Chapter 317 - The reunion

Chapter 317: Chapter 317 - The reunion

The moment their craft dropped beneath the black canopy, Jian understood why Celaus had wanted him to wait for the search team.

The Veyr Forest was completely different beneath the trees. Almost no sunlight penetrated the thick crystalline branches overhead, leaving the forest floor in permanent shadow.

The only real illumination came from patches of green moss growing along the massive roots, their faint glow reflecting against the dark, glassy trunks. Every movement seemed to multiply in those reflections. A branch swaying somewhere to the left appeared again on three different trees, while their own craft flashed briefly across polished surfaces before vanishing into the darkness.

Jian hated it immediately.

His dimensional perception was the only thing keeping him from feeling completely blind. He could sense the shapes around them far more clearly than he could see them, but even then, the forest was dense enough to make navigating difficult.

Xing Yu circled once before finding a narrow space between several enormous roots where he could bring the craft down.

"There."

Jian was already pointing before they landed.

Through the trees, he had caught sight of the wreckage.

The royal transport had torn through several crystalline trunks before crashing hard into the ground. One entire side had been ripped open, and pieces of the hull lay scattered through the forest behind it. Broken branches and churned earth marked the path of the crash.

The instant their landing platform touched the ground, Jian was moving.

"Jian, wait."

Xing Yu followed immediately, drawing his weapon as he came, but Jian barely heard him.

His perception had already spread through the surrounding forest. Now that he was closer, the scattered presences he’d felt from the air were becoming clearer.

People.

Several of them.

Alive.

Relief hit him so quickly that his chest hurt, but before he could even begin separating one presence from another, a sharp cry cut through the trees ahead.

Jian’s heart lurched.

He ran.

"Grandpa!"

No answer came back.

Branches scraped against his clothes as he rushed between the enormous black trunks, jumping over a fallen crystalline limb without slowing down. Xing Yu remained close behind him, but Jian’s entire focus had narrowed to the cluster of living presences somewhere ahead.

Then came the unmistakable clash of weapons.

They broke through the trees into a small clearing.

The wrecked transport lay beyond it, one side half buried in the disturbed earth. Three Farian soldiers had formed a rough defensive line in front of the survivors. One was bleeding heavily from his side while another could barely put weight on his injured leg, yet all three were still fighting, desperately trying to keep several strange creatures away from the humans gathered near the wreckage.

Jian had never seen anything like them.

They were tall and unnaturally thin, their translucent bodies reflecting the dark trees surrounding them. Whenever they stopped moving, they nearly disappeared into the forest. Jian could only catch glimpses of narrow heads and elongated limbs before their bodies blended into another reflection.

One of them was already slipping around the soldiers.

Jian followed its path.

Then he saw the two people standing near the wreckage.

An old man had one arm wrapped protectively around a little girl, keeping her behind him even though he had nothing in his hands that could possibly defend either of them.

Jian stopped breathing.

For one horrible second, everything around him disappeared.

The soldiers.

The forest.

Even Xing Yu.

All Jian could see was the old man he’d spent years believing he might never see again.

"Grandpa!"

Grandpa Rue’s head snapped up.

The creature lunged.

Jian moved.

He didn’t think. There wasn’t enough time for thought.

His dimensional perception locked onto the space between himself and the creature, and the distance vanished. One moment he was near the edge of the clearing; the next he was directly between the creature and his grandfather.

His blade came down.

A shriek tore through the forest as the strike severed one of the creature’s long arms. It recoiled violently, translucent blood spraying across the glowing moss before almost disappearing against the reflective ground.

Jian planted himself in front of Grandpa Rue.

Behind him came a stunned whisper.

"Jian?"

His grip tightened around his weapon.

That voice.

For years, he had tried to remember exactly what Grandpa Rue sounded like. There had been nights when he lay awake desperately holding onto old memories because he was terrified they would eventually fade.

Now that voice was right behind him.

Jian’s eyes burned.

He wanted to turn around. He wanted to drop the weapon and grab the old man just to prove he was really there.

But the creature was still moving.

"Stay behind me."

It lunged again.

This time Jian was ready.

The creature’s translucent body flickered between the reflections of the surrounding trees, disappearing from ordinary sight for a fraction of a second. It didn’t matter. Jian could feel exactly where it was.

He ducked beneath its arm and drove his blade deep into its side.

The creature twisted with a piercing scream.

Another rushed at him from the left.

Xing Yu intercepted it before Jian even had to turn. His weapon flashed across its chest and sent it staggering backward.

"Focus on your grandfather," Xing Yu called. "I’ll cover you."

Jian didn’t argue.

He remained close to Grandpa Rue, keeping himself firmly between his family and the creatures while his perception stretched across the entire clearing.

Something shifted behind the wreckage.

Jian turned sharply.

"There!"

Xing Yu reacted instantly.

The creature had barely emerged before his blade struck it.

The surviving royal soldiers seemed to regain their strength the moment they recognized him.

"General Xing!"

"Protect the civilians," Xing Yu ordered. "Don’t chase anything into the forest. Hold the clearing."

The soldiers tightened their formation.

Without the advantage of surprise, the creatures became far less dangerous. Two retreated after seeing several of their own fall, vanishing between the black trunks so completely that Jian could no longer follow them with his eyes.

His perception could.

He waited, blade raised, tracking the faint disturbances as they moved farther away. One presence disappeared beyond his range, followed by another.

The forest gradually became still again.

Only then did Jian lower his weapon.

For several seconds, he couldn’t make himself turn around.

His heart was pounding harder now than it had during the fight.

He had spent years imagining this moment. Sometimes Grandpa Rue was alive. Sometimes Jian arrived too late. Sometimes he found nothing at all and was left wondering forever.

He had imagined what he would say if they ever met again.

None of those words came to him now.

Then the old man spoke.

"Jian."

Jian slowly turned.

Grandpa Rue looked smaller than he remembered.

That was the first thing that struck him, and for some reason it hurt more than he expected.

His hair was almost completely white now. There were deeper lines around his eyes and mouth, and the years on Gia had left him thinner. Dust covered his clothes from the crash, and a dark bruise was forming along one side of his face.

Time had continued moving while Jian was gone.

Grandpa had grown old without him.

But he was alive.

He was standing right there.

Jian’s vision blurred almost instantly.

"Grandpa..."

Grandpa Rue was staring just as openly.

The grandson he remembered had been a black-haired young man with familiar human features. The person standing before him now had long blond hair, a glowing green gem between his brows, and the unmistakable appearance of someone who belonged to this strange world. Jian was taller and stronger, dressed in Farian clothing with a bloodied weapon still in his hand.

He looked nothing like the grandson Grandpa Rue had lost.

Yet the old man didn’t hesitate.

His eyes reddened, and a familiar mixture of affection and irritation crossed his weathered face.

"Come here, you brat."

That was all it took.

Jian’s weapon slipped from his hand.

He crossed the distance between them and threw both arms around Grandpa Rue.

The old man let out a startled grunt as Jian nearly lifted him off his feet.

"Careful! These old bones still have to last me a few years!"

A laugh escaped Jian, but it broke halfway through and turned into something dangerously close to a sob.

He buried his face against Grandpa Rue’s shoulder.

"You’re alive."

Grandpa Rue’s arms tightened around him.

"Of course I’m alive."

"I thought you were dead."

Jian hadn’t meant to say it like that.

The words came out small and broken, carrying far too many years inside them.

Grandpa Rue went quiet.

Jian clutched the back of his clothes. "I thought I’d never find you. I didn’t even know where you were. I didn’t know if you were alive, if you were hurt, if..." His voice failed him, and he squeezed his eyes shut. "I looked for you."

The old man’s expression softened completely.

One hand rose to the back of Jian’s head, pressing him closer with the same familiar tenderness Jian remembered from years ago.

"You found me."

That nearly broke whatever control Jian had left.

His shoulders trembled.

He was supposed to be a prince here. An adult. Someone powerful enough that soldiers followed his orders and enemies knew his name.

None of that mattered while Grandpa Rue held him.

For those few moments, Jian was simply the grandson who had finally found his way home.

Grandpa Rue slowly rubbed his back before pulling away just enough to look at him properly.

"Look at you."

Jian wiped quickly at his face.

Grandpa Rue’s eyes traveled over him with open disbelief. "You’re taller."

A wet laugh escaped Jian. "That’s what you’re saying right now?"

"And blond."

"Grandpa."

"And what’s this thing on your forehead?"

Jian pulled back enough to stare at him.

Grandpa Rue smiled.

It was exactly the same smile Jian remembered.

That familiar expression made his throat tighten all over again.

"You really are okay?" Jian asked, his humor disappearing almost immediately as he looked over the bruise on Grandpa Rue’s face.

"I’m old, not made of glass."

"You were just in a crash!"

"And I survived it."

"That doesn’t mean you’re fine."

Jian’s hands moved over his grandfather’s shoulders and arms as though he could personally check every bone in his body. He even leaned back to look at his legs.

Grandpa Rue sighed. "Are you finished inspecting me?"

"No."

"Jian."

"We’re taking you back to the palace. The healers are checking you properly."

Before Grandpa Rue could object, something small slammed into Jian’s side.

"Brother!"

Jian startled and looked down.

The little girl had wrapped both arms around his waist, squeezing herself between him and Grandpa Rue until she had effectively forced herself into the reunion.

Jian stared at her for a second before laughing through the tears still clinging to his lashes.

"You too?"

She nodded fiercely against his clothes.

"You came!"

"Of course I came."

"You look different."

Jian groaned. "So does everyone keep telling me."

She finally lifted her head and openly stared at the glowing gem between his brows. Her eyes widened with fascination.

"Are you really a prince?"

Jian grimaced. "Unfortunately."

Grandpa Rue immediately smacked his arm.

"Don’t say unfortunately."

"Grandpa, you haven’t seen the palace. I got lost twice this morning."

The little girl burst into giggles.

Jian pulled her closer with one arm while keeping the other firmly around Grandpa Rue. He didn’t want to let either of them go yet.

For the first time since stepping onto Gia, something inside him finally settled.

Grandpa Rue gently rested a hand on the girl’s head.

"You kept asking when you’d meet him, didn’t you?"

She nodded eagerly.

The old man looked back at Jian. There was exhaustion on his face, but beneath it was unmistakable pride.

"This is Jian," he told her properly. "My grandson."

The girl smiled brightly. "I know."

Grandpa Rue chuckled. "Yes, but I wanted to say it myself."

Jian’s smile faltered.

My grandson.

Two simple words shouldn’t have affected him so much.

Yet they did.

Jian had spent so long being told what he was. Farian. Prince. Imperial blood. The Emperor’s son. He had discovered an entire history written into his body that he had never known existed.

But Grandpa Rue hadn’t looked at his blond hair and hesitated.

He hadn’t stared at the gem between Jian’s brows and wondered whether the person standing before him was still the boy he’d raised.

To him, Jian was exactly what he had always been.

His grandson.

Jian’s eyes burned again, and he pulled Grandpa Rue into another hug, dragging the little girl in with them.

This time, Grandpa Rue didn’t make a single complaint about his old bones.

A few steps away, Xing Yu quietly lowered his weapon.