Vibrant colours painted the abyss Zhanying had bore his whole life. He stared out at the happy woman who ran through the forest as if there were no sombre within this world. The golden ray that cast down against the shadow on the ground glittered with glitz and glory, and he was astounded that the land he deemed a survival field could be so beautiful.
Zhanying watched Jingrui as she waited for him to catch up. There were creases of pain within her innocent face, but it was washed away by her smile. Her eyes reflected her soul, chaste as jade and unweathered by the world.
As he analysed her, he wondered if it were really her who had helped him regain his sight. Whatever he knew in his heart, he buried it down below the surface of arctic ice. And no matter how much his heart jabbed by a strange heat, he refused to believe that it could vie over the coldness within him.
"How are Your Highness' eyes?" Jingrui's round eyes, dark like the night sky, twinkled with stars.
He didn't reply as he looked at her, intaking every intricate feature that graced the subtlety of her expression. Her demeanor was painted with the most fluorescent colours, like a flower in the thin light of dawn.
She caught him looking and smiled. "It seems your eyes are working quite well. What do you see?"
"Life," he told her as he glanced away. A dark smile came over him as he looked ahead, knowing well that with his eyes, he was given another weapon. "Victory."
Jingrui grinned and she ran in front of him, cupping her hands over her cheeks. "You've been telling me that you wanted to see me, and now that you can see, how do I look? Cute? Pretty?"
He furrowed his brows. "Don't be silly."
She pouted like a child and turned away from him with a loud hmph. Zhanying placed his hand over his temples as he walked to follow her. Although Jingrui was, perhaps, what they called a beauty, she was still the clumsy and noisy little immortal of his Floating Abyss Palace. And ambiguously, he wished that she would never change.
It was dusk by the time they arrived back at the guest compound. Xiao rushed up to them with sweat covering his face. "Where were you all throughout the storm? I was worried sick!"
Zhanying eyed Xiao up and down, taking in his appearance. His brows arched up. "You don't look like a General."
Xiao sneered as his face changed from worry to contempt. "Don't assume, blind Prince."
Zhanying walked past him without sparing a glance and sat down on the floor table amidst the courtyard. "In fact, I just got my eyesight back," he said as he summoned a checkerboard on the table. "Come and play Go with me, General. I'd like to test my new sight."
Xiao huffed as he forced himself to obey. "You know, I've been playing Go against myself my whole life, and I've never once lost. It was a mere misjudgement I lost to you, a blind man, that morning," he grumbled as he smacked a white pawn onto the board. "But seriously speaking, can you really see?"
Zhanying watched the checkerboard and slackly placed down his pawn. He waved Jingrui to come pour him tea, and she complied with a smile.
"Of course, he can," Jingrui told Xiao as she poured tea into the clay cup. "Why do you look solemn that he had regained his sight, Senior? Isn't it good that he could now fully help us?"
Xiao nodded, thinking through Jingrui's words. "Indeed. But is he going back on his words now that he had regained his eyesight? A pretty and arrogant face like him always goes back on their words."
Zhanying rested his chin on his hand, half listening to their conversation, half mesmerised by the countless potentials he had gained with his sight. "Both Bao Bao's master and I have the knot, so in a way, I am tied to this case. We will stay here a few more days to uncover the truth. Besides, I need time to get used to these eyes."
He was about to place down his last pawn and called checkmate when a person bumped against the table, misaligning his game. He groaned, and as he was about to raise his voice at Jingrui, his eyes met Yuansong.
Yuansong was slumped against the table, breathing hard. His body was battered with cuts and blood gushed from his lips. Trembling, he looked up at Zhanying. "Y-Your Highness," he scrunched his nose at the pain that convulsed his insides. "Bad news, bad news."
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