Heaven on Earth (人间天堂)

Chapter 4

Dizziness took over her. Sunlight streamed into the room, shredded fragments of rays her blinds fostered, casting its shimmer above her trembling lids. Her chest heaved up and down as her heart hammered from within, trying to adjust---to make sense---of her surroundings. Twitters birds sung about in yards were the sounds her ears captured soon upon becoming aware. The scent she recognized as Frankincense incense wafted inside her nostrils, making her instinctively scrunch from the aroma and sniff in displeasure.

She remembered. Out of all the incense she'd smelled throughout her lifetime crammed with frequent injuries and meditations, Frankincense was the fragrance she least appreciated. It may relieve pain; promote blood circulation; treat deafness, but the whiff of its balsamic and earthy nature never soothed her. Even if other children would fall asleep when the scent pervaded the room, she would only twitch uncomfortably in that lotus position, which structure her mind had perfectly ingrained.

Bai Xuyi's eyes slowly fluttered open, greeted by familiar wooden walls and furnitures.

Everything came back to her then: the First Childe of Dingyan Palace, her brother, the Abi'xue, and how she abruptly fainted.

She sighed. So much for minimizing damage.

"Shijie, you're... you're awake."

Yihai. That voice drove her to absolute lucidity.

"I'll go fetch someone."

"No," Bai Xuyi immediately said. "Tell me what-"

She shot up to quickly.

The world tumbled down, and so did she.

Had Zhao Yihai not arrive just in time to catch her, she would've dove headfirst onto the cold floor.

"Shijie!" he admonished. How peculiar, normally it was the other way around. "Be careful. You've barely healed. Don't try to push yourself to sit. That applies to standing as well---especially standing."

Zhao Yihai's words went in one ear and out the other. "Is A-Jiao alright? What about your Da-shixiong?"

Zhao Yihai stared at her like she grew a beard.

"What?"

"...Nothing." The Junior continued, "A-Jiao is fine, her shoulder suffered no permanent harm. Da-shixiong never left your side. I was at A-Jiao's, but when Master summoned Da-shixiong, he asked that I watch over you for a while."

"And it's just so coincidentally the day that I wake up. I'm surprised you actually agreed to this. Did A-Jiao ousted you for hovering like a bumble bee or a worried mother hen?"

The frown Zhao Yihai wore was enough to tell her that she was correct.

Bai Xuyi snorted. "Anyhow, what of First Childe Hu?"

"He's resting, but has yet to gain consciousness."

Bai Xuyi's sardonic expression slipped away. "Just how badly was he hurt? How many nights has it been since the incident?"

"Three."

"...Is he truly that wounded?"

"Apparently."

The older disciple hummed. "Well, it can't be helped then." Something clicked in her. "Why was he not brought back to the Dingyan Palace though? Is the Great Southern Sect not afraid to lose their First Young Master?"

"That's the problem. It's also why Da-shixiong was called to meet Master," Zhao Yihai said. "When he reached the Palace's gates, they would not unlock. Sect Leader Hu waved him off, even if Da-shixiong informed him that his injured son was with him. Multiple tries later, he still showed no sign of letting him in, so Da-shixiong eventually gave up."