The Demon Swordsman 3
Ch. 106 - A Pride
Xin Xia could only cry silently, her tears started to dry up and now her chest hurt to breathe. Xin Chen stared at the chair next to Xin Xia's bed. Started thinking what to say about Lan An's death. Everything made the young man's head mess up. Xin Xia's cry stopped, presenting a long enough silence.
Time passed, Xin Xia began to be able to calm herself down. But still as she asked about Lan An, her tears fell back.
"What ... You were there when he died?"
"I saw it."
"Is he smiling? Did he die with honor?"
Those tear-filled eyes Xin Chen could no longer avoid, he looked at Xin Xia as he said, "He fell with honor. He smiled proudly."
Unable to control himself, Xin Xia again sobbed while closing her mouth. His shoulders trembled, while there was still a lot he wanted to ask Xin Chen. Her voice was hoarsely disjointed, however Xin Xia forced her to speak.
"What's really going on in there?"
The question that most Xin Chen was afraid of finally came out. He did not answer directly, only turning his eyes out the window. Regretting everything that will come out of his mouth. Because whatever Xin Xia would later hear, it would still hurt the woman's heart.
Doubtfully he replied, "At that time the fight between me and dad was getting harder. I lost my strength and was helpless. And in that situation ... My life is in danger."
Slowly but surely, Xin Xia could guess where Xin Chen's next conversation was headed.
"Uncle Lan came in a state of her body that was still severely injured. I know he's no longer able to fight, but uncle insists on staying there ..."
His voice paused for a moment, Xin Chen recalled clearly how the man was talking to him like he had just yesterday.
Back then, she and Xin Zhan were completely alone. Facing a deadly war without a friend to help.
"Say, everyone took refuge in fear from the war and only we fought desperately without anyone to help. He worries about us like our own father."
Lan An's kindness could not be exchanged for anything. Ever since he was a child, the man always defended him and said that he was very strong when others belittled and mocked him weakly. Lan An spent a lot of her time training Xin Chen even though she always failed in learning the science Lan An gave her.
Now, not even Lan An's own body could they touch. The Fire of Eternity burned.
"Before his departure, Uncle Lan An told me his dream. The dream where he saw me and Brother Zhan fighting there, there was no help from the Empire. He saw me stabbed to death by Dad."
"Maybe it was because of that dream that Uncle came. And the same situation as his dream actually came. Dad almost stabbed me, that one attack could instantly finish off my body as well as my soul."
Xin Xia listened to Xin Chen's explanation, holding back the cries to stop. He waited for Xin Chen to continue.
And there were many more words 'should' that he wanted to say, it was just that suddenly Xin Chen's lips were twisted. He was at a loss for words to explain the regret within his chest.
Repentance was evident on Xin Chen's face. "It's all my fault" he said later. Not daring to raise your face to face Xin Xia's gaze.
That woman will be angry. More than Xin Zhan's anger. Xin Chen was prepared to accept the consequences of his talk.
Yet there was no sound of scuffles or protests from Xin Xia's mouth. The woman was nothing more than crying, her eyes getting more and more sloppy by the minute. In that instant Xin Chen still had not a voice and was waiting for Xin Xia's response how.
"I've always been proud of him" she said, wiping away the tears on both cheeks. She was trying to toughen up, but on the other hand she was indeed proud of her own husband.
"He always puts others above himself. He worries about others and helps her even though the stakes are his own life. I might fall in love with someone as good as him."
There was a small laugh from the woman as she turned her head towards Xin Chen, "he said, good people won't live long. It seems to be true."
Xin Xia's spaciousness astonished Xin Chen, she was unsure of being able to see a woman as loud as Xin Xia elsewhere. Her husband has left. He cried and let go of it with immeasurable pain.
"I always wish him all the best. If his departure is the best way for him, then I'll let him go." Xin Xia took a deep breath, both of her shoulders rising together. He tried to smile.
"He just wants to protect you, Chen. He's that kind of person, worrying about other people every time he's pensive. If you die and he just sits still, maybe now he will kill himself because of his guilt," Xin Xia explained. And now it was Xin Chen who had to endure that guilt. And was forced to live his life by owing his life to Lan An.
"Live to remember your uncle's name. You are precious, Xin Chen. More than anything to him. He always prides you whenever we talk." Xin Xia herself knew that her husband had a close bond with his best friend's second son, like a friend of his age. Joking, practicing and mocking each other. If they meet, it must be a scene one Renwu City they made. Those good times have passed, and now Lan An is gone.
Trouble holding back tears, Xin Chen finally shed tears, he turned face to face so that Xin Xia would not see him for fear that the woman was getting sadder. That man named Lan An made his heart really hurt about his departure.
"And now, I promise to take care of you and make sure no one hurts you. Just like my husband did. You're still a naughty little boy who should always be cared for. Didn't we?"
"Get your baby first, aunt. He'll need more love than you. I'm it's okay. But thank you for taking care of me from childhood. I can't thank my uncle."
"Nobody left him on the battlefield?" ask him with hope.
"No. Everything was scorched with the ground," he replied. Xin Xia tried to understand him. At least he hoped there was still something left behind so that he could bury.
"Then what about my brother? He's fully conscious, right?"
Xin Chen's nod answered Xin Xia's concerns. "His body managed to escape the control of the Curse and the medicine that the Qing Empire provided. Maybe I was taking care of a few things before coming here. Aunt rest first, your health matters most now."
"I know that."