The Voyage In The Blizzard - Chapter 39
Having met the morning together, in one bed, wrapped in a warm blanket over which lay a fur cape, the first thing they saw when they opened their eyes were their faces, faces that were filled with happiness.
“What is that expression you have?” Lei asked in a whisper, afraid to spoil the moment.
“What is that look on your face? What is that smile?” Longwei asked, running a finger over his cheeks.
Hugging each other, they smiled so tenderly for the first time in their lives. Eagerly embracing each other, they wished with all their hearts that this moment would last forever.
Forever as in the lines of one verse from the books of Longwei:
I wish this moment would last for eternity
When love lives in me
I wish for eternity
When I’m drowning in your tender embrace
I wish for eternity.
When you are in front of me
I wish this moment could last for forever
For you and for me.
Not wanting to let go of each other, continuing to feel the warmth under the blanket, Longwei said, “It’s time for us to go. I wonder what is the beast doing out there? Maybe there are already crowds of beasts in the yard. And we are lying here.”
Pressing him even closer, Lei said lazily, “Just a little more. The beast can wait.”
“And this is the great Lei speaking.” After kissing him lightly, Longwei wanted to get up, but Lei caught him and whispered something in his ear. Pushing him away, Longwei said, “You are shameless.
“Lei. Wait.” Longwei said quietly and abruptly, but closing his eyes, he again plunged into a world where there was no sense of time.
“Well, now it’s time for us to go.”
Quickly putting on his uniform, putting on a woolen cape and wrapping himself in a thick scarf, Longwei went back to bedroom and seeing that Lei was still in bed, he said, “Do you want to lie in bed all day?”
“What can I do? I’m in a great mood. And I’ve never woken up so happy in my life.” stretching said Lei. He had a stupid smile on his face that became brighter and brighter. For the first time in his life, allowing himself to be so happy that the once tense eyebrows and cold eyes were now relaxed and full of carelessness.
“You are at least should get dressed.” going up to him said Longwei. Taking the comb that was lying on the table by the bed, Longwei began combing Lei’s long hair. “When we get out, don’t look at me. Don’t talk to me. We have to be careful. Don’t forget what Ju Long made us do.” Pulling his long hair into a ponytail, Longwei stepped aside and said, “This suits you better.”
“It is uncomfortable.” Lei said and quickly gathering them into a bun, he finally stood up and Longwei immediately turned away, blushing. “What is it? Are you embarrassed?” Smiling, Lei walked around him on purpose and slowly left the room.
Last night, no one went to bed. Continuing to sit, clutching their swords, everyone’s gazes were fixed on the windows. Observing everything and entering the game with imagination, everyone perceived every movement of the branch in the wind for a beast. Not daring to speak, imagining the upcoming battle, memorizing everything that Lei taught, everyone was ready to strike the first blow. And with the arrival of the morning, relaxing, some gave themselves the will to lie down. And when Delun noticed Longwei walking to the house, he ran to the door and immediately opened it.
Dragging him inside and locking the door, Delun asked, “Well, what is there? Was that a beast? Who was killed? Did you see him?”
“Longwei, where have you been? Have you seen the beast?”
“What was Boqin doing in our clan?”
Asking him hundreds of questions, all surrounding Longwei with tired faces looked at him. Longwei, meanwhile, looked fresh and content.
Going to his bed, he sat down.
Catching the gaze of Baofeng-Xue who was eager to punch him in the face, and the gaze of Xiaoli who seemed to know what had happened between him and Lei, Longwei said, “I did not see the beast, but Master Lei is sure that something strange is happening here. And the appearance of Boqin at such an hour is also strange. And about who was killed, I do not know yet. But I think today Xing Fu will call us all and explain everything. ”
“Longwei, I think Boqin himself is involved. Don’t you think he is plotting something. And using the beast as an excuse, he broke into our clan. He’s plotting something. I’m sure of that.” said a guy named Enlai.
Everyone around him supported him.
“You are right, the warriors would not let any beast climb the mountains, much less reach the village.” Longwei said.
Delun lightly hugged him and sadly said, “We were worried about you. We were afraid that something would happen to you.” Pointing to Baofeng-Xue, who was lying on the bed with his back, Delun whispered something, but Longwei did not hear it.
“Well, I think we can go out now. We can’t sit here all day.” said Eagle and pointing towards the door he went out.
Leaving Longwei and Baofeng-Xue alone, Delun made a gesture that everything would be fine and closed the door.
Longwei took off his shoes and climbed under the blanket. He said, “You’re mad at me again. Am I right?”
There was no answer.
“Why do I have the feeling that I will always apologize to you? Brother Xue, are you sleeping?” Taking a small book from the nightstand, he threw it at Xue, but he did not even turn around. “Well, if you are mad, then continue be mad.” he said and closing his eyes, plunged into the memories of what happened at night. Not holding back a smile, Longwei covered his face with a blanket and his whole body shook. And then suddenly feeling strong hands on him, he opened his face and saw Baofeng-Xue sitting on his knees by his bed. Grabbing him by the shoulders, he cried softly with his head bowed. Tears dripped onto the bed leaving marks.
“Brother Xue, what’s wrong with you?” Standing up, Longwei touched his back, but he just shuddered, buried his face in the blanket. “Why are you crying? Brother Xue.”
Without raising his head, Xue squeezing his hands continued to tremble all over. Longwei saw him in this state for the first time and patted him on the back in distraction, saying, “Stop crying.”
And then, sharply raising his head, with red eyes, Baofeng-Xue looked straight into Longwei’s eyes with anger and sadness, and the next moment hit him in the face with all his might.
“Bao Fengxue!” cried Longwei. “Are you crazy?”
Grabbing him by the shoulders, Xue began to shake him from side to side, shouting, “You’re crazy! Why are you always looking for death?! What’s wrong with you? Why always make me worry? Why can’t you think about the feelings of others? What if you met a beast? What then? You don’t think about anyone? You stupid idiot! ” Shouting with all the volume of his shrill voice, tears continued to fall down his cheeks.
“Stop!” Pushing him, Longwei holding his nose which was bleeding said, “What has come over you? Have you forgotten where we are! Yes, every step can lead us to the beast. Or have you forgotten? Baofeng-Xue, why are we here? Tell me why? We are here because of them, because of these incomprehensible creatures. And for some reason, we have to protect these mountains. Do you think that we should avoid meeting these fanged, humpbacked beasts? Someday brother Xue, we will have to face them and what will you do then? You will also start crying and reproach me for seeking death? We are the warriors Baofeng-Xue, remember this.”
Having said this, he quickly put on his shoes and left the house loudly closing the door behind him.
The rest were standing outside and from their appearance you could tell that they heard everything. Having passed them, Longwei did not know where he was heading.
“What is going on?” Delun asked in surprise, and only Xiaoli with a loud sigh filled the unpleasant silence.
As expected, closer to dinner, Xing Fu called everyone to the main house. Gathering everyone in the large hall, Xing Fu, sitting in his armchair, deeply thought about something. His heavy eyebrows falling over his lowered eyes seemed to freeze, keeping the same emotions in him. And the scar on his face seemed deeper and fresher than usual.
Ye Ying, standing behind him, was holding a tray with a cup and some fruits which were frozen from the cold.
Noticing Longwei in the hall, Xing Fu raised his head. At the sight of him, a perceptible smile reappeared on his face. Sitting up straight, Xing Fu finally said, “I think you all heard what happened last night. Fortunately, now everything has calmed down. Teacher Boqin is fine, but as for the beast, no trace was found. And whoever was killed, was one of the soldiers of the Third Clan. Examining his body, it turned out that he was bitten in the neck. And maybe it was one of the forest beasts like a wolf. But I’m not sure about that yet. ”
Having said this, he paused and looked down. The cold expression on his face showed not a single hint that what he said was partly not true. Longwei, noticing that he was clearly hiding something, came closer to him, but did not say anything or ask about anything.
A soldier in a long black cloak who was clearly much older than the others asked, “Master Xing Fu, why then teacher Boqin was at our village at this hour?”
To which Xing Fu replied sharply, “Noticing that one of his soldiers was not in place, he rushed to look for him, and on the way, noticing bloody footprints that led to the forest, he followed them and ended up in our village. Boqin just followed the tracks of his student.”
“But from the mountain of the Third clan to ours it is quite far. How did teacher Boqin get in such darkness?” someone asked.
Looking at Xing-Fu’s facial expressions, Longwei realized that he was definitely hiding something.
Without hesitating to answer, Xing Fu said, “Teacher Boqin, according to him, was just looking for his soldier. And following his footsteps through the forest, he ended up here.” When Xing Fu stopped talking about it, he stood up and said, “Be on the alert and don’t relax. Be careful. We’re not sure about the beasts yet. Also, Lei, strengthen the security around the village and cut back on training.”
After looking at Ye Ying and making it clear that it was time for everyone to go, Xing Fu fixed his gaze on Longway.
Ye Ying stepped forward and with his rough voice said, “You can go now.”
When everyone left the hall, only Longwei and Lei remained.
Trying not to look at each other, they remained silent until Xing Fu spoke.
“You know me so well. And as soon as you realized that it was you I needed.” he said, starting to walk back and forth.
Longwei said, “I noticed in your gaze that you were hiding something. And by fixing your gaze on me, you made it clear that I need to stay.”
Xing Fu smiled slightly. “Of course.” he said, casting a cursory glance at Lei.
Lei, clutching the hilt of his sword in his hand, quietly asked, “How can I help you?”
Xing Fu held his palm over the candle and sighed, his long, snow-white beard trembled. Returning to his chair, he waved his hand and Ye Ying left the hall.
“What I told everyone is not true.” he admitted without changing his expression. “Last night, when I woke up because of a scream, I looked out the window and noticed two people. They were running towards the forest. And when one of them ran past the fire, I noticed their uniforms. They were soldiers of the Second Clan. Why were they in our village I don’t know, but when I went out I saw Boqin and then all of you. And then intercepting Boqin, I told Ye Ying to take him to my house. When he was already here, I checked his wounds on his back. And they were not so serious. I asked him what had happened to which he replied that he was attacted by a monster. I wanted to ask him more, but he suddenly lost consciousness. Then I went to check the body of the deceased, but he was no longer there. I walked around the whole forest with Ye Ying but he was nowhere to be found. In the morning, when I went downstairs, I immediately noticed that Boqin was awake and was about to leave. He looked healthy. Behaving somehow strangely, trying not to look me in the eyes, he quickly said that it was time for him to return and report to On about what happened to their soldier. But I noticed one more thing, while Boqin was at my house, I watched him, and at night, he approached the door several times, it was like he was scaring of something. I am not sure whether it was beast or now but I am sure that here, Boqin and Sun are involved.”
Plunging into silence, Xing Fu looked at Longwei.
“Soldiers of the Second Clan…” Longwei quietly whispered to himself, then walking up to Xing Fu, he said, “To tell you the truth, when I first saw the head of the Second Clan, I felt like he had some other purpose. I always suspected him but this time I’m sure he arranged it all. He sent his soldiers. But for what? What did he suddenly need in our clan?”
Raising his head, Xing Fu replied, stroking his beard, “This is what I want to find out.”
“Shall we go to the village of the Second Clan?”
Lei stepped closer and asked, “Master Xing Fu, what’s your plan?”
“In truth, I have never been on good terms with Sun. And I don’t know much about him. All this time we were just fighting on the battlefield side by side. But I never suspected him of anything. But for some reason now I feel that he hides something from us. To find out, I want to send you to the Second clan. But not directly. Watch every step of everyone who belongs to the Second clan. Luckily around their village are thick trees and there are many rocks and caves, so I think it won’t be difficult to observe secretly. Watch during the day and when night falls, try to get closer to Sun’s house. Find out everything. ”
“Observe from the side? Master, are we going to play hide and seek?!” exclaimed Longwei. “Why waste time?”
“You do not understand Longwei, now we are dealing with people. And you need to be careful with them. These are not beasts with whom you can behave harshly.” Xing Fu replied lighting another candle.
“But what is the use of observation?”
“Longwei!” Lei said loudly, shaking his head. Turning to Xing Fu, he said, “As soon as we know anything, we will return immediately.”
“Be careful.”
“Wait a minute. Xing Fu, but why do you need my help? You have not forgotten that I will soon leave this place, so why involve me in your affairs?” Longwei asked sharply, catching Lei’s slightly offended and angry look.
Laughing for the first time, Xing Fu stood up and went to Longwei, he put his hand on his shoulder. With an imperceptible tenderness in his eyes, he said, “I trusted your father with everything, and therefore I trust you with everything. Looking at you, I feel calm and confident.”
Not finding the right words, Longwei just looked away and a feeling of sadness reborn in his soul.