It had been somewhat quiet these past few days. Dijun had settled into the Quingqui way of life slowly. His wife's family, now his family, had slowly come around to understanding his past and forgiving him. They were never the ones to hold a grudge anyway. They knew he cared for his Xiaobai deeply. He cared for Gungun deeply. There was nothing more they would ask of him.

Gungun had stayed with him all this while. Every time he looked at the little boy he was in awe. And he fell in love with his once lively, now comatose Xiaobai all over again. She had created this little miracle. For him. The two people in this room were his first-ever real family in all eons.

As Dijun watched Gungun read a book, he was surprised. Were little boys his age always this obedient and well-behaved? Gungun had shown keen interest in reading as well as in learning new things. He had a natural curiosity to figure things out. Dijun was so proud of him.

Zhe Yan came by to visit his patient. He greeted Dijun and Dijun gave a nod. Gungun greeted him and asked, "Grandpa Phoenix, when will mother wake up?" "Let me check her vitals and we will see, Gungun.", replied Zhe Yan patting Gungun's head with a smile. He sat near Feng Jiu's bed and checked her pulse. He smiled as he looked up. "What did you diagnose, old bird?", asked Dijun. "I can feel that she is going to wake up soon. She does have a long way to go to fully regain her physical strength and spiritual powers, but she will soon start coming out of this deep coma. That will be her first step to recovery. I will stay in Fox's den here so that I can be here when she wakes up. I will see you later, Dijun and Gungun."

Dijun and Gungun were overjoyed to hear this. They both came to her bed and sat nearby.

As evening came, several people walked in. Lian Song, Cheng Yu, and Si Ming were visiting from the Sky Kingdom. Yan Chiwu had also decided to drop by when he heard that Lian Song was coming. After exchanging pleasantries, they inquired about the Little Princess Fengjiu. There wasn't any visible change in her condition, but Dijun shared that Zhe Yan had sounded hopeful about her waking up soon.

"Would you like to come to the Sky Kingdom with me, Little Prince? I am about to head out and Prince Ah-li had asked me to bring you along for a few days. Of course, if it is all right with Dijun?", Si Ming asked politely after the initial conversation.

"Sure, Si Ming. I need to give you some instructions regarding things in Tai Chen Palace. Gungun, say goodbye to your Mother. I will see you both out. Cheng Yu, do you mind staying with Xiaobai for some time while we guys walk out? Gungun was reading to her, maybe you could continue? You and the Third Prince will be leaving after some time, right?", said Dijun.

"Sure", said Cheng Yu gladly. She took the book from Gungun and patted his silver hair.

"Looks like everyone's busy. Let's go to the garden and play a game of Go. We can catch up on the goings-on in both kingdoms. Shall we, Demon Lord?", said Lian Song to Yan Chiwu and they left the room.

Gungun walked over to his mother and smiled. "Mother, please wake up soon. I miss talking to you. And I miss the food you make for me. I have been a good boy like I had promised. Little Uncle Ah-li has invited me to the Sky Kingdom. I will be gone for a few days. I will be a good boy there too. I will ask Father to take good care of you. You get well and wake up soon, ok?", he said as he held Feng Jiu's hand and kissed it sweetly.

"Father, please take care of Mother for me. Remember, don't let her get cold at night. Ok?", he tilted his head and said to Dijun. Dijun smiled and extended his pinky in promise. Then they walked out hand in hand with Si Ming following behind them.

Cheng Yu sat down near the bed and continued reading. It was a book about Buddhist Theories. Cheng Yu knew Xiaobai never liked that subject, but she didn't know how else to keep Xiaobai company and make her presence felt. So she read on.

After some time, she felt Feng Jiu's fingers move. Slowly Feng Jiu opened her eyes. Cheng Yu bent over her surprised, excited and so happy to finally see her friend wake up. "Are you feeling better, Feng Jiu? Are you still hurting?"

Feng Jiu gave a faint smile and nodded. Then she mouthed her first word in several months, "Dijun?", she inquired worriedly. Cheng Yu closed the book and said, "Well, Dijun... " and glanced at the door.

Somehow this worried Fengjiu into a panic-stricken fit. As if possessed, she mustered all her strength to cling tightly to Cheng Yu's arm and pulled herself half up from her pillow. She asked urgently, "Cheng Yu, where is Dijun? How is he? Is he okay? If not... If not... I don't want to wake up. I don't want to live without him. I can't live without him. I won't... ."

Cheng Yu struggled to get over Feng Jiu's sudden outburst and tried to calm her down, "Shhhh... stop. Listen to me. Listen, please. Dijun is okay. He has completely recovered. He just stepped out to see Si Ming and Gungun off to the Sky Kingdom. The Quixin toxin in his body has also been fully cured by Zhe Yan. Star Light ward has been broken and everyone is safe now. You are the only one who has still not recovered."

Fengjiu let out a huge sigh and slipped back on the bed. A trickle of tears still escaped from her eyes onto her pale face. "Dijun is all right? I am happy.", she smiled. But then she caught on to something else that Cheng Yu had said and asked worriedly again, "Wait, did you say Dijun went out to see Gungun off? Do you mean my Gungun? Do you know about my Gungun? Dijun knows about my Gungun too? Is Dijun very upset with me that I kept his son away from him for 200 years?" Fresh tears filled her eyes and her face was full of worry again.

"I am not upset. I am grateful. And I am so sorry, Xiaobai.", Dijun replied. He had just appeared in the doorway and had heard their last conversation. He appeared to be in a daze as he ran to his wife and held her hands tightly. Cheng Yu made a smart and timely exit.

"Dijun, you are okay. You are really okay. I am so sorry, Dijun. I thought you wanted to spend the rest of your life with Ji Heng. I didn't want my child and myself to be a burden for you. I have experienced the pain of having to stay away from the one I love. I could never wish for you to go through that. I didn't want my family to force you to take our responsibility either, especially if you had decided to be with Ji Heng. So I left. I am so sorry. I really didn't do it to keep Gungun away from you. Can you forgive me?" Fengjiu said tearfully. She was tired from all the excitement of walking up and all the talking. She stopped to catch her breath.

Dijun helped her to sit up and supported her on his shoulder. He held her close and said earnestly, "Xiaobai, I am truly not upset. I am sorry. It was my behavior that led you to think this way. It was a miscommunication from my side that put you through all that. I can never forgive myself for it. But I do wish to ask for your forgiveness. I will prove to you that I am yours and yours alone. Every minute. For the rest of my life. No one is more important to me than you. Please give me a chance to make it up to you. Dui bu qi, Xiaobai. Yuan liang wo ba?". Xiaobai held his hands firmly, dried her tears, and nodded that she would.

Dijun felt like a heavy burden was lifted off his heart. He bent down and planted a lingering kiss on his beautiful wife's delicate nose.

They heard footsteps outside their room. Cheng Yu had told everyone that Fengjiu had recovered and they had rushed to see her. Si Ming who had almost left had also come back with Gungun. There were words of congratulations and thankfulness all around. Everyone was trying to show her how much she was loved.

Gungun was the first one to rush to her bed and hold her hand. She kissed his forehead and smiled. Demon lord Yan Chiwu could not stop boasting about how powerful his friend Xiao Jiu was. Cheng Yu and Lian Song joined in with best wishes and congratulations. Everyone was relieved to see Feng Jiu awake after several months.

Zhe Yan came forward to check her pulse. He declared that she was finally completely out of danger. "However, as I had explained earlier, your recovery will be a slow process for sure.", he said. "You will be in and out of consciousness for the next few months. Try not to over-exert yourself and rest as much as you can. I will modify your medicine for this next phase of recovery. Dijun, you need not give her any more of your golden blood. She can recover just with my medicines from here on out."

Everyone was happy to hear that. They saw all this excitement was tiring her out, so they all asked her to rest up and left.

Dijun helped her lie back down and sat down next to her. She put her hand in his and closed her eyes slowly. 

After so many months, Dijun was a bit relieved. He watched his little fox fall asleep holding his hand in her tiny one. He lifted her hand to his lips and then to his heart. "Wǒ ài nǐ, wǒ de xiǎo húlí.", he said to her sleeping form contentedly.

After several months, he himself would sleep peacefully tonight.

{Image Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/469711436133487066/}