Apart from Yuansong, the inner courtyard was what Jingrui had once imagined Heaven to be like. A week passed by in a flash, and the only chore she had to do was cleaning the deck outside Prince Zhanying's quarters.
Since she had moved into the inner courtyard, she had never caught a glimpse of Prince Zhanying. Even though his quarters were near hers, she had never seen him step foot from within the shadow of the roof. She must thank the God for being a busy man because she never wanted to see him again after her offenses.
Although days were peaceful in the inner courtyard, the palace offered her no freedom. Like a bird without wings, Jingrui felt chained. She could not exit the Floating Abyss Palace at her own will, and in the past few days, she felt as if she had come to Heaven for leisure and not to seek out the culprit.
The images of her master and sister's death always haunted her mind, and every night, nightmares would replay in her head as if the dead wanted to remind her from the grave that she must avenge them. Yet, she didn't have a single place or clue to begin untangling the thread.
But meandering time had allowed her to sort out her jumbled thoughts, and she remembered that within the inner courtyard stood an archive. Ancient scrolls and books from all over the four seas and eight deserts, collected by the God of War himself, were kept within it. After pondering over the consequences, she decided it wouldn't hurt to sneak into the library while Yuansong and Madam Fu were absent.
That day came with a rare opportunity. The inner courtyard was deserted of soul except hers. Although Yuansong's rules screamed in her head, she gulped them down and slid the large door of the ancient archives open. Dust darted into her face as she peered into the room. With the little magic she knew, she summoned an orb of light into her hand, letting it illuminate in the darkness. Her footsteps echoed against the waxed floor as she stepped inside. Her hand ran across dust and spider webs that coated the shelves as she advanced within the towering stacks of books.
Her feet were light, and she didn't breathe within the still darkness. She scanned the rows of shelves until she spotted a scroll that pulled her to it like a magnet. She placed the light orb down and picked the scroll up, letting the dust fall onto her hanfu. Her fingertips ran across the cool inked characters.
"Phantom Sect," she muttered, her voice echoing through the soundless room.
She quickly flipped the scroll over, and upon the bamboo, the ink had bled into a picture of a lucky charm knot. Her breath caught in her throat as she pulled out the jade knot her master had given her from the strap around her waist.
"It's the same," she murmured and placed the knot on the shelf as she turned the scroll over. "Phantom Sect . . . the protector of one of the Eight Pillars¹² of the three realms, the White Tiger¹³ of the West, the gateway between the Sky Kingdom and the Demon Realm. Upon the high Jade Dragon Mountain, sits the Phantom Lord and the barrier between the Celestial Tribe and the Demon Tribe. . ."
Jingrui cursed at herself for never paying attention to her Master's lessons. None of it made sense to her.
She flipped the scroll over again and held the light orb towards the delicate characters written on it. "In the Jade Dragon Mountain, lies the roots of life and death. One drop of blood, ashes eat away frost, the heart blossoms a Jade Fruit, return all that is lost—"
Jingrui came to an abrupt stop when the wind whooshed past her ears, and a hand grabbed onto her wrist, almost snapping her bones. The scroll within her palm clattered against the floor.
A scream threatened to escape her lips, but it was instantly caught in her throat as a pair of cold eyes gleamed into hers.
Prince Zhanying cocked his head to the side. "Bao Bao?"
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12) Eight Pillars: a concept of Chinese Mythology where eight cardinal directions (known as pillars) hold up the sky.
13) White Tiger: one of the four symbols of Chinese cosmology, representing the West direction.
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