Chapter 147: Another Life

The corridor felt longer than it ever had before. Each step Yexue took echoed faintly against the wooden floors like it was bearing witness to the fracture she had left behind.

Though her expression had steadied, the tightness in her chest had not eased. Her entire thoughts were tangled with the guilt that had been so apparent on Qingyue’s face.

When she reached the door to the room she shared with Ru Yi, she paused only briefly before pushing it open.

Inside, Ru Yi was already waiting.

She was standing close to the small window, her posture betraying the restless unease that had been building inside her since they returned.

The moment the door slid open she turned, her reaction instinctive. One look at Shen Yexue’s face and she could already tell what happened.

Ru Yi’s face fell. "I’m sorry."

The words came too quickly, she had been holding them in from the moment she woke up to see Qingyue sleeping soundly in her arms.

She searched Yexue’s face, trying to read what had already been discovered. What had already been said.

"I—" Ru Yi hesitated when there was no response from Yexue. Her voice caught but she forced herself to continue, "I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you."

Yexue closed the door behind her quietly. For a couple seconds she said nothing.

She simply looked at Ru Yi, really looked at her, taking in the tension in her shoulders...the guilt written too clearly in her expression.

Something in Yexue’s gaze softened despite everything that just unfolded.

"You didn’t do anything wrong," Yexue said at last, her voice small.

Ru Yi blinked severally, caught off guard. "But..."

"None of this was your fault," Yexue continued, shaking her head once as she stepped further into the room.

Her eyes lowered briefly before lifting again, more certain now. "This was a long time coming. Besides it’s all on Qingyue, she was the one that wore the ring meant for me."

There was no hesitation in the way she said it, no doubt. And though her tone was not harsh, the underlying hurt was unmistakable.

Ru Yi went still.

All this could’ve actually been avoided if Yexue had taken interest in the ring when she first showed it to her. If only she’d been as excited as Ru Yi and worn it...

No.

This was not the time to dish out blames.

What Yexue said did not sit right with her. It was entirely because she had seen how Qingyue had struggled to remain in control the night before, until she succumbed to the magic of the ring. She didn’t deserve to be accused like this.

Ru Yi was not sure what the right thing to do was anymore.

Her face remained downcast. "Still...I’m the reason it happened. If I hadn’t gone out on my own and purchase rings from a total stranger—"

"We would’ve still gotten it from a stranger Ru Yi. There’s no one here that could’ve guaranteed we didn’t purchase an enchanted jewelry."

"If I hadn’t gone off—" Ru Yi stopped herself, the memory of the night before flickering too vividly. She swallowed the rest of her words. "I’m truly sorry. I can’t apologize enough..."

"Keep apologizing and I might actually get angry," Yexue said with a sigh and sat on the bed, then dragged Ru Yi down next to her.

Her hand brushed lightly against Ru Yi’s sleeve, but not quite touching her. "It has always been like this since we were kids. Whenever I liked something we all had to share it."

Oh.

"We started training immediately we were able to hold wooden swords," Yexue said as she laid down. She lifted her hand and entwined her fingers with Ru Yi’s. "I don’t remember ever getting to play with my sisters like other children did."

Ru Yi listened quietly, realizing that Yexue had to get it off her chest.

"I never got to be a child." Yexue closed her eyes. "My life revolved about attaining power after that. It’s a very tiring way to live. I didn’t realize what I was missing until I met you."

Ru Yi couldn’t help touching the side of Yexue’s face. She caressed her cheek with her thumb.

There was something else lingering at the edge of her thoughts. "Yexue..." She was uncertain.

Yexue opened her eyes immediately. "What is it?"

Ru Yi hesitated, her brows drawing together. "Why...do you love me this much?"

The question hung in the small space between them.

Yexue found it hard to answer because the truth was not something she had ever fully put into words. Not even to herself.

Her gaze drifted away, unfocused as memory surfaced, unbidden but vivid.

"When I first saw you," Yexue began slowly, "you were lying on the floor and bleeding." Her eyes lowered like she could see it clearly, every detail etched into her mind.

"You called out to me..." Yexue’s expression was more open than it had been all day. It was stripped of anger, of defensiveness, leaving only something raw and honest beneath it. "Like you needed me."

Yexue let out a small breath, almost a laugh. It held no humor. "That was the first time anyone ever needed me."

Ru Yi felt her heart break for the woman beside her. She finally understood what she hadn’t before.

When it came to Yexue...it wasn’t just love.

It ran deeper.

She wanted to be chosen...to be needed...

Before Ru Yi could process it, Yexue spoke again. Her tone already shifted, as if she were stepping away from something too exposed. She hated feeling vulnerable.

"What do you think?" she asked. "About settling down."

Ru Yi was thrown off course. "Settling down?"

"Here in Emberfall." Yexue clarified, her gaze searching Ru Yi’s face.

The question was a simple one.

Well...not really.

Because everything about their lives stood in contrast to it—danger, ambition, the throne that still loomed ahead of them like an unyielding promise.

Yet, the way Yexue asked it made it feel real, tangible, like something that could really exist if they chose it.

Ru Yi’s thoughts were scattered, pulled in too many directions at once...caught between what was and what could be.

And for the first time since everything had begun—she didn’t know what she wanted anymore.