The Voyage In The Blizzard - Chapter 34
As was expected, the ice on which everyone had to show their skills was thin as a sheet of paper. And having taken only one easy step, it was already starting to crack.
The ice field itself stretched far into the forest. And in some places, one could notice cracks and the formation of new pieces of ice to replace the old ones. From time to time, birds flew by in flocks, throwing their glances at the endless rows of ice. Here, complete silence reigned. The air was colder than usual, and the wind blew through and made everyone cough.
Covering their faces with scarves, everyone tried to inhale this damp and sharp air as little as possible. Feeling the stinging sensation of the wind, the skin immediately cracked, which made the situation even more unpleasant.
Longwei, taking out the leather gloves that belonged to his father from his back pocket, proudly looked at everyone and put them with grace. He buttoned them and covered his neck with the woolen collar of his vest..
A guy named Ice, who was also his roommate, went up to him and grabbed Longwei’s hand said, “Gloves! Why didn’t I think of this?!” Shielding his ears from the wind, he pretended to be suffering and turned to the others. “How cold it is! Colder than everywhere else.”
“And how are you not ashamed to whine like that?! You still call yourself a soldier. And what do you think you will do when you meet face to face with the beast? You will also start whining and crying so that beast feels sorry for you and let you go?!” Throwing snow at him said Baofeng-Xue.
“Hey you. Wearing gloves before a fight is against the rules. Didn’t you know?” Longwei heard someone’s voice from behind. He turned and saw that tallest guy, the best student of the third clan, Kai.
“There is no such rule. Maybe your clan has such a rule, but I act according to the rules of my clan.” Longwei answered.
Coming closer to him, Kai, with a certain sadness and cold-bloodedness in his eyes, said, “In that case, expect defeat. Hands are everything for a fighter. If you don’t feel what you are hitting, you will lose faster.”
“Did you make this up yourself?”
The crowd began to gather around. Observing the two famous personalities in this world, everyone listened to them with great curiosity and hoped that the battle would begin any minute.
Longwei gave him a casual look and lifted his head and said, “If I lose, it’s only my business.”
Kai balled his hands into fists. It was clear that he wanted to start the fight first. And he wanted to start it with Longwei.
After giving him his good-natured but insolent smile, Longwei turned away and was about to leave, but Kai did not hesitate, so he was first who started the fight.
Pushing Longwei onto the thin ice, Kai took off his fur mantle and said, “I just wanted to help you.”
Gently but quickly getting to his feet, Longwei immediately heard the ice begin to crack under his feet. The dark blue water, like a snake, moved in an incomprehensible direction.
Balancing on the ice that was swinging and was about to crack at any second, Longwei nevertheless confidently stood on his feet. Exhaling steam, his eyes were directed straight at Kai, who was standing as if he had no weight.
“Where did you get the idea that I need your help?” he asked.
Kai, not wanting to speak further, jumped up and wanted to kick Longwei, but he deftly bent down and slipped on the ice. A long line of fissure split the ice in half.
The cold ceased to be perceptible, the sharp air suddenly turned into a hot stream, and the heart began to pound madly.
The battle has begun.
Without stopping on the ice, Longwei swung his hand and struck the first blow. Not yielding to his strength, Kai swung his leg but his blow only reflected on the ice, making a hole there.
Longwei, without wasting a second, was much faster than his opponent. Soaring up like a bird, he made a circle in the air, grabbed Kai by the neck with both legs and threw him onto the ice and hitting the ice with his fist made the ice under Kai’s body cracked so hard that almost all of his lower part was already in the water. Longwei himself, pushing away from him, slipped to the side and jumping on one leg froze in place.
“Maybe you need my help?” he asked.
The crowd that stood in the distance with open mouths watched him. Longwei realized that this was a show for everyone, and he needed to play his role better than Kai.
Grabbing the remaining thin ice that was falling apart under his hands, Kai without showing fear grabbed a part of the ice opposite and until it cracked, he swam a little quickly, threw his leg onto the ice and pushed off with his hands and went out onto the land. But the ice beneath him began to crack again, Longwei balancing on his toes, was staring at the trees around him.
Managing to stand, Kai did a somersault and finally got to his feet and stood in front of Longwei.
At the same time, swinging their legs, they only slightly touched each other, bending down, Kai sharply swept Longwei onto the ice. But he, without losing his vigilance, was quickly able to do a somersault back and the place where he had just stood was in the water.
Kai, as if not breathing at all, and despite his tall figure, did not think at all that there was ice under him. Without stopping, like a whirligig, twisting his body, he attacked Longwei, but he was much more cunning than him. Every time when Kai approached him with another blow, Longwei, taking advantage of the moment, sharply, with both legs, pushed off from him, thereby reminding the ice that Kai had a lot of weight.
Jumping high with the ease of a feather, he just as smoothly landed on the ice and only standing on one leg balanced in anticipation of the next blow.
“You are not fighting by the rules. Don’t run away.” said Kai trying to stay on the ice.
Longwei jumped over the water and stood on his other leg. “Now we are on the thinnest ice. And there is only one rule, and that is to be able to control your body. Overcome your mind and deceive it, proving that you are lighter than a feather.”
With a slight smile, Kai made a forward roll and now stood right next to Longwei. “And you are really very talented. May I ask, who taught you all this?”
Losing his guard for a second, Longwei was immediately thrown onto the ice. Kai raised his hand and was about to hit him, but Longwei wrapped his legs around him and climbed over him. Gripping his neck with his hands, their gazes met and Longwei, pushing his legs against Kai, kicked him and the ice immediately cracked under them.
And all this happened in a split of a second, before Kai had time to come to his senses, again he was in the water.
The soldiers that were still standing as if spellbound were watching Longwei’s agility.
Baofeng-Xue and Delun proudly looked at the soldiers of the third clan and said in one voice, “Our Longwei is a real magician. He is lighter than a feather and stronger than any elements.”
“And how does he manage to move like that? Yes, he seems to fly.” someone said with delight in his voice.
“Look, he’s kind of weightless.”
Boqin, without taking his eyes off Longwei, who was getting closer and closer to them, said, “And this Longwei of yours, he is really unique. Who is his father?”
Lei, with eyes burning with excitement and delight, replied, “His father …” he began, but immediately stopped.
“His father what?” Boqin asked.
Lei caught Longwei’s gaze, who was already close, so he said softly, “His father was a real hero.”
Having lost all his composure, Kai turned into a ferocious monster and immediately lost all his patience. And now he wanted to immerse Longwei in cold water by any means and break all the ice.
Without stopping for a second, he continued to attack. Only this time, he began to do somersaults while taking off and strike blows that were easily ignored by Longwei.
Using his own power against him, Longwei allowed Kai to approach him and all in order to once again use him as a springboard.
Kai, not having time to catch him, not having time to follow his next movement, was already beginning to lose all vigilance. Longwei spinning and taking off faster than the wind made him dizzy and losing all his strength, Kai simply raised his hand and said, “Enough.”
At that moment, the ice underneath him cracked and he was almost in the water, but Longwei, catching his hand, quickly and easily pulled him out before the thin ice cracked.
Kai finally got out into the snow and looked at Longwei who looked like he came from a walk. For the first time during this time, he laughed and said, “You don’t look like you have such a power inside.”
Holding out his hand, Longwei said, “Appearances are deceiving.”
“Bravo! Well done. Both of you.” clapping his hands, Boqin approached them and looked at Longwei with a sly smile. “Everyone has seen this? This is how you need to be able to control your mind and body. This is how you must fly to win.” Putting his hand on Longwei’s shoulder, he whispered, “I have to admit I am very impressed with you.”
Removing his hand, Longwei addressing to Kai said, “Let’s go. I have a mantle. You can catch a cold.”
“I’m fine.” he answered coldly and walked with rapid steps towards his soldiers.
“Master, can I rest?” Longwei asked without looking at Lei. To which Lei simply nodded his head impartially.
“Now you, go to the field.” Boqin said loudly pushing the soldiers out.
“But the ice is already cracked!” someone exclaimed and immediately received a harsh and spiteful reply from Boqin, “The ice field is stretching so far. And by the time you are lazy, a new layer of ice has already formed. So go!”
Longwei, not feeling tired at all, went up to Baofeng – Xue and patting him on the back, simply smiled and sat down on a tree stump.
His whole body was on fire, and the sweat on his forehead, congealing, left an unpleasant mark on his skin. Taking off his slightly wet waistcoat, he threw on a fur cape and, leaning against a tree, fixed his gaze on Lei, who was standing not far from him.
The snow began to slowly fall and Longwei, observing such a beautiful and ordinary view, plunged into the world of his thoughts and dreams.
Meditating about the future, he did not notice how the evening came, which brought with it a light blizzard.
Fully wrapped in a cape, he sat with his eyes closed all this time while everyone was showing their fighting skills on the ice. Not hearing the screams and splashes of water, he was in a sleepy state until someone’s voice rang out in his ear.
It was Kai.
Standing in his shiny armor over which there was a fur coat, he asked, “May I sit down?”
Longwei shook his head.
Only now, looking at Kai’s face, Longwei became convinced that all the severity and cold blood that was on his face boiled down to the fact that this guy was suffering from deep melancholy. His tense and dissatisfied features actually concealed kindness and tenderness. But the constraint of his emotion did not reveal the beauty of his dark blue eyes, which tried to express the cold as much as possible.
Silence hung between them for several minutes until Longwei spoke first.
“You must be mad at me.” he said.
Kai shook his head while stroking his palm and replied, “Not at all. I’m just confused.”
“And you admit it? I thought you were very proud.” Longwei said with a glance at him. “And why are you confused?”
Not knowing how to find the words, it was clear that inside this guy there was a complete chaos of thoughts.
“When I saw you for the first time, I thought that you were weak and fragile. Your beauty made your image so fragile.”
“So you’re saying I’m handsome?” Longwei asked playfully, but immediately caught Kai’s almost angry glare.
“But now perhaps I should express my admiration. You are strong and smart. And also cunning. I really respect you for that. And the fact that I lost is my fault.”
After saying that with a cold tone, Kai got up and was about to leave but Longwei stopped him.
Pointing to the sky, he happily exclaimed, “Look, Moon!”
Through the pale curtain of the sky, through the milky clouds, the round rim of the Moon, making its way through them, softly illuminated the night. The Moonlight made the ice floes sparkle, as if some kind of magic had appeared in them. Having painted all the trees so they stopped swaying in the wind so as not to frighten off the moonlight. And even the wind died down, afraid to take this tenderness with it.
With bated breath, the soldiers who finally found rest after a long and tiring battle that brought nothing but a thread of wet clothes and shivering from the cold, sitting by the fire as if spellbound, looked at the Moon, which now completely came out of the clouds.
But most of all, Longwei was happy. After all, the last time he saw the moon was when he was six years old and then on the day his father died. And now, the Moon appeared again after so many years, and now it carried a completely different symbolism for him. Tearing his gaze from the moon, he looked at Lei, who was sitting so that the moonlight fell perfectly on him. Bathing in the gentle rays of calmness, Lei, as if knowing that Longwei was looking at him, turned and millions of lights burned in his eyes that spoke of much that was in his heart. Looking at Longwei, he froze for a while. In the moonlight, his features seemed delicate, fragile, refined, he became like himself, the real Lei who was hiding behind the warrior’s shell.
Longwei, unable to look away, simply succumbed to the stream of the present and leaned against. At such moments, when nature was in his soul, any thoughts were superfluous. And only the looks, tired, keeping happiness looks spoke about their thoughts.
Sensing someone’s presence near him, Longwei looked up and saw Yue Liang who, holding an apple in his hands, said, “Moonlight is beautiful only when you eat a fresh apple.”
“Thanks, but I don’t want an apple right now.” Longwei answered looking at Lei who was already sitting with his back to him.
Yue Liang sat down comfortably next to Longwei, nevertheless, put the apple on his lap and hid his hands in his pockets and said, “Today, you were just beautiful. I have never seen anyone be able to fly without wings.”
Longwei said nothing.
Removing the silvery strand of hair from his face, Yue Liang sighed and said, “But I don’t know how to control my body like that. Sometimes it doesn’t listen to me at all. Sometimes it seems to me that I am terribly not agile. Father is always angry when I cannot strike a proper blow. Although sometimes, I can still control the sword. ” After pause, he looked at the dreaming Longwei, slightly pushing him, he said, “What are you thinking?”
“About the Moon.”
“Means about me.” smiling said Yue Liang, his eyes quickly shone, and his thin face slightly trembled into a smile.
“Why did you father give you such a name?” Longwei asked. (Yueliang, in Chinese means Moon)
“When I was born, as my father says, the Moon was sparkling in the sky and there was not a single cloud. For the first time in so many years, the sky was clear and only the gentle Moon was shining. And then my father decided to give me this name.”
“You must have opened the gate for moonlight when you were born.” Longwei said and looking at his long hair continued, “Your hair is the color of the moon. It looks like moonlight.”
“And that is another reason why my father gave me that name.”
That night, while the moon was shining, no one dared to stand up or say something. Everyone sat and just looked at the sky until the morning colors overshadowed it. And only Longwei continued to keep the moonlight in his soul.