As Promised || CQL AU

Chapter 2

"Welcome. You're Here."

Y/n woke up with her head pounding so hard that she could hear the beating in her head. She couldn't yet open her heavy eyes yet she could feel that her head was on top of something soft. She savored the moment, feeling comfortable. The last time she felt this comfortable was years ago when she was with him; they were lying down on the grass, with her head on his arm, covered in loud silence.

But her fond memory was interrupted when she heard a snore, then she remembered that she was supposed to be fighting a monster but here she was, sleeping. She sat up with a jolt, only to realize that she was sleeping on a crumpled cloak as the pillow, and a few meters away, there Jin Ling was, sleeping soundly, with his arm as his pillow. Y/n went over to him and blanketed Jin Ling and smiled fondly.

She noticed that he was sweating quite a lot, and that he was frowning. Touching his forehead, she realized that he was having a fever. Looking around, hoping for some crevices that holds water, she found none. Having no choice, she went out to find some water.

. . . . .

Jiang Cheng was more irritable and hot tempered than usual. His nephew was gone for a few days, and the Lanling Sect didn't send some message that their young master was back. But, even if he did come back, Jiang Cheng reckoned that his nephew wouldn't give a message since they had a fight (as usual) and Jin Ling fled from Lotus Pier out of anger. That was their usual routine, but then he couldn't get rid of the bad feeling; whenever his eyebrows tick, it was a sign that something bad will happened or something bad had happened. He nervously tapped the armrest of his throne, he couldn't decide whether he should go looking for him or not.

His nanny, who survived the onslaught of the Wen Sect for she was at the mountain picking medicinal herbs when it happened, happened to pass Jiang Cheng who looked like he was having constipation at his throne. Wearing a soft smile, she approached Jiang Cheng.

"My kid, what's wrong?" She said.

"Jin Ling." One word, and the nanny understood. "You know, he's your only blood -related family left. You can't keep on fighting with each other." she said with knowing eyes.

" But, 哎姐" (āijié) [granny]

" I know you, kid. The Lanling Sect hadn't given out the message that the young master had come back; if they did, you wouldn't look like you're pooping stones here.

"Go," she said. " Your home will be fine for a few days without you here. Blood is thicker than water, after all. And when he's the only thing you got to remind you of your 师姐( shījié)[senior female] you do eveything to protect him. Are we clear?" aijie said, with authority in her voice.

Without any word, Jiang Cheng went out of the room, passed the guards practicing swordmanship on the courtyard, and out of the doors of Yunmeng Jiang Sect. He paused for a while, feeling the dejavu. Years ago, he set out secretly to look for Weiying, and know he's out to look for his nephew. He shook his head.

How time flew by.

. . . .

It seemed hours that y/n went out to look for water. Her dress was torn at the seams because the forest was covered in fallen branches and twigs were poking here and there. She had mosquito bites where her skin wasn't covered by the dress.

Feeling her legs wobbling, she sat down on a fallen log, dejected. She was contemplating if she should just go back to the cave when her eyes caught some moss. This gave her some hope of finding water. Where there's moss, water is nearby.

She followed the trail of the moss when surely enough, she heard the gushing rush of the stream. She forgot her feeling of fatigue and instead, she trudged through the forest with a newfound hope. And surely, after a few slips and trips here and there, she stand on a bank of a clear river. Her throat felt constricted with thirst that she didn't realize in her quest for water. She cupped her hands and drank greedily, feeling the cool water coursing down her stomach.

Y/n was so immersed that she didn't notice the cloaked man on the other side of the stream. They both wore the same color-violet, only with different shades and the man's clothes had intricate design, whereas y/n's dress didn't have any, no indications of which clan she belonged to. The man, however, had a distinguished design and accessories which belonged to the Yunmeng Jiang Sect. But of course, all was cloaked, and he was not recognizable as he put a masking spell on his face and his sword.

Y/n finally took notice of the man. Y/n couldn't recognize the man though, as his face was a cloud of grey, and so does his sword. But,the man excluded an aura of authority; cold, hard, and so y/n didn't try to socialize with the man. Nor he seemed lost, and so y/n didn't have any reason to talk to him.

The cloaked man also drank water from the other side, and both walked away from each other, without knowing that the person inside the cave with y/n was the person whom that man was looking for.

. . . .

Two days.

It has been two days since the stream incident and it has been two days that Jin Ling was high with fever. He had been in and out of consciousness, and if he was awake, he would be puking and then he would pass out. Y/n was helping him recover by cooking him food, hunting, and giving him water. But after two days, Jin Ling felt stable enough to sit down and eat properly but didn't have enough strength to walk or stand for long.

Strangely, y/n didn't have any dreams whenever she sleeps. It made her feel empty, like questioning for answers yet no one was answering. She tried to remember the visions she had, but it was all blurry and her head hurts if she tried to remember hard. It was like someone blocked her own mind from her.

And so, instead of sulking around, she tried her best to go on with her life rather than trying to remember what isn't there. She'd wake up early in the morning, fetch some water, hunt for food or collect some fruits, cook, take care of Jin Ling, sleep, repeat.

It was like any normal day; y/n fetched some water, but the sky was heavy with raindrops, barely holding on before it bursts into angry tears. The air was cold with the promise of the storm. Y/n hurried in hopes not to get soaked by the impending rain; it was a good thing that she left the stream early because it started to rain when she's almost at the cave. But when y/n reached the cave, the fire was long gone, but the dampened smoke filled the room. The cold air coming from the outside gushed in, and into the empty room. Y/n's spine was locked by the cold dread. Her eyes widened when the lightning's light filled the room, confirming y/n's fear; Jin Ling was gone.

.   .   .   .

Henlo! It's me, Wilkin's Purified Wootaah

Nothing much to say, except to ask: what are your thoughts about the fear of the unknown?😉