Dance Of The Dragons
Chapter 332 : Hello, Babies (3)

Chapter 332: Chapter 332 : Hello, Babies (3)

[Please rest assured, Crown Prince. I will not let your sacrifice go to waste. I will personally watch over your children, and make sure that they grow up well during your absence.]

A weak smile laced Xie Jianyu’s lips.

"Yes," he said. "I hope so..."

Xie Jianyu wiped the tears off his face.

"My husband," he suddenly recalled Zhang Fengxi. "Is he well?"

[The fight in Wuyang Palace has yet to conclude,] the Goddess remarked. [Probably soon.]

"Will I be able to see him one last time?"

[...]

As the Goddess’ silence stretched into an eternity, Xie Jianyu’s heart sank, a wave of resignation washing over him like the relentless tide of the sea.

"It’s fine. It is fate."

He had been hoping to hold his precious children together with Zhang Fengxi one last time, but even the tiny wish had been cruelly shattered, dashed against the unforgiving rocks of reality.

With a gentle flutter of its wings, Caihong glided over Xie Jianyu, its vibrant plumage brushing against his head in a gesture of silent solace.

[Let go of your worries, Crown Prince. You have fulfilled your destiny in this lifetime. It is time to rest.]

"Mmm."

The babies returned almost an hour later, sleeping soundly after they filled their tiny bellies with milk.

Xie Jianshen laid them carefully next to Xie Jianyu, while he let his younger brother lay his head on his lap. Just like many times ago.

Together, they watched over the sleeping infants.

The air was filled with a gentle rhythm, a soothing melody composed of soft gurgles and mumbles that escaped the babies’ lips. Their tiny hands, clenched into fists, would occasionally twitch and flail, their feet kicking with a newfound energy that seemed to defy the constraints of sleep.

"Are they going to be alright although they are born much earlier than expected?" Xie Jianyu asked. He gently poked at the tiger baby’s cheek, and his finger was quickly grasped.

The tiger baby opened his mouth and gnawed at his mother’s finger.

The dragon baby yawned and rolled to the side after he gave his elder brother a kick.

The Xie siblings could not help but smile.

"Hmm, they are relatively healthy. They drank milk greedily too. I think that they will just be fine."

Xie Jianshen ran his fingers down Xie Jianyu’s long hair.

"Are you feeling well, Little Yu? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"

"The stitch wound still hurts. Otherwise, I feel perfectly fine."

"That is good."

The tiger baby released his mother’s finger and cuddled closer to his dragon brother.

"Big Brother...?"

"Yes?"

"Is there any news from Wuyang Palace?"

"Hmm. I sent some guards over to watch the fight from far away. According to them, Wuyang Palace’s defense is crumbling heavily from the combined attacks of all three palaces and the monkey clan."

"Ah."

Then it might take Zhang Fengxi at least a full day or two to attain victory. He would not make it back in time.

"Big Brother...?"

"Yes?"

Xie Jianyu rolled to his back and looked into his elder brother’s eyes.

"I have never thanked you for everything you have done for me my entire life."

Xie Jianshen arched his brow at him.

"I already told you, no ’sorry’ or ’thank you’ between us."

"I know."

With a movement as tender as a whisper, Xie Jianyu extended his hand, his fingers tracing the contours of his elder brother’s face with a touch as light as a feather. His fingertips glided across the familiar landscape of his brother’s features, mapping the lines of unyielding mental fortitude and endless love that etched his countenance.

"Thank you, Big Brother, for everything. I love you very much."

Although he knew that Xie Jianshen was his elder brother, Xie Jianyu had always seen him as some kind of a substitute mother.

Back when he had yet to understand the meaning behind the different words he used to address different family members, he used to see Jiang Muchen as his elder brother, too.

Xie Jianshen pursed his lips.

"Silly boy," he chastised his younger brother, as if the latter was still the five-year-old boy who needed him to fall asleep at night, and who liked to follow him everywhere like a lost duckling.

"I love you too. Now go to sleep."

"Mmm. I will. I just... want to look at them a little longer."

Xie Jianyu rolled back onto his side, his gaze lingering on the angelic faces of his sleeping sons. Their tiny chests rose and fell in a rhythmic dance, their lips curved into the softest of smiles, their delicate eyelashes fluttering against their cheeks like the wings of tiny butterflies.

They were so sweet and precious.

Xie Jianyu reached out and gently traced the outline of their tiny faces, his fingertips lingering on their soft, downy skin.

He memorized the shape of their ears, the curve of their lips, the delicate contours of their noses.

He listened intently to their soft gurgles and mumbles, trying to decipher the secret language of their tiny souls.

He kept whispering his love to them, hoping that they would allow him to occupy the tiniest spots in their hearts.

Please remember, Xie Jianyu thought to himself desperately. Please remember me. I am your mother, and I love you very, very much.

Time slipped away like grains of sand through his fingers, leading the boundaries between reality and dreams to blur into an indistinct haze.

As exhaustion gently tugged at Xie Jianyu’s eyelids, he surrendered to its comforting embrace, his eyes fluttering shut, the world around him fading into a tranquil darkness.

Xie Jianshen gently moved Xie Jianyu’s head from his lap and tucked his younger brother into the bed while smoothing the covers over his sleeping form.

"Sleep well, Little Yu," he whispered to Xie Jianyu after giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Little did he know that this would be the final farewell, the last words he would ever speak to his beloved brother.

When midnight arrived, a servant went around the Fuxi Palace to announce the arrival of the new day*.

A wisp of a lonely soul, unseen by mortal eyes, slipped away from Xie Jianyu’s bed chamber and began its journey to the Underworld.

-------

Author’s note :

*A day in ancient China was divided into twelve shichens. At the beginning of every shichen, a servant usually went around the palace to announce the hour.

On another note...

*Sobs violently* Goodbye for now, my sweetest baby Jianbao... We will get you back as soon as possible (⁠っ⁠˘̩⁠╭⁠╮⁠˘̩⁠)⁠っ