory of her sister and master in that coldest day suffocated her mind as blood spurt from Xiao.

No matter what happens down below, you will not leave here.

She clutched the metal railing, digging her nails into it as her senior fell onto his knees right before her eyes.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

If you enjoyed, please smash that golden star and make my day. ♡