In a place, eerily dark, Chenglei was confused as he didn"t know where he was. No matter how much he tried to look, he couldn"t even find even a single clue as to where he was or how he could get out. And with darkness everywhere, he staggered around, trying to find a way out."Where am I? How long am I here? How do I get out? "
He panicked, his head hurt as there was a pulsating pain in his head that made him disoriented and just as he was about to lose hope, his wife"s face came to his view.
"No! I have to get out of here! She would be worried. That dumb woman needs me!"
The moment he thought about her, Chenglei saw the small keyhole which was the only bright thing in there and he naturally gravitated towards it. He was always filled with darkness but he didn"t like it and that"s why light always attracted him. Especially that gentle light of his wife that always shone for him, a.s.suring him.
He felt something heavy in his chest pocket and it felt like a key.
"Is this the key to open the door?", he wondered and as he put the key in the keyhole, he heard an eerie voice, followed by an evil laughter.
"If you open the door.... You will lose the most precious thing to you..."
"My precious thing?", Chenglei"s hand froze.
JiaXing?
I"ll lose JiaXing if I open this door?
Should I not open the door then?
Just as Chenglei was pondering, he could hear a laughter as pleasing as the sound of flowing streams, soothing... It wasn"t clear but felt like it was spoken inside water.
Or...
"Am I inside water?
Doesn"t matter...
What is that I hear?
The laughter of a child..."
Chenglei listened carefully.
" Chenglei.... Ha..ha..ha... Did you think I died? Ha.. Ha..ha... Snake venom doesn"t affect me... Ha...ha...ha... Look at your face... Oh, my Prince.... You look like you are the one dead... "
"JiaXing?", Chenglei felt a tug in his heart hearing that innocent laughter and he knew it was her voice. She is talking to him,after all.
Wait! So this room contains my memories...?
Without any second thoughts he turned the key and went inside the room while that voice grunted in displeasure.
The spells Zhu Rong had put to seal his memories already had started to weaken by his decision to look for his memories and Mazu"s spell weakened it a lot more.
He opened the room and the light from inside filled out the darkness outside making everything bright.
With the pain in his head intensifying, he stepped inside the room taking back the key in his hand. The moment he stepped in, the door locked itself up once more leaving him standing alone in the white room filled with gentle, light that oddly made him feel peaceful. His headache gradually reduced as he looked around.
There was no one!
"JiaXing?", he called and at the same time he saw a boy by his side and he looked awfully familiar.
The dragon embroidered white silk robes, the silver coronet.... Is it me? I look so young... And cold!
Chenglei touched the young him and the next moment he felt a chill and as he looked around, he could see the snow covered mountains with green shrubbery.
Chenglie felt cold not only because of the surroundings but also by the feelings in his heart.
His heart was filled with bitterness and hatred... Killing intent... so dark and so heavy... Like he was carrying a thousand pounds. Like a horse burdened with a c.u.mbersome load, he felt suffocated with the dark emotions clouding his mind and ruling his heart.
"Is this how I used to feel in the past? It"s familiar. So what changed...? Meeting her..?
Wait... I"m seeing and feeling everything.... So am I inside my memory?"
Chenglei"s heart was filled with wonder as he took a step forward.
A soft giggle entered his ears from the distance and he walked in that direction.
There she was....
"This is our first meeting?"
In a green dress, hair dark as a raven, lips red like cherry blossom petals, bundled like a bun.... Playing with...
"Wait... What?
She is playing with white tiger cubs?
Why does this looks familiar?
Ah, that painting!
There was supposed to be a big tiger too....
Wait... My heart.... It is racing...
Did I fall in love at this moment?
That"s a child... And I fell in love with a child.. How pathetic...! Wait... I"m a child too... So it"s fine"
Chenglei felt his heart feeling light and the darkness gradually reducing watching her innocent face playing happily with those tiger cubs. He could feel, The load in his heart lightening...
"No... A tiger! "
He could see himself pulling his sword and trying to fight off the mother tiger.
"Ah! I too was dumb! ", he laughed in his heart, "How could I fight off an adult tiger? That too a mother tiger trying to protect her cubs? "
But then she was the one who pounced on the tiger and she was playing with those tigers like they were house cats.
The euphoria he felt watching her... It was awfully similar to what he feels whenever he is with her now...
Followed by that, he loved through every memory of her he had forgotten.
The a.s.sa.s.sination attempt. "I"m not the cool one like she said... She saved me! She saved me! Dumb woman... Why didn"t you know that? Why didn"t you tell me you lighted up my dark and bitter world? "
That day he accidentally hurt her... "I"m sorry, I"m sorry I hurt you..."
That day at the pond, "My moon... My moon.... You really are my moon. I"m glad you found me and I will protect you for the rest of our lives..."
The days he watched her from the distance... "I"m glad you are near me now, Xing!"
One by one, all the memories came back to him and the feelings a.s.sociated with those memories too.
Right till he said "Yes" to that G.o.ddess. Only now did he notice the little smirk on that cruel G.o.ddess" face when he agreed to her terms.
"Oh, Xing! I really thought you would be the one forgetting the past... But I know I was wrong. I should have trusted you.. You said you will live... You warned me not to get involved with G.o.ds. But I made that deal, stupidly!"
"Forgive me, my moon! I hurt you"
But...
Oh, how different is his story from hers... The same story with different perception is entirely different.
"My moon! You saved me, changing my fate... You were s.h.i.+ning bright in my life leading me to happiness. Why did you say that I gave up everything for you? You were the one who gave everything of mine. I had nothing of my own... Everything I owned, was after I met you... Silly woman!
Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
I was an exiled Prince with nothing in my hands and now I"m the richest man in the kingdom. You are the reason, my moon! "
His heart was filled with various emotions and he knelt right there.
Happiness that he could remember their past, regret he felt knowing how much he had hurt her by forgetting her....
All the emotions made him frozen for sometime. But then it dawned on him.
"What am I doing? How long am I going to loiter around here? I did all that and hurt her but she still loves me... She loves me! I should tell her... I should tell her I remember our past! I should go home now and hug her close and kiss her.
My love, my moon, my light... I love you!
I should tell her... "
As Chenglei decided, he could see the walls of the room crumbling.
" What is going on? I should leave immediately, to my wife.... My wife who still loves me and waiting for me"
He proceeded to the door when he heard the eerie voice of the G.o.ddess who cheated him, once again and he clenched his fists in anger.
Everything went this way because she lied and told him that his wife was dead. But he composed himself as he tried to figure out this strange place he was in. He should figure out the exit.
"What is she still doing here? From what my Xing told me, she shouldn"t be here since she was punished... So could this be the remains of the spell that is binding my memory?"
Chenglei could figure out this much since Xing tells him everything and he listens to her whether he understands it or not and whether he found it relevant or not.
"If you leave with her memories, she will die... That"s the deal you made, remember?", Zhu Rong"s voice filled with dark and bitter emotions rang in the room already falling apart.
Chenglei felt a deep pain in his heart.
"Yes! That"s the stupid deal I made. So the deal is still on even if the G.o.ddess I made the deal with is no more? Will my Xing die if I regain my memories?"
His heart wavered.
"No! Just no!"
"Liar!", he screamed and the rumbling noise of the room collapsing intensified.
"You lie! My Xing will not die!", he threw the jade key in his hand on the door and it broke to s.h.i.+lls.
He was sure! He was sure of what his wife told him. She told him the Heavenly Emperor gave her the authority to choose her own day and means of death.
"I trust my Xing. She will not die today!"
With the key breaking, the entire room collapsed and the entire place lit up. He saw the light in that place leading to the exit and he walked through the pathway.
As he reached the end of the pathway he could hear his brother and her brother speaking in a sullen voice.
At the end there was a bright light and as he walked into it, he woke up. He blinked his eyes several times since his eyelids felt heavy. The headache has completely gone and his heart was filled with happiness.
"Now I can go home to my wife and tell her!"
He sat up straight suddenly and the blood rushed to his head and he felt a bit dizzy.
"Brother!", the Emperor held Chenglei by the arms and steadied him.
"Calm down, brother", he poured Chenglei a cup of warm tea to drink.
Chenglei held out his palm, "Not this... That pouch. You didn"t return it to me"
It took a minute for the Emperor to remember what pouch his brother was talking about.
"You remember? You remember the pouch you gave me to keep safe? So, you remember her?" he could not hide his delight and he laughed heartily, "At last! Geez! I"ve been trying to make you remember for...."
"Stop wasting time", Chenglei said in a rebuking tone to his brother who was overly joyous but he himself could not hold back his joy as his eyes were twinkling.
"Here... Here....", the Emperor took the white silk pouch with that awful silver embroidery he has ever seen in his life, from the drawer of his table and gave it to his brother.
Chenglei got it and sniffed it but it didn"t smell like her anymore. He opened the pouch and saw the neatly tied bunch of golden and silver hair inside the pouch. This probably is the only remains of her once golden hair. He neatly closed it and stored it safely in his pocket after kissing it.
Rijun watched everything with a smile. He always wanted his sister to be happy and she would be happy knowing her Prince remembered their past.
"Is she still in your father"s Manor?", he asked Rijun, "Does she know I fainted?", his tone got worried realising it has already been dark and she would have expected him to be back early.
"She herself fainted but...."
Before Rijun could finish, Chenglei darted out of the study towards the gates .
She fainted? Why? Is it because I remembered her?
"She is fine now!"
Chenglie could hear Rijun shouting from behind him and his heart calmed down a bit but his legs weren"t listening to him and he didn"t stop running.
My moon, my Xing! I"m coming to you!