320 Calling for Love in the North of the Wilderness (2/2)
Prince Long Qing felt just as lost after being rescued by the Desolate Man father and son. However, his thought on seeking death had faded. Anyone who had experienced a struggle between life and death would feel a stronger attraction to the human realm.
He felt goodwill towards the Desolate Man father and son who had saved him. However, hatred for the Devil's Doctrine and contempt for the Desolate Man was deeply ingrained within him. The more gratitude he felt, the more painful he felt as well. He had finally decided to attack the Desolate Man duo after a long contemplation and say what he hadn't had a chance to say.
”I forgive you for your sins on behalf of Haotian.”
Prince Long Qing's mind and logic were scrambled. He hung in a state suspended between life and death, between light and darkness, between gratitude and hatred, between a glorious memory and a pathetic existence. And it was precisely because of this, he had made an inexplicable decision.
Prince Long Qing finally sobered up after he was thrown out of the tent. He remembered many things. He was no longer the West-Hill son of the heavens who held peach blossoms in his hands. He was no longer the Prince of the Yan Kingdom who had led a sheltered life. He no longer had the right to shoulder the hope of reviving the Yan Kingdom. He was just a useless piece of cultivation firewood whose Snow Mountain and Ocean of Qi had been destroyed.
He lay in the icy cold pile of snow as images of the past flashed through his mind. He did not know if it was because of the cold or the images, but his body stiffened up, and his gaunt and dirty face paled even further. The light in his eyes dimmed.
The once Prince Long Qing had become a down and out beggar. He awaited death in the desolate snow plains quietly. It was luck, or not, depending on how one saw it. Yama who controlled the darkness and death seemed to hate the faint light emitting from the beggar and refused to place a sweet kiss on him.
Prince Long Qing sat there until dawn arrived. His eyelashes fluttered, and the snow that had gathered on it fell together with the lashes. He looked at his chest, and discovered that he was not dead. Then, he stood up slowly and continued his journey towards the far-off north that was still shrouded in darkness.
His expensive outer coat finally gave way under the snow and cold wind. They fell off his body in tatters. The royal bright yellow had long faded. What was left on his body, were just body-hugging under robes. It was splattered with black blood and mud stains. It was so dirty one could not make out if it was blood or mud.
The blazing sun shone on the top of his head at noon. However, he did not feel the heat at all, as if he was living in a false existence. He raised his head weakly to look at the sky and squinted with difficulty before moving forward with all the strength in his body. There was an odd feeling where his foot landed. When he looked down, he realized that his shoes had torn and a shard of ice had wedged deeply in the sole of his foot. However, he could no longer feel pain.
Prince Long Qing trudged on weakly with a thin shirt on his back, naked soles, and a severely injured body. He did not know where he was headed but followed his instincts. He had no destination in mind, but he walked towards the north where the darkness seduced him like how the light once had.
He had walked for an unknown period of time. However, he was weak and walked slowly, so he did not know how much land he had covered. He did not feel hunger nor pain. The desires of humans had faded when they encountered hopelessness and death. He had to continue walking towards the north, and while he did not have to eat, he had to prop his weak body up. He broke a tree branch and used it as a cane.
It was difficult for trees to survive in the Far North of the Wilderness. There were no strong tree branches, and the thin one that bore his weight as he walked on for a few thousand feet broke into pieces. He fell heavily to the ground, and old blood that was grey in color spilled from his lips. He clambered up with difficulty and gazed at the far and endless Wilderness woodenly. He sighed softly and sat down.
He did not know how many days he had walked for and how many miles he had covered, and yet, he did not find death. He did not make it to the dark north either. He felt a trace of regret as he looked at the sky. The orange in the sky was quickly replaced by the dark night.
He sat in the cold Wilderness for an entire night. And when the day arrived, the first ray of sun touched the snow plains and his lightly shuttered eyelids. He had lost his eyelashes and the skin on his eyelids looked exceptionally shiny.
”It still turned into day in the end.” He looked at the first ray of light from the east and muttered hoarsely, ”It'd be great if it never turned light again. Why do I fear the light so much now?”
The frantic clomping of hooves could be heard approaching from the south.
Prince Long Qing looked towards the east dazedly, ignoring the sound approaching his back.
The sound of cluttering hooves approached. Lu Chenjia leapt off from the back of the Snow Horse and rushed at him from a distance. Then, she knelt down slowly before pulling him into an embrace.
The Snow Horse swayed and almost fell onto the snow plains. It had cantered for thousands of miles without resting at all. No matter how strong she had been, she was at his weakest state at this moment.
Lu Chenjia embraced him lightly, touching his face with hers. She did not dare to hug him tightly, but was unwilling to let go, as if afraid that the man she loved dearly would disappear if she did and walk towards the darkness.
A smile finally appeared on Prince Long Qing's face after many days. He looked at the rays of light from the east and took in the scent of the person beside him. He said hoarsely, ”Don't you feel like you're hugging a corpse?”
Lu Chenjia lowered her head and grinned, ”If you would turn around to look at me, you'll find that I'm very ugly right now too.”
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