Blind and Bereft

Chapter 53 | Fading Smile

As Jingrui saw another man launching his sword to strike Xiao once more, Prince Zhanying's words didn't matter to her anymore.

She flew from the top of the bell tower and landed in between Xiao and the man who had his sword raised. With her weak inner Qi energy, she strained out a force and blasted his sword in half. Blood choked out of her lips, and with every ounce of her strength, she hit the man in his stomach, sending him flying back a few feet.

Tears brimmed in her eyes as she wiped the blood off her lips and rushed to her senior's side. His face was pale, and the life in his eyes decayed. Jingrui pulled him up onto her lap and held his hand in hers.

"Why did you come down here, lass?" he choked his words out.

Jingrui cast a weak barrier around her and Xiao as a sob smothered out of her throat. Using centuries of her cultivation, she mustered up a ball of energy and held it to Xiao's wound to ease his pain.

Xiao shook his head, his lips trembled. He grabbed her hand, trying to stop her from transferring her cultivation to him. "You barely have cultivation. If you do this, you'll die. Foolish girl," he told her, as he tried to pull her hand away, but Jingrui shook her head.

"No, Senior. I can't let you die. I can't let you die because you're my only family left, remember?" Tears ran down her cheeks as the bitter steel taste numbed her tongue. "If you die, I won't ever forgive you, and Sister Jingyi will never forgive you!"

Behind her, Yihuai's men began thrashing their swords into her weak barrier trying to crack it open. Jingrui sobbed as she hugged Xiao closer in fear. Like the shell of an egg, only with a few aggressive thrusts, the barrier easily shattered into dust, and the sharp edge of swords shot towards her and Xiao. She heard it cut through the air, but she could only squint eyes, knowing her fate.

Before the sword could pierce through her, Xiao's dull eyes blazed with fire as he sprung up. He grunted like an animal as he swiveled his sword at the enemies, slashing, cutting, swaying with no aim. Blood ran from his stomach and lips as he fend off the men.

Behind him, a man with a deep scar across his face ran up with his sword held out to stab Xiao's back. Jingrui's eyes darkened. She shot up from where she sat, despite her numbed limbs, and whooshed in front of the man. With her bare hand, she gripped the sharp metal, jerking pain across her veins. Blood oozed out and the blade sliced against her skin as the scarred man pushed it closer towards her chest. Her muscles seared as she tried to resist his monstrous strength.

"Little girl, get out of the way," the man told her. "I don't like killing women."

Jingrui gritted her teeth, tears verged to her eyes. "Never."

The man sneered with contempt. "Then I'll make you."

Before Jingrui got time to reply, he thrust the sword, marking a deep cut into her hands and swishing it into her chest.

Her eyes widened and her tears froze with her body. Unbearable pain seared through her chest as blood seeped out and stained her hanfu. Jingrui groaned, and biting her lips, she slipped out a knife from under her sleeve. Holding onto the sword so the scarred man couldn't move, she plunged the knife into his chest with all her strength. A wail escaped his lips as he dropped to his knees along with the sword that penetrated her.

Jingrui swayed away from the man on the ground. She clutched onto her chest as she squinted through her hazy vision. The disciples of the Phantom Sect were all dropping dead one by one. The God of War was busy fending hundreds of immortals at the same time. Yuansong was bathed in blood, killing the immortals that attacked him like a predator. The Phantom Lord's mask had fallen over his face, revealing a handsome and cunning man beneath.

Jingrui tilted her head towards the red sky as she sensed several men running her way. Tears slid down her cheeks as her vision began to grow dark, and unable to resist against the pain, she dropped down into the pool of her own blood.

Her lashes fluttered as she watched swords being hauled her way. A few paces ahead, Prince Zhanying stood tall upon hundreds of fallen corpses. His hair blew in the wind as his eyes met hers. Time seemed to stop, and the movement within the battlefield seemed to cease. As if nothing mattered anymore at that moment, she smiled at him. "Your Highness."

The Prince's eyes wavered, and rage like that of a ferocious beast ignited in his eyes. Jingrui sat still on her spot. Her smile never faded as cold metal penetrated her stomach.

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