The Path Ahead

As Xian reached the footstep of her childhood home, the thought of the prince faded for the moment, and a smile spread on her face. "It looks just the same"

However, the smile depleted, when she thought of how her father would react to her arrival.

Doubt crept in, threatening to undermine her confidence. "What if Father still doesn't want to see me?"

However, she pushed the thoughts aside, reassuring herself that things would be different now. "Nah, Father wouldn't still react the same way," she told herself, knocking softly on the door before pushing it open.

There was no one in the living room, so she proceeded to the rooms. As she got to her parents door, she could hear some talks from within, and as much as she wanted to enter the room, and hug her parents tightly, the conservation they were having caught her ears.

"You still haven't told me"

She could hear her mom say, and then the frail voice of her father was heard next;

"What's that?"

There seemed to be a pause, then her mother spoke up again.

"The reason you sent our only daughter away from home. The reason why you told her not to set foot in the house. It's been years, and you've never for once mentioned that you missed her, or even talked about her."

Xian's heart clenched at the fact that her father had never even brought her name up, not even once, since she left. She pursed her lips tightly, as she listened lm.

"Are you still on this? Let bygones be bygones. All that stands right now is that Xianying must not step a foot in this city, talk more of this house. It's grave danger" He managed to say, his breaths uneven.

Xian held her breaths as she eavesdropped.

"Danger... Yinfeng, that's what you've been saying for the past six years. What's going on? I'm her mother. At least, I have the right to know" She pestered, but no response followed.

Zihan cleared her throat, her voice laced with a hint of trepidation. "I already told her to come home. In fact, she should be on her way—" But before she could finish, Yinfeng's frail body tensed, his eyes blazing with a fierce intensity.

"What did you just say?!" he thundered, his voice like a crack of lightning on a stormy night. Xian flinched, taken aback by the ferocity of his tone.

"I said, what did you just say, woman! You did what!" he bellowed, his anger palpable. Zihan's eyes widened, her face pale. "Tell me you're joking, Zihan," he growled, his voice dripping with menace.

Zihan gulped...is he this serious?

"Tell me you are joking, Zihan." He sat up on the bed with difficulty, turning to face her.

A weak knock on the door interrupted them, and Xian spoke up. "Can I come in?"

Yinfeng locked eyes with his wife, as if trying to confirm if he heard well. "I'm coming in" Xian said, after she didn't get any response from them.

As she stepped into the room, her eyes met with her father's, and instead of the warm smile she had envisioned would be masked on his face, by her return, an expressionless face stared back at her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice a low rumble, as if trying to suppress the anger that was soon to burst forth.

Xian blinked. That wasn't what she was expecting to hear from her dad after been away for so long.

"I missed you, Dad... I missed home," Xian said, her voice trembling with emotion. "It's been six years, Father... do you still not want to see me?"

Yinfeng's face twisted in a scowl. "If you knew the mortal peril you've courted by setting foot in this city, you would have stayed away, just as I commanded!" His voice seethed with anger, and Xian's confusion deepened.

"What danger, Father?" she pressed, her eyes pleading for answers. "How can I protect myself if I don't even know what I'm up against?"

Yinfeng's head shook violently, his eyes flashing with a mixture of fear and frustration. "You won't understand," he muttered.

As she watched, Yinfeng's body began to shudder, his skin burning with an otherworldly fever. He had been trying to shield her from the truth, but now it seemed he was running out of time. How could he tell his only daughter that her entire life had been a lie?

"Father—"

"He visited you again didn't he?" He asked suddenly, and Xian's brows creased.

"Who?"

"You know who I'm talking about. He has silver hair—"

Xian's eyes widened. How did her father know about the stranger who's been visiting her in her dreams?

She had never spoken to anyone about it, and besides, this is the first time she's talking to her father in years, so how....

Yinfeng maintained eye contact with her. Zihan who was in the room with them, didn't even understand a thing.

"Xian" Yinfeng suddenly called out softly, reaching out to hold her with his shaking hands, and immediately she held his hand, she gasped.

"Father, you're burning hot!"

"That's one of the numerous consequences of you stepping into this city today, Xian" He smiled sadly.

"I've been trying so hard to protect you. That's why I sent you away like that. So you would be secured, so you won't be exposed. But immediately you stepped into this city, that protection wore off."

A pain shot though his core, and he winced.

"I can feel it. I don't have much time left."

Zihan and Xian's eyes widened in alarm, but Yinfeng ignored them and continued.

"My daughter, the jade of Z. Xian. Would you believe if I tell you that there's more to your being than you think?"

"Huh?"

"You're more than just Xian," Yinfeng whispered, his voice laced with a hint of desperation. "Your destiny is woven with threads of fate, and the path ahead will be treacherous." A spasm of pain wracked his body, and he hissed, his eyes clouding over.

"Father, let's get you to the healer," Xian pleaded, reaching out to him, but he shook his head, his eyes filled with a deep sadness.

"It won't be easy, Xian," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "But you must be brave. The journey ahead is fraught with thorns, and none can shield you from the trials to come."

Xian's frown deepened, her mind reeling with questions. What secrets had her father kept hidden all these years?

Yinfeng's gaze drifted to Zihan, his eyes filled with a deep longing. "Beautiful Zihan," he whispered, his voice trembling.

Zihan's smile was tinged with sadness, her eyes brimming with tears. She knew that Yinfeng's time was running out, and the thought shattered her heart.

"I'm sorry I kept you in the dark," Yinfeng whispered, his voice barely audible. "But soon, the truth will be revealed. Even if you don't understand now, it will all become clear in time."

With those final words, Yinfeng's body relaxed, his chest ceasing to rise and fall. Xian's lips quivered, tears streaming down her face as she mourned the loss of her father. Zihan's wail echoed through the room, her heart shattered into a million pieces.

As Xian gazed upon her father's lifeless form, a sense of unease settled over her. Why did death take him away the same day she came home ?