"How is it?"

"I am sorry, I am not that skilful enough to help her. Then ... I shall take my leave."

"Thank you doctor."

With the help of Chen Jue, they escaped safely to a village that is quite far away from where they were kidnapped. Continuously running for their life for 2 days, despite the emergency application of wild herbs to tame the wound, eventually their body crumbled. Due to the infected wounds of Xuan Di and Jae-in's eyes, Chen Jue shouldered both their dead bodyweight and carried them to a nearby village that he came across during the run.

Seeking for the local doctor, finally Xuan Di's broken arms, fingers and kneecap are bandaged with medical paste applied. His opened wound on his back is once again treated with bandages wrapping around his back and chest.

Jae-in too, got her wounded back treated as well, however for her eyes, the village doctor can only help her to clean her wound and apply some herbs to disinfect the bacteria, he wasn't skilful enough to treat her eyes.

Thanking the village doctor, Chen Jue escort him out of the temporary rented place and request the female villager to get several clean clothes in exchange for a silver tale. Happily grabbing onto the silver tale, the female villager assured his request will be accomplished.

Heading back to the small house, Jae-in and Xuan Di laid side by side on a wooden platform with hay stacking on them to cushion their body. Both of them are having a high fever that made their faces look rosy with redness. Sighing at how badly injured they are, Chen Jue quickly gather some clean cloth and a basin of water to lay the wet cloth onto their forehead.

After a few days of intensive care given to them, Xuan Di was the first to wake up.

Blinking his eyes, an unfamiliar roof appeared and his memory felt foggy for a while. Turning to his left, the sides of Jae-in's face came to sight, and he froze up. A replay of what happened at the village filled his mind, the same old guilt and shameful feelings once again reminded him of something awful about himself.

Turning away, he closed his eyes as he has yet to come in terms with himself, and he doesn't know how to face Jae-in. He, being born as an Emperor, the ruler of his kingdom, he has never positioned himself to be in the wrong before. Even if he was wrong, no one has the courage to tell him, after all he can use his own power to dictate his reasoning.

But this time is different.

No matter how much he argued for himself, coming up with different excuse and perspective to prove his reasoning and his actions, there is only 1 truth: He owes her a debt.

Pretending that he is still sleeping, just then Jae-in woke up. Following her instinct, she opened her eyes only to find darkness and a layer of thing above her eyelids.

That's right, she is blind now.

Sitting up right, she used her hands to feel the wooden platform and continue to reach to her side, realizing that someone is lying beside her, she stopped her fingers and pulled back. Waking up from his short nap, Chen Jue saw Jae-in sitting upright.

"Huo Gu Niang! Are you alright? Do you feel better?"

"Chen Jue? Yes, I am fine."

"That's great, for now we are in a safe area, so do take this time to recover as much as you can."

Jae-in kept quiet before she asked him something that she wanted to know.

"So ... Xiao Lang ..."

"Who?"

"The one ... that everyone was fighting against ... Is he ...?"

" Yeah, unfortunately."

"I see."

Releasing a heavy sigh, she pressed her heart using her palm. Even though they had a brief encounter with one another, the fact that she befriended him on purpose with the intention to use him, yet he used his genuine feelings towards her and battle till his last breath, she knew owed him a favour. But a favour that cannot be returned.

Life is always a cycle.

Shaking her head, she freshens up her mind as she got no time to mourn now since she knows how dangerous their situation are. Not only is she blind, Wang Xuan is heavily injured, Qi Yuan and Ai Le are trapped under the scheme of Kai Zheng, the whereabouts of Yu-ji and Qing Feng are unknown, and of course their enemy is still lurking outside, chasing after them like a madman.

Turning towards Chen Jue, Jae-in scoot backwards to lean her shoulder onto the wall, avoiding the wound on back.

"Isn't it time for you to tell me who you are?"

"Ah right, my name is Chen Jue. I am an assassin and an informant for Red Death. I received a mission to save you and my client is Huo young master. Ever since I was tasked, I have been using all the networking connection that our association has established to find you. Just as I reach Kai Kingdom, only to found out that you have left."

"Even so, how can you accurately find us in the village mountain?"

"Huo young master actually head down to our main house to pick out the assassins to save you, and I was picked by him. Then, he did some acupuncture for my senses and made me remember the scent to track."

"Now everything makes sense ..."

"I apologize that I couldn't reach to you earlier, if not, I could have prevented ..."

"It's not your fault to begin with, this is my battle and this is my wining scar."

As they settle into a comfortable silence, Xuan Di continued his acting skills while he clenched tightly on his right fist, hidden under the sleeve. With the given clean set of clothes, everyone looks presentable and this time, Xuan Di is awake.

However, since the day they escaped with Chen Jue's help, the both of them have yet to converse a single sentence. Xuan Di, who is unable to face her, avoided all eye contact while Jae-in is comfortable with him not attempting to talk to her.

But sadly these peaceful moments lasted for 2 days.

Knowing how Kai Zheng is pursuing them, Chen Jue is prepared that they will find their way to this village. Sneaking out of the house, Chen Jue piggyback Xuan Di while holding onto Jae-in's hands as they flee off to their next shelter.

"Huo Gu Niang, we will be heading towards Death City, which is the next city after Luo. However, as what the city is named, it is no peaceful place. It might be as dangerous as Luo, or even worse."

Jae-in nodded her head and continue to speed up her legs to match up to Chen Jue's pace. Unlike what Chen Jue had said, he intentionally led them to a nearby hill with a rundown hut in the middle of the forest. Slowly lowering Xuan Di's body onto the floor, he carefully holds onto Jae-in's hand and squeeze a little harder.

"This is a place that I found while you guys were recuperating at the village. Huo Gu Niang, for the time being, please wait for me here. This is a hill near to Death City, I will be away for a few days to clear our tracks so that you guys will be safe as we continue to travel. Do remember not to go into the Death City till I am back."

Nodding her head as she heard Chen Jue's plan, then he releases her hand and turn his back to her, ready to sprint off to his bloody massacre festival, just before he leave, her soft voice travel to his ears.

"Chen Jue, take care."

Once she felt his presence is gone, she turns behind and stretch out her hands as a guidance for any obstructive items while she attempts to head towards the hut. Xuan Di remain on the floor near to the door. All he could do is to watch her.

She is dressed in white, with a white cloth covering her eyes, her long hair flies freely along with the wind. She slowly makes each step with caution so that she will not trip over anything while she stays firm to her goal. There is no sign of her trying to seek help from him, she intend to rely on herself. Even in this state, he has yet to see her crumble or drown in her own world of sadness and self-pity that most human being will be. He finally realized something.

She is strong. Woman that is one of a kind.

Unlike those ladies that seeks protection by being weak, curls like a frightened kitten in the arms of a man, tears that flows freely from the eyes upon activation that melts the heart of any, Jae-in isn't one like that.

She proudly stands up for what she believes and fought bravely for her rights. She doesn't hesitate to put herself in danger to fight for what she wants and the people she holds dearly. She never once considered her well-being and even to the extent of her death. She also did not want to seek help from others and used all her means to save herself.

It is as if she only trusts herself and no one.

Remembering the eyes of madness as she lunged her attack on Kai Zheng, only now he realized that behind the madness, it was the readiness to give up her life. And the reason for her action was because he endangered her maid's life. Such a low status human being, yet she held so dearly of. Xuan Di can never understand why will she go so far for someone like a maid. But he knew that this was one of the privilege he had.

If Jae-in is willing to go so far for her maid, won't she do the same for the person she loved which was him?

Was she always like this? Going so far for someone she loved behind their back, if so, what has she done for him without him knowing?

All the traits that has been hidden from Xuan Di's eyes re-appeared under the shadow that he created for her. Everything about her, her personality, her attitude, her beliefs and now her heart, captures him. But, it's too late, he is way too late to get her back.

From the conversation between Jae-in and Chen Jue, he finally knows the answer.

It wasn't an impulsive decision for her to leave him, to leave the palace and the kingdom. It is her decision that she made for her life, one that cannot be changed once it has a resolute belief behind them. She made the choice to move on, to stop loving him and now to leave him for real.

The confession at the cave was true too. Her acknowledgement for her past mistakes was made with no shame. She faced him with no hesitation because she is ready to let go and progress in her life, with no spot left for him in her heart. To her, he is just her past, someone that she had memories with and no future.

Xuan Di felt lost.

One moment, he hated her for the reason of her evil two-faced scheme that she did which caused them to marry one another despite his unwillingness. Branding her as a a wicked sinful woman, ignoring her existence and her words, refusing to truly look at her, afraid that he might fall for her tricks that he has no will to fight against. And now, he gave himself reasons and excuse to search for her when she leave. Once again, establishing the string of attachment that was once severed one-sided.

Believing on his own theories of her, using this journey to justify his statement with evidence collected by interacting with her on purpose. What he wanted was to prove that he was right. She is indeed that corrupted lady that he knew. She was the one in fault for abandoning him. She is in the wrong for leaving him without his consent and his punishment for her wrongdoings from the start.

He wanted to tear her face mask apart, he wanted to see her truself without him being around her. He wanted to see that face filled with scheming thoughts and tainted eyes as evidence.

Little did he know, this journey gave him a different answer. Each day pass quickly, with no sign of vile intentions from her, the people around her are tight knitted, surrounded with positivity and happiness. She was thoughtful, kind, sacrifial, brave, loyal, fierce, understanding, smart, enduring and many other traits that he didn't see before.

As he continue on, he comfort himself that time is still short, she won't reveal her true self yet, not till the confrontation with Kai Zheng. As an Emperor, he is not that dumb. In a situation of life and death, nothing can be faked. The true self of an ugly human being will be exposed easily. He knew that he was wrong from the start, and he refused to acknowledge that, therefore it took him so long to reach this point.

He wronged her.

Tears fall from the side of his eyes as his mind reached to this conclusion while Jae-in calmly make her way into the abandoned hut. His mind was blocked off with the sound of the environment. The verdict that he gave himself is crushing him hard onto the ground.

He wronged her.

A simple 3 word sentence that held profound meanings. Regret, guilt, depression, ashamed, apologetic, abandoned, rejected.

His heart is aching so badly. Like a child that did something wrong, yet no one is there to guide him what to do next to repay his wrongdoings, Xuan Di felt afraid. He is afraid that he wasn't given the chance to repay his debt, to redeem himself. He is afraid that Jae-in will shut him off from her world, not giving him a single chance to rescue himself from the guilt and regret that he is drowning in.

Right now, he wants to do something for her. Anything that she wished for and hope for. With the dreams that he had and the reality he faced, he just can't let her shut him off from her world.

'Please don't leave me. Please don't reject me.'

The raw feeling of an innocent little boy that is afraid that his mother will abandon him for making a mistake, worse even disown him. That insecure feeling made him feel hysterical, he turn his heard to find her, but he couldn't see her. Not mentioning how incapable he is at the moment, he cannot even lift his arm and legs to search for her.

'Don't leave me. Don't leave me. Jae-in ... where are you?'

He mumbled in his head so that he can remember what he wanted during his breakdown period. It is his habit to repeat what is his goal repeatedly as he goes in a mental shut down. Whimpering like an embarrasing adult man, Xuan Di acted like a child and disregraded his status.

Just as he wanted to shout for Jae-in, the woman that he has been howling for appeared in front of him, bending her back downwards to use her hands to touch Xuan Di, upon touching his face, her forearm reach under his pits to carry him upwards. With this close touch that looks like an intimate hug, Xuan Di's face buried into her neck while his chest press against hers.

That way, he can feel that she is still here and she is real.

Unknown that Xuan Di is greedily taking in her scent and her skinship, the heavy weight of a man crush onto hers which make her stumble a little.

"Wang Xuan, I need your cooperation to hold your weight, if not, I will not be able to bring you into the hut."

Her tone had a slight anger like how a lover will scold her husband for not behaving properly. Xuan Di chuckled a little but he is still crying endlessly. Holding back his own weight a little, but he is not going to leave her body no matter what she say. Struggling her way back to the hut with Xuan Di being a kid, she finally settle him onto the bed and attempt to pull herself backwards.

However, Xuan Di used his chin and lay firmly onto her shoulder, firmly locking her to him. Even though he did not use his arms or legs, he felt proud to keep her close to him with a sheer determination. Using her hands to push him away that cause him to fall back onto the bed, Jae-in frown with annoyance.

"What are you doing?"

"What did I do?"

"You jolly well know what you did."

Xuan Di kept quiet and look at her cross her arms and look down onto him. The verdict he gave himself appeared once more and he felt depressed, causing him to cry again. This time, Jae-in heard him sniffling and she shuffled uncomfortably with the thought she had.

"A-are you crying?"

Silence accompanied with a few sniffles. Awkwardly, Jae-in step away from the bed and walk towards the door.

"I won't ask the reason from you, I shall give you space if you need them."

"NO! D-don't lea-"

Ignoring his response, Jae-in quickly leave the room and finally putting a distance from Wang Xuan. Feeling relief, she continue her path outside to discover if there is things that they can use to survive here. Although she is not feeling repulsive towards Wang Xuan, after all they had become comrades that gone through life and death, still she wants to put a proper distance between them.

She is grateful for him coming over to save her, his attempt to protect her when he mistaken Chen Jue as an enemy, but, they are separate individual that don't walk on the same path. Once she finish paying off her 2 favors, the two of them will never meet once they split up at the Kai border.

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Jae-in

[A/N]

Apologies for the late update !