Prince Qui woke with a start. It was not something like those easing into consciousness. It was more like someone had punched him awake. All he could see was white, then as his eyes adjusted, he saw that it was a ceiling. He looked around, and the first that he saw was his wife, sleeping near his chest, her eyes closed. He reached to touch her face, and he smiled when she started to move.
"After everything that I did… I didn't think I would be here," he said in a voice that sounded hoarse.
When Tianshi Xue opened her eyes, she was confused and surprised at the same time. "What?"
"Heaven," he answered.
She sat up, then, for some strange reason, her eyes started to pool with tears. She grabbed his hand, wrapping it with so much warmth that he did not realize how cold he was. She pressed his fingers to her cheek.
"But you're not dead."
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