Chapter 91: Digging through mountains and rivers, only a dry bone remains
A cold wind blew yellow sand across the mass grave at the foot of the cliff, rattling the scattered bones like someone sobbing softly in the darkness. Xiao Jin knelt in a pile of weeds, his fingers digging into the cold soil. Gravel and grass roots filled the cracks between his nails, but he was completely unaware that he had been digging here for three days.
It's been a year.
From the day Yun Zhi "disappeared," he abandoned the throne, resigned his title, and dispersed the entire estate of the Prince Duan Mansion. With only a few loyal secret guards, he traveled across the mountains and rivers of Daqi. He searched for Yun Zhi in the Peach Blossom Valley south of the Yangtze River, the yellow sands of the northern frontier, the dilapidated temples on the outskirts of the city, the ancient monasteries deep in the mountains... He had searched everywhere Yun Zhi might have been. He had worn through dozens of pairs of shoes, his soles covered in calluses, his clothes tattered, his hair completely white, as if covered in snow, and his face wrinkled so deeply that the wind and sand could have trapped it. Where was the Prince Duan he once was?
The secret guards all tried to persuade him to give up, saying Yun Zhi was long gone, but he wouldn't listen. He kept saying, "Zhi Er must be hiding here," "She's playing hide-and-seek with me," like a child obsessed with his own ways, digging madly through every inch of land where someone might be hiding.
"Your Highness, it's getting dark. If we dig any further, wild animals will swarm." A secret guard stepped forward, his voice weary with persuasion, "We've been searching for a year. This... this is just a mass grave. Miss Yun won't be here."
"What do you know!" Xiao Jin turned around suddenly, his eyes bloodshot as if he wanted to eat someone, and pushed the secret guard away. "She's right here! I dreamed of her last night. She said to me, 'Xiao Jin, I'll wait for you here.' She must be here! Dig faster! Dig deeper! Or I'll kill you!"
The secret guards had no choice but to pick up their shovels and continue digging in the mass grave. Yellow sand filled the sky, the wind biting their bones, their hands were frozen red, but they dared not stop - they all knew that the prince had gone completely mad, and only the desire to "find Miss Yun" kept him alive.
Xiao Jin knelt on the ground, digging at the dirt with his bare hands. His fingers were already worn raw, blood mixed with the dirt, leaving a dark red stain on the ground. But he seemed to feel no pain, simply digging mechanically, repeating to himself, "Zhi'er, I'm coming. Wait a moment, I'll find you soon..."
After an unknown amount of time, the last ray of light in the sky disappeared, the cold wind grew stronger, and a few wolf howls came from the distance, making people's scalps tingle. Just then, one of the secret guards suddenly cried out "Ouch!", as if his shovel had hit something.
"Your Majesty! There's something here!"
Xiao Jin suddenly raised his head, his eyes instantly lighting up, like a dying candle suddenly ignited. He scrambled forward, pushed aside the secret guards, and frantically dug up the dirt with his hands: "What is it? Is it Zhi'er? Is it hers?"
The soil was dug up bit by bit, and something with a dull luster was revealed - it was a jade pendant with a broken edge and a deep crack on it. It was the one that Yun Zhi had been wearing all those years ago!
"Jade pendant! This is Zhi'er's jade pendant!" Xiao Jin's voice trembled as he carefully held the jade pendant with both hands, as if it were a rare treasure. He repeatedly stroked the cracks on the jade pendant, tears falling uncontrollably, dripping onto the jade pendant, creating a small stain. "Zhi'er, you are here! You didn't lie to me! Come out soon, please?"
He looked around, his eyes settling on a pile of scattered bones not far away. Half-hidden by weeds, the pile looked weathered for a long time, yet upon its chest lay a small, rusted silver hairpin—a birthday gift he had given to Yun Zhi. Later, Shen Qingyue smashed it, but Yun Zhi secretly picked up the pieces and kept them with her.
Xiao Jin's breathing suddenly stopped, and his body stood there stiffly, as if frozen. He looked at the pile of bones, the silver hairpin, and the jade pendant in his hand. A terrible thought emerged in his mind, making him feel cold all over.
"No... Impossible..." He muttered, shaking his head, and walked towards the pile of bones step by step. His legs felt heavy as if they were filled with lead. "This is not Zhi'er... Zhi'er was so young and so beautiful, how could she become like this... This must be someone else's, someone else's!"
He squatted down, his fingers trembling as he brushed away the weeds from the bones. The bones had been severely weathered, and tiny fragments fell off at the touch of his fingers. But he could still see clearly that the skeleton was very slender, like a woman's, and there was a tiny fracture at the wrist - the wound left when Yun Zhi's wrist hit the stone after being pushed into the pond by Shen Qingyue!
"ah--!"
Xiao Jin let out a roar that was inhuman, then slumped to his knees before the bones, his hands clutching his head tightly, his body trembling violently. He was finally forced to admit that the weathered remains before him were none other than Yun Zhi, the one he had been searching for for a year. The person he had thought was playing hide-and-seek with had long since become a pile of bones, buried in this desolate mass grave, exposed to the elements, the sun, and the predations of wild beasts.
"Zhi'er... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." He cried, his voice so hoarse that it was almost inaudible. Tears mixed with dirt and dripped onto the bones. "I'm late... I shouldn't have left you here alone... I should have found you earlier... I'm sorry..."
The secret guards stood by, watching him collapse, their hearts aching, but no one dared to step forward to comfort him. They knew that any comfort at this moment would be pale and powerless.
Xiao Jin cried for a long time, until his throat was no longer able to make a sound, then he slowly raised his head. He carefully reached out his hand, wanting to touch the pile of bones, but was afraid of breaking them. He could only gently gather the bones together, bit by bit, and wrap them in his outer robe, as if holding a fragile treasure.
At that moment, his eyes fell on a broken piece of wood beside the bones. The wood had already rotted, but on the broken surface, he could vaguely see a few dark marks - like words carved in blood. Although the words were blurred by the erosion of wind and rain, a few strokes could still be vaguely discerned.
Xiao Jin's heart suddenly tightened, and he quickly leaned over to carefully decipher it. A cold wind blew away some of the dust on the wood, making the writing a little clearer—it was the outline of a few words, like "Xiao," "Jin," "Liang," "Bu"...
"Blood words..." he murmured, his fingers lightly brushing over the marks on the wood. The rough touch of the wood came through his fingertips, and he seemed to be able to sense the despair and determination when he wrote the words. "Zhi'er, did you write this? What do you want to tell me?"
He stared at the blurry words, replaying their meaning in his mind. His heart felt like it was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, the pain so severe that he could barely breathe. He knew that those bloody words contained Yun Zhi's final words, her final attitude towards him—but now, he couldn't even make out the complete words.
"Let's go." Xiao Jin suddenly stood up, carefully holding the robe wrapped in bones. His eyes were empty but with a hint of paranoia. "Take this piece of wood with you. Let's go back to the capital, back to the west wing. Zhi'er likes the osmanthus trees there. Let's go back with her, okay?"
The secret guards nodded, picked up the broken log, and followed Xiao Jin, slowly exiting the mass grave. The night was dark, the wind still cold. Only the withered bones wrapped in a robe and the broken jade pendant bore witness to this year-late, tragic "reunion."
Xiao Jin walked ahead, his steps slow but firm. He held the withered bones as if they were the whole world, whispering, "Zhi'er, we're going home... From now on, I'll never leave you alone again... Never again..."
But he didn't know that the bloody words on the broken wood would be the last straw that broke the camel's back; and Yun Zhi's last words would completely cut off all his thoughts, trapping him forever in the hell of regret, with no hope of salvation.
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