Blind and Bereft

Chapter 91 | Blind and Bereft

Days passed by like a fleeting dream.

No matter how the darkness may suffocate Jingrui, she felt that flowers could still glitter gold. The long days she griefed for her loss and cried for vengeance had ended. Now, she was freed.

Zhanying had kept his promise to wed her at the Jade Dragon Mountain, and they campaigned past the mortal village she was born in. The moon was ever waning, but she no longer found it sorrowful. The crescent formed a smile that warmed her soul and gave her solace. The dying embers within her heart had sparked to become an eternal flame, and her pasts were burned by the will.

Zhanying held her hand as he led her to a place filled with substantial power. She looked up at him with eyes filled with wonder. "Where are we?"

"Before the Jade Tree," he replied to her. "One drop of blood. Ashes eat away frost. The heart blossoms a Jade Fruit. Return all that is lost."

Jingrui flinched when she smelt blood. She grabbed his sleeve and tugged it. "I can smell blood. . ."

He didn't seem alarmed as he plucked a fruit off the tree and handed it to her. "At long last I finally understand, Bao Bao, and my heart no longer will deny it," he told her. "Standing before this Jade Tree, I know that it has all been because of love. My life had regained colours because of you, Bao Bao."

Jingrui twirled the Jade Fruit in her palm. "I don't understand."

Zhanying simply smiled. "In order for the Jade Fruit to spring to life, it must receive a drop of blood of the person you love most, but all the same, that very person must also hold reciprocating love; a mutual love." He turned to her. "And, that love was you, Bao Bao. All these time it has been you."

Jingrui's eyes wavered as she felt the Jade Fruit in her palm. A soft smile came over her as she understood his words. Without hesitation, she bit into the fruit, feeling the sweet taste on her tongue.

As soon as she swallowed it, warmth flushed through her body. The night became day and colours crept into the edges of her vision, filling her world. She looked up, and her gaze met Zhanying. He held the timeless look, and he was beautiful under the hue of diamond and gold.

The corners of her mouth broke into a smile. "I miss you."

He tilted his head to the side. "Why? Haven't I always been by your side," he questioned. "And, I will forever be by your side," he added.

A smile spread over her face. "I will also be by your side and keep you company forever, Your Highness." She clasped her hand over his. "I used to doubt the Jade Fruit, but now I can see as clear as day. Now, that I can see again, let us visit my beloved Phantom Lord."

"As you wish." He returned her a subdued smile as they walked towards the main hall of the Jade Dragon Mountain.

As Jingrui passed through the training ground, her eyes widened. The whole pine forests had been replaced by ten miles of peach blossoms, ever-blooming through all adverse fates. The, once dark, and sinister Jade Dragon Mountain had become a field of colours. Jingrui let the sweet fragrance sweep away every bitterness within her life. Standing beneath the outstretched branches, her heart was at peace.

"Do you like it?" Zhanying muttered as he glanced at the sky. "I had planted a forest of peach blossoms for you; the one you had always dreamt of, and the one that offers you the world of freedom."

Jingrui smiled as she stretched her arms out, letting the refreshing breeze pricked against her skin. "I like everything that you do."

"I also moved your Master and Sister's tomb to this field," he said, and his eyes became residual with a pain Jingrui knew couldn't heal within just a year. But she would hope that through the future filled with her company, it would soon be engraved in a memory far back in his mind, and submerged until forgotten.