Volume 6 Chapter 43
by Golden DragonVolume 6 + Chapter 43: Wait For Me
“……Is that you, Xia Yi?” Xia Lulu asked softly.
“It’s me!” Xia Yi replied, her voice trembling with emotion.
She desperately wanted to reach out and take Xia Lulu’s hand, but she was afraid that any careless movement might disturb the threads and affect Xia Lulu, so she held herself back.
“Xia Yi, I can’t see very clearly anymore… I had a feeling it might be you, and I was right.”
Xia Lulu was trying her hardest to focus her eyes, but her gaze remained unfocused.
“Xia Lulu…”
Just hearing Xia Lulu’s voice made Xia Yi want to cry.
“Sweetie, I promised to celebrate your birthday with you, but I couldn’t keep that promise. I messed up your birthday, and you didn’t even get to eat the cake.”
“Why… why didn’t you tell me!”
Xia Yi’s voice was a mix of heartache and grievance.
“If you weren’t feeling well, you should have told me earlier! Why did you hide it from me?”
Xia Lulu said softly, “…I’m sorry, Xia Yi.”
“……”
Hearing those words, Xia Yi could no longer hold back her tears.
She felt like such a crybaby. Even though she had already cried many times, the tears still kept falling.
“I didn’t want you to worry, so I kept it from you,” Xia Lulu explained. “I thought I could hold on a while longer, to pave the way for your future. But now it seems… I overestimated myself.”
“So you knew all along that your body wouldn’t last, that something would happen sooner or later?”
“Yes.”
“You idiot, Xia Lulu…”
“Xia Yi.”
“I’m here.”
“I want to touch you, but I can’t move my body right now.”
Xia Yi reached out and touched Xia Lulu’s fingers.
She kept her movements very small, afraid of touching the threads.
But it was enough for Xia Lulu to feel some of her daughter’s warmth.
“Xia Yi, after I’m gone, don’t be too willful. Stop staying in bed so late, early to bed, early to rise. And that picky eating habit of yours… you need to change it.”
“Don’t say another word! Don’t talk to me like you’re saying your final farewells! I won’t listen! As long as I’m here, you won’t die!!”
Xia Yi was frantic.
“We haven’t settled things between us yet! And you haven’t spent a proper birthday with me. I won’t let you die! Do you hear me!”
“Yes… alright…”
A smile appeared on Xia Lulu’s face.
“Where is this place? Given my condition, I can’t believe I actually woke up.”
“This is Purple Iris Valley. I came to ask Dorothea for help.”
“Dorothea? That explains it. But after she learned about my situation, she must have been angry, right? I never listened to the things she advised me before.”
“Dorothea was probably… angry. She said she would turn both you and me into puppets.”
“Did she bully you?”
“Just a little. But later, for some reason, her attitude suddenly changed, and she was willing to help me.”
“I see…”
“Xia Lulu, don’t worry! Dorothea explained your situation to me, and I understand now. Once I go to the Elf Kingdom and find the Water of Life to heal your body, you’ll recover!”
Xia Yi explained the current situation to Xia Lulu.
“Dorothea will temporarily use magic to seal you inside an ice coffin. During that time, you won’t die. Just stay here and wait for me to bring back the Water of Life!”
Xia Yi wanted to say more, but her words were interrupted by a voice from behind.
“Xia Yi, time’s up. It’s time to say goodbye.” Dorothea had re-entered the room.
Had a few minutes already passed?
It was far too short.
Xia Yi still had so much left unsaid.
But there was nothing she could do. Suppressing her heavy heart, she withdrew her hand and stood up.
“Xia Lulu, you must wait for me to come back!”
“Yes…” Xia Lulu nodded.
Seeing Xia Lulu’s response, a trace of a smile finally appeared on Xia Yi’s weary face, as if she had glimpsed the hope of salvation.
An infinite surge of motivation filled her heart. No matter what, she would bring Xia Lulu back.
However reluctant she felt, she gritted her teeth and ran out.
Dorothea walked over to the ice coffin and looked at the silver dragon loli lying inside. She had initially intended to mock her, but now, she had lost interest.
“Dorothea, I’m causing you trouble again.” For once, Xia Lulu did not put on her usual tough front in front of Dorothea.
“Xia Lulu, you weren’t this soft before. Since when did you change your personality?”
“Could I ask you… to help take care of Xia Yi?”
“No. She’s your daughter. Take care of her yourself.”
Dorothea could already guess what Xia Lulu was about to say.
“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of not getting into the ice coffin.”
“…You already figured it out,” Xia Lulu said with a wry smile. “I don’t want to cause Xia Yi more trouble. The Water of Life is just an ethereal legend. It’s not worth her risking her life for me. Besides… this is my fate.”
“Listen to yourself. Can you stop being so selfish? Have you considered how little Xia Yi would feel?”
“Xia Yi…”
“Give little Xia Yi a bit more trust. If you die like this, she will blame herself and grieve for the rest of her life. You wouldn’t be setting her free, you would only aggravate her pain.”
Dorothea sighed.
“Stop pretending. Deep down, you don’t want to leave little Xia Yi either, do you?”
“……”
Xia Lulu fell silent, having been seen through by Dorothea.
Ever since she became the Dragon King, she had known that she would die one day, and that her end would be terribly miserable.
She had prepared herself mentally, believing that when the day of her death came, she would accept it calmly.
But after having a daughter, something inside Xia Lulu changed.
She had thought she had accepted her destined fate, but deep in her heart, she did not want to leave Xia Yi.
“Dorothea, I’m counting on you then. I will stay here and wait for Xia Yi to come back…”
Xia Lulu felt she was reaching her limit and could barely maintain consciousness.
“That’s more like it.”
Hearing those words, Dorothea smiled faintly.
She withdrew the threads from Xia Lulu’s body, closed the ice coffin, and began casting magic, activating the magic circle to seal Xia Lulu in ice.
Though it was extremely complex and difficult, Dorothea, after spending considerable time, succeeded.
She left the room and walked outside.
Xia Yi, who had been waiting outside, immediately hurried over.
“How is it!?”
“She has been successfully frozen. You may go and see her,” Dorothea replied.
“Good.”
Xia Yi returned to the room and found that the ice coffin had been sealed with Dorothea’s magical power. The magic circle was slowly operating.
She walked over and saw Xia Lulu with her eyes closed.
This time, there was no pain on Xia Lulu’s face. She looked as though she had simply fallen into a quiet sleep.
Xia Yi gazed at her silently for a long while, her heart filled with countless memories of her time with Xia Lulu. Finally, she spoke a few parting words to her.
0 Comments