Chapter 93 - Lover's Quarrel
Across the halls, with walls of stone, a deafening silence spread in the darkness giving off a desolate feeling. This grand fortress with padded carpets and charming crystal windows seemed abandoned, isolated to the outside world.
But in truth, it wasn't abandoned at all. There were hordes of servants ready to serve her majesty but because she had been in a terrible mood lately the halls seemed deserted.
A dark thunderous cloud was looming over Qilin Hao's head as of late because her husband was disapproving of her methods. She had kept him sedated ever since she abducted him and everything was fine up until he opened his eyes.
The moment Ji Wen woke up everything went to shit and she took it out on everyone around her apart from the culprit. Ji Wen had always indulged her and pampered Qilin Hao resulting in envious gazes from her peers. She didn't even have to lift a finger because Ji Wen was on her beck and call. This had never changed throughout the years they had been together.
Surely she didn't expect things to be the same especially after that nasty breakup they had, right? Ji Wen might still have her in his eyes because of her Qilin blood in his body but he had lost all affection for her.
It was extremely hard for Ji Wen to avoid a domestic violence situation when he woke up in Qilin Hao's embrace. Their first meeting after being apart for more than a decade was so explosive that the servants scattered like flies and hid nearby just in case they were required to subdue Ji Wen.
But Qilin Hao was dissatisfied. She yelled at all of them to get out and flung them away at the flick of her wrist. With the servants chased out the two went all out.
Ji Wen wasn't frugal with his words cursing her out with so much hate in his eyes that Qilin Hao couldn't accept. The one person in this world who had treated her like a queen and showered her with love actually went as far as calling her a slut. He even told her to go find Prince Rui since the adulterous pair were perfect for each other.
This argument smashed the cracked pot to pieces with barely any room to reconcile. Qilin Hao's emotions had been stirred up so much that the turmoil affected her aether.
Unwilling to show her weakness in front of Ji Wen she threw in the towel and stumbled to the door. The pain was so severe like her insides were being sliced by a serrated blade over and over again. She bit her lip to keep herself from fainting as she walked over to the door.
Ji Wen didn't realise that something was wrong with her mostly because he was blinded by his emotions. He watched her walk away and didn't bother stopping her. That's because he was tired of arguing. Just one meeting with Qilin Hao and he was exhausted to the point of collapsing.
A tear streamed down Qilin Hao's face as she left that room. The moment that door was closed she coughed up a mouthful of blood before she collapsed to the floor. The servants rushed over to attend to her.
At the same time, Ji Wen who had been leaning against the wall for support suddenly became soft at the knees and slid down to the ground. His long curly hair covered his face hiding away his emotions. He couldn't understand why she would take him to this place after so many years. Wasn't Prince Rui enough for her? He felt like a spare tire standing in for someone who wasn't even as good as himself.
For two days Ji Wen didn't catch sight of Qilin Hao. He was awarded the freedom to walk around the fortress with no restrictions. Thinking he could leave this place he explored the entire palace but he soon understood why they let him roam around with little to no supervision.
This place was far from the surface of the earth with no obvious place of entry. Even if he was to walk outside he wouldn't be able to reach the surface and escape. Since escape wasn't an option Ji Wen decided to find her and talk her into letting him go. But no matter who he asked the answer was still the same.
"It's inconvenient to see her majesty right now. This servant will let you know when it's convenient," they always said to him which was incredibly frustrating. To be fair, they weren't lying. After that argument, Qilin Hao had fallen into a coma with little improvement to her health.
When she finally woke up she wanted to see him but after being warned that another fight might result in her falling back into a coma and who knows if she would wake up again this time she stayed away from him.
Meanwhile, across the sea, Ji Yao was lying on his back with his gaze fixed on the ceiling. He didn't want to disturb his father's space so he kept to his cabin. Maybe it was because he thought if he moved into the captain's cabin it would seem like he had lost hope finding him.
In a way, it would be interpreted as him taking over the mantle from his father making him the new pirate king. According to the rules of the concord, he was the new pirate king but he believed he would have his father back by the end of the month.
Moving into the captain's cabin felt like he was acknowledging a loss so he decided to preserve his father's space and still share his cabin with Rui Fei. Ji Yao was lost in thought when he heard Rui Fei calling out to him.
"Yao-ge, are you awake?" asked Rui Fei staring at Ji Yao in the dark.
"Mn," replied Ji Yao glancing over in his direction.
The room fell into silence again as though he was considering how to put his question into words. This had been bothering him for a very long time and he wanted to get Ji Yao's opinion.
Ever since they met he knew that Ji Yao was afraid of him so he altered his seraphic energy to ease the tension but recently he had discovered that another element was added in the picture ever since his father stormed the island. Something big happened to Ji Yao affecting their relationship.
After thinking it through he asked, "Are you afraid of my seraphic energy?" He asked this as he placed his hand under his pillow his eyes locked on Ji Yao. This meant he didn't miss any of Ji Yao's movements.
Ji Yao was indeed terrified but recently the fear was coupled with the desire to fight. Before he would have prefered to be as far away as possible from Rui Fei's intimidating aura laced in his seraphic energy but now it was like he was facing a deep-rooted enemy with hatred spun for generations. This was indeed puzzling.
"I am but.... recently when I felt your seraphic energy I wanted to pick a fight with you," replied Ji Yao as a flash of lightning brightened the cabin followed by a clap of roaring thunder.