Chapter 28

Vol . 13 Ch . 28

September 17, 2018 by Wu Jizun

I don’t know how I fell asleep, but my heart skipped a beat when I woke up . Ying was missing when I woke up . I went to jump to my feet, but since Nier and Lucia were holding onto me, I ended up being pulled back down . My trip woke the two of them up . Nier swiftly drew her sword and almost slashed me . The two of them released their hold on me . I staggered to my feet then ran over to the door and pulled it open .

I heard a familiar rhythm outside . I stood at the door with a dumbstruck look . Ying was sweeping the ground at a mild pace in her white robe, hair fluttering . A few tree branches were in her hair . Besides looking pale due to blood loss, she was her usual . She acted as if she was never unconscious or suffered an injury .

“Ying!!” I loudly called out and ran over to her .

Ying turned her head to look at me as if nothing ever happened . I ran over to her and grabbed her shoulders . Anxious, I exclaimed, “Ying, don’t move around carelessly . You haven’t recovered yet . You’ll destroy yourself if you do this!”

Ying shook her head, and then brushed my hand away: “I’m very well . I can look after myself . I had a bit of a cold, but I’m fine now . Thank you for taking care of me . It appears that the two I rescued were your wives . Fate is truly miraculous, isn’t it?”

It was a rhetorical question, but Ying didn’t show any emotion . She turned around, seemingly not wanting to say any more to me . I forcefully dragged her back inside by her arm . She called out and tried to resist but stopped due to the pain .

I suddenly remembered that her chest was injured, so I released her . I noticed blood seeping onto her robe . I didn’t know what to do . I shivered as I apologised: “Ah… Sorry!”

“No, it’s fine . ” Ying shook her head then removed her hand on her chest .

I lingered for a moment when I looked at the trace of blood on her robe, but then quickly grabbed her hand and said, “Sorry, sorry, sorry . Go and get your bandages changed . I’ll have my wives help you change your bandages and treat your wound . ”

“Thank you . ” Ying stood up, and then gently pushed my hand away when I went to help her . She walked to the room .

Nier and Lucia looked at us with a complex look from the stone steps . I didn’t know how Ying communicated with them, but Nier knew what to do when she saw the blood on Ying’s chest . The three of them went inside and shut the door .

I felt slightly unnerved . I looked at my hand and wanted to slap myself .  Her wound opened again, because I forcefully dragged her . However, that was how I discovered Ying was incredibly weak due to her wound .  Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have been able to make her budge with that much strength . After all, she took on a wyrm . How could I pull her to the ground?

I had to have Nier and Lucia control Ying . Otherwise, she’d never recover . My main concern wasn’t Ying but, Xia, the young girl I had yet to meet . If Ying was a prisoner of the village, Xia would be the sacrifice .

I was too naive . I thought the village controlled Ying with kindness and gentleness . I never thought Ying’s shackle was a live person, and it was her sister’s eyes that they used .

I wanted to go inside there and save Xia . Nevertheless, I couldn’t just strut in there, and take her out, as that would lead to us clashing with the villagers . While the villagers weren’t combatants, Ying’s guilt and regret would pit her against us even if we saved her sister .

If Ying didn’t intend to protect the villagers, then she could’ve easily saved her sister . She’d rather watch her sister suffer in pain than save her . She resided in the shrine alone and drowned in her mistake, guilt and hatred from the past .

“Just how many painful memories are hidden beneath that expressionless face?” I wondered to myself .

She wore an expressionless look just to stop herself from recalling the past and to suppress her former self . She used her past to torment herself as a means to prevent herself from committing the same mistake . She was covered in wounds, yet was willing to stay and exchange her entire life to make up for her mistake . Ying was too kind .

Ying chained herself down to the village, where it tormented her, when it wasn’t her fault . She figuratively bled, yet she viewed herself as the culprit and repented . The fault lied with whoever erred . Kindness and gratitude weren’t reasons to take the blame for others . The children made a mistake; therefore, Ying shouldn’t be the one to atone for them .

I wanted Ying to leave the island . I want her to leave this place where the concepts of right and wrong were twisted . She should see the entire world . Not one corner of it .

I knocked on the door . I heard footsteps from inside . Nier poked her head out wearing a surprised look . I said, “Nier, come here for a second . Let’s discuss what we need to do tonight . ”

Nier nodded . After a short pause, she gave a simple response: “All right . ”

Truthfully, only Lucia was needed . Lucia was better at the task I had in mind compared to Nier . In saying that, I needed somebody to protect us .

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Current time out on the water .

Vyvyan examined the ruins before her . There were bits of timber floating on the surface of the water . Not all of the decimated ship sunk yet . The ships looked as though they were torn apart from the bottom, but the strangest thing was that there wasn’t a single corpse .

The sailors salvaged part of a flag . The flag represented the fleet found . Elizabeth took the flag and frowned: “This is the flag of the Travest Kingdom . This is their fleet . I know their Regent . She’s a lady who refuses to allow women to participate in politics, yet a female regent runs the kingdom . To be honest, I’m a little jealous of their regent’s hair . ”

“What did they come here for?”

Elizabeth shook her head: “I don’t know; nevertheless, our sailors discovered an island nearby . If something happened to my son and his crew, they’ll definitely be on the island . Let’s pick them up and leave . ”

“There’s something in the sea . ”

Vyvyan didn’t pay any attention to what Elizabeth was saying . Vyvyan leaned on the rails and looked at the glowing scales in the water below . Her blues eyes seemingly fused with the ocean . She frowned . Vyvyan had never been tense before . Elizabeth was aware how haughty Vyvyan was . She, therefore, reasoned that, if Vyvyan was tense, whatever was in the water was sure to be terrifying .

“That’s why I said that we need to pick up my son, his crew, and then hurry up and leave!!”

Vyvyan rolled her eyes: “You think my son, who’s so kind and sense of justice is so strong, will bear to just leave? I bet we won’t be able to leave unless we slay this thing in the water . In any case, it’s fine to go there now, so let’s go . ”

“Mm . ” Elizabeth nodded .

The water reflected the unease in Elizabeth’s eyes . She spun around to loudly give her orders . The fleet changed directions . They erected the white sail and awe-inspiring flag of Rosvenor Empire before they set forth toward their destination .