Blind and Bereft

Chapter 60 | To Protect

"That was so clean, Jingrui!" Xiaobai clapped as she sat by the veranda with a basket of fruits. "If you keep practicing like this, you might ascend to become a Heavenly Immortal soon."

Jingrui grinned and dispelled the lightweight sword in her hand that was given to her by Prince Zhanying for practice. It had been around a week since she began her training under the God of War, and although she knew that Xiaobai's praise was a mere exaggeration, she was still proud.

She sighed as she hit and flexed her numbed limbs. The sky had already turned into a monochrome ocean, and her whole body ached from training. She could sense peril boding over the roof of the Floating Abyss Palace, and since her omens were often right, she refused to idle around, doing nothing.

Speckles of stars twirled along the sky, and the waxing moon cast a silver strip across her face.

If you want to reach the stars without a ladder, how long will your legs have to be?

A weary sigh parted her lips. "Xiaobai, do you think His Highness will be proud of me if I get stronger?"

A length of time passed, and Xiaobai didn't answer, so Jingrui let out a small chuckle. "I don't know why he is kind to me. Is it because I had once saved him? Or is it because our pasts are tied? But no matter why he is being kind, being confined like this is not pleasant. I know he is trying to protect because all this time I've been too weak to fend for myself. If I become stronger, do you think he would be proud of me? Do you think that perhaps he wouldn't be so worried?"

Jingrui trailed off when she felt that Xiaobai had gone unusually quiet. The silence of the night crept into her soul, and she glanced over to the veranda. Her eyes widened, and she almost let out a shrill. Xiaobai's body was thumped against the ground, her eyes popping and lifeless.

Jingrui's breath quickened as she rushed over to Xiaobai and held her up. "Xiaobai! Xiaobai, wake up!" When she didn't respond to her shaking, Jingrui bit her lips and slowly placed her finger under Xiaobai's nose. To her relief, she could feel warmth blowing against her skin. "I'll take you inside—" Jingrui began, but her breath hitched in her throat when she heard the crunching of leaves.

She peered up, her gaze meeting a man in black within the spotlight of the moon. When he caught sight of her, he hissed and she inched back.

From the way he dressed, Jingrui knew instantly that he must have been sent under Yihuai's command. Her blood boiled as she thought of all the possible reasons he could be there. Clenching her fists, she was about to scream for help, but then, she remembered that both Prince Zhanying and Yuansong were away from the Palace.

Her heart sank and before she had the time to think, the man launched himself at her. Jingrui gritted her teeth as she summoned her sword. Sparks flew as her gleaming metal met against his. She narrowed her eyes as he pushed her backwards with substantial strength. Her sole slid back against the wooden plank.

"Who are you?" she hissed.

The man croaked out a laugh as he pierced his thin irises into hers. "You don't need to know, little maid, because you will die anyways."

Jingrui bit her lips to stop her trembling.

Focus, focus, focus!

She focused her energy to the tip of her sword, and with all her force, she swung it. A blast of wind blew, and the man stumbled back. But being the skillful immortal that he was, he still stood firm on his feet. His eyes gleamed with indignation as he spun away and dashed towards the Ancient Archive.

Jingrui gasped, knowing well how important the archive was to the God of War. Without thinking twice, she pushed herself into the air, whooshing in front of him. Their swords clashed once more. The man smirked, shaking his head. With one rough swing of his sword, the trees shook and the wooden plank beneath her feet rumbled. Her hair blew into her face, and a sharp pain jerked at her shoulder.

Jingrui gritted her teeth when blood began seeping through her clothes. With all her might, she drew a barrier in front of her to fend off his next attack, but with her fragile strength, the barrier shattered once his ferocious blade hit it. Jingrui winced, narrowly dodging the edge of his blade, before the impact sent her tumbling to the ground.

In her vulnerability, he launched at her head on. She seethed and squinted her eyes shut as she wildly twirled her sword to fend his sharp metal.

A gale tempest blew in the Inner Courtyard, and the vile man darted against the wall, shaking the whole building. Jingrui pried her eyes open and gasped when the man lay lifeless in front of her and began to dissipate. She pushed herself to stand and rushed over to him.

Since when did her swordsmanship become so phenomenal?

She tried to catch his flying ashes, and her lips paled. She couldn't have possibly killed him with her weak skills, right?

She heard footsteps walking her way, and she angled her face up to meet the gleaming eyes of Prince Zhanying.

"I-I didn't mean to kill him." Jingrui dropped her sword and looked at her trembling hands.

Prince Zhanying crouched before her. "You want to learn how to fight when you are this soft?"

"I really didn't mean to kill him. I want to learn how to fight so I could protect myself and protect you. I really didn't mean to kill. . ."

"Do you think with your skills, you'd be able to kill Yihuai's trained man?" Prince Zhanying asked, his eyes glinting in the moonlight.

Jingrui shot her gaze up at him. "You killed him?"

Amusement danced in his eyes, and he nodded. "Do you really want to become a competent immortal?"

She pressed her lips into a thin line. "I do. The Palace is a dangerous place. I want to be able to fend for myself."

"Why?" The Prince tilted his head to the side. "Am I not enough to keep you safe?"

"I don't want to always be your burden. If one day, something bad happens—as I feel it is going to happen—I want to be able to fend myself and to fend you."

His eyes grew soft as he brushed strands of her hair behind her ear. "You are thinking too much, Bao Bao. Nothing will happen. As long as I am the God of War, no one will hurt you."

"But what about you?"

"Nothing will befall me."

"Don't lie to me, Your Highness."

He caressed his thumb across the arch of her brow. "I won't lie to you, Bao Bao."

"If anything ever happens to you. . ." She shook her head and fought back the tears that swam in her eyes.

He waved his magic, and the wound by her shoulder disappeared. "As long as you listen to me and don't stir up any trouble, I will be fine. The man that I've just killed was sent here because I haven't reported back to the Heavenly Emperor ever since our return. The conflict between me and him, I will settle it, and no more men will attempt an attack. So, for now, be good and stay put in the inner courtyard, alright?"

"You told me to stay in the inner courtyard. I know you want to keep me safe, but to me, it is not any safer than outside." She looked down at her clenched fists. "Until when must I stay here? If you insist on caging me in the Palace, how am I going to complete my initial goal in coming here?"

"Do you want to go outside?" He asked.

Jingrui nodded. "You've been keeping me suffocated in this palace, of course, I want to."

He sighed. "If you wish to go outside, you could have just asked me. Tomorrow, I am visiting Father. I'll take you outside."