《《蛮族之花》 Flower of Wilderness》Yina_bubbles

28、第 28 章 Throu

　　Chapter 28— Through the Fire.

　　The great hall had become almost unrecognizable. Smoke drifted beneath the timber beams, swallowing the banners and turning the braziers into blurred orange lights. Tables lay overturned across the floor, and the once-loud hall had fallen into an eerie silence broken only by the crackling of fire.
　　Xie Zheng stepped through the smoke.
　　Then he saw her.
　　Across the hall, several paces away, stood a young woman in a pale dress.
　　For a moment, he almost mistook her for someone else.
　　Her long black hair had changed.
　　Strands of silver-white ran through it, spreading from her temples down toward the ends. Her face was frighteningly pale, and there was a faint trace of blood at the corner of her lips. Suyuan....

　　She looked at him through the smoke neither of them moved. Xie Zheng had imagined this moment countless times during the ride from the frontier. He had imagined finding a frightened princess, a prisoner, perhaps even someone already beyond saving. He had not imagined finding her standing calmly in the middle of a burning hall.
　　"Suyuan."
　　His voice carried across the distance.
　　She blinked.
　　"General Su..."
　　She knew that name.
　　The nephew of the man her mother had loved.
　　The man whose family had lost someone because of the same war that had destroyed her mother's life.
　　Xie Zheng took one step forward.
　　Suyuan did not move.
　　"You came too late," she said quietly.
　　"I know."
　　Her lips curved into a faint, tired smile.
　　"You shouldn't have come."
　　"Perhaps." Xie Zheng kept his eyes on her. "But I did."
　　A loud crack sounded above them.
　　Part of the wooden structure shifted.
　　Xie Zheng immediately looked upward before returning his gaze to her.
　　"We need to leave."
　　Suyuan shook her head.
　　"I can't."
　　"Why?"
　　She glanced around the hall.
　　There was no pride in her expression now. No triumph either.
　　Only exhaustion.
　　"Because I have nowhere to go."
　　Xie Zheng understood more than she had said.
　　He started walking toward her.
　　Suyuan suddenly coughed.
　　She turned her face away, pressing a hand to her mouth.
　　When she lowered it, a small streak of blood remained against her fingers.
　　Xie Zheng stopped.
　　His expression changed.
　　"What happened to you?"
　　Suyuan looked at the blood as though it belonged to someone else.
　　"It's already too late."
　　"Don't say that."
　　She gave a weak laugh.
　　"You sound like my mother."
　　Another beam groaned overhead.
　　This time, Xie Zheng did not wait.
　　"Suyuan, move."
　　She tried one step then, another but suddenly her knees suddenly weakened.
　　Xie Zheng crossed the remaining distance just as she began to fall.
　　He caught her before she reached the floor, one arm supporting her shoulders while the other steadied her.
　　"Suyuan!"

　　Her head rested against him, her silver-white hair falling across his arm. For the first time, the calm expression disappeared from her face, she looked very young yet very tired.
　　"I wanted to see my mother again," she whispered.
　　Xie Zheng tightened his hold.
　　She closed her eyes.

　　Outside, the horses were already being prepared. Soldiers shouted to each other as the fire spread from one section of the palace to another. Xie Zheng looked toward the entrance. The ceiling above them groaned again. "We're leaving." He lifted Suyuan carefully into his arms while she was barely conscious now.
　　"General..."
　　"I'm here."
　　"Don't let me..."
　　Her voice faded.
　　Xie Zheng glanced down at her.
　　"Don't worry. I won't leave you here."
　　He turned and carried her toward the entrance.
　　Behind them, flames climbed higher along the old wooden beams.
　　A section of the roof gave way.

　　Xie Zheng accelerated, shielding Suyuan with his body as burning fragments fell behind them.
　　He reached the doorway just as the great hall shuddered.
　　The soldiers outside rushed forward.
　　"General!"
　　"Clear the way!" Xie Zheng stepped into the cold night air with Suyuan still in his arms. Behind him, the great hall finally collapsed. The sound rolled across the valley bu Xie Zheng did not look back. He lowered his eyes to the girl in his arms. Her silver-white hair moved gently in the night wind.

　　For the first time since he had heard Princess Shuran was dead, Xie Zheng finally understood what Nanny Zhang had meant. Suyuan had not been waiting to be rescued. She had already given up on being saved and now, somehow, the fate brought them together