The Voyage In The Blizzard - Chapter 42
Protruding roots of tall trees covered with a thick layer of snow were like sleeping snakes under the white blanket of Winter.
Tall trees with strong branches were showing strength in spite of being in the middle of the snowstorm.
Having the same fluffy green coat like the pine trees, these trees still had several distinctive features.
Large, pale green leaves whose strength can support heavy weights and have the ability to withstand any cold. Thick branches and dense bark gave these trees strength and defiance to any forces of wind and storm. Their branches have always been used to keep the fire going. Engulfed in flames, these branches were slowly burned, which allowed them to keep the flame for several days.
These frost-resistant trees grew everywhere, along with ordinary pines, their arrangement was chaotic and could stretch along the mountains and to the very steppes.
And now playing the role of a safe haven, the large leaves of these trees hid two tall figures that have continued to sit for several hours..
The tiredness was slowly taking Longwei away into the realm of sleep. But knowing that he could not sleep, he sometimes squeezed Lei’s hand to wake up.
A light blizzard, as always, enveloped them from all sides. The night seemed endless. And with each passing minute, sleep slowly won over, immersing Longwei in the warmth of his thoughts.
Several hours had passed since they approached near the gazebo, which was a house made of stones with a wooden roof and several entrances and columns, inside which a faint flickering of fire could be seen. And during those few hours, none of them noticed anybody around.
Feeling a little hungry, Longwei reached for his backpack and took out a couple of potatoes and a bun.
“Do you want to eat?” he asked, handing the potatoes to Lei.
Tensely continuing to sit, holding on to the tree, Lei quietly replied, “You eat. I do not want to.”
“You can relax a little. Everyone in the clan is asleep, and in general I don’t think that these soldiers would even notice us even if we walked right in front of them. They are lazy, just look at how they guard the gate. They walk here and there and then they leave altogether. So just relax and eat. Nobody knows how long we will be here. ”
“When I’m on a mission, I can’t eat or relax.” Lei answered coldly.
Longwei said with a smirk on his face, “And what about what we were doing in the tree right here? You are on a mission, how could you have lost your guard then.”
Looking at him through a faint blizzard that colored the night in milky tones, Lei replied with a very serious air, “This is different.”
“Different…” laughing softly, Longwei pushed him slightly and handed him the potatoes. “Eat. Why strain yourself trying to see someone or hear someone.”
Taking the potatoes, Lei carefully peeling it off said, “I wonder what those two soldiers were talking about.”
Taking out two stones with a dragon fire, Longwei put one in his pocket and put the other on Lei’s lap.
“Don’t you think they were talking about that creature? About the beast. They were talking about food and what it eats. Therefore, either they caught one of these creatures or they are going to set a trap for them.”
“The Master was right about the head of the Second clan. He clearly has many secrets.”
“You’ve been here a long time. And you should know this Sun as well as you know Xing Fu.”
“I know everyone who lives on these mountains. But I know Sun just a little. Before, he often wanted me to become a warrior of his clan. And basically there was always a purely business conversation between us. We talked about war, about beasts. But I tried to keep my distance. In my heart I knew that such a person could not be trusted. But despite our short conversations, I could not get to know him. Everything I learned was based on my feelings. I felt that the head of the Second Clan has all the qualities of the malevolent hero. Although, he was a friend of Master Xing Fu.”
When he finished eating, Longwei laid his head on folded hands in front of him and said, “As a child, I rarely heard his name. My father and Xing Fu very rarely mentioned him. And I did not know the head of the Third Clan either. And who was before them, in truth, did not interest me. I always lived somehow detached, always strived to create my own world. Although I knew it was selfish. Especially after my father died, I blamed my selfishness. ” Moving on to another topic, Longwei continued with sadness in his voice, “Every time my father left for the battlefield, I didn’t know if he would return. And while he was not around I tried to read as much as possible to escape from this cold world to other worlds. And all in order to be able to create the life that I want in the future, a life in which my father will live happily. I read to be able to create my own life in my own world. While my father was fighting beasts, I opened my heart and soul to whole worlds. Because I wanted to bring happy world here, so that the cold would disappear and the beasts would stop attacking. And now, looking back into my memories, I realize how selfish I was. I wanted to see only what is in my head, but I didn’t want to see the reality. While my father was doing everything for me to live. After what happened to my father, I stopped thinking altogether. I just filled my head with other people’s thoughts. With someone else’s words, lines of poetry. And just to muffle my voice. I locked my mind far away among the rocks. I thought I was creating my own world. I create freedom in such a small way. I thought that if I was alone, then I won everyone and was able to break out of this icy world. But now, looking at myself, I realize how wrong I was. Now, I think differently. ”
As he paused, he brushed away a frozen tear on his cheek.
The icy wind blowing through was saturated with the smell of pines and the tree on which they sat.
Laying his hand on his shoulder, Lei, looking somewhere in the distance, said, “You still have something ahead. Perhaps someday, the dreamer inside of you will change this world.” Moving closer to him, Lei whispered softly, “Now sleep.”
“I’m fine. You better sleep.”
“No. I don’t want to sleep. At night, I rarely sleep. So don’t think about me. If anything strange happens, I’ll wake you up.” Putting Longwei’s head on his shoulder Lei settled himself comfortably on a wide branch and directed his gaze to the flickering fire.
“Did you hear strange sounds last night? I woke up several times from strange sounds. And how did you not hear that.”
“I, too, seems to have heard something. And these sounds came from nowhere.”
“The two of you talked too much about beasts. That’s why you hear all sorts of things. Stop talking and stand in a row.” someone said in an orderly tone.
With the arrival of the morning, having gathered in the courtyard, all the soldiers whose number was not so great stood in a row and, waiting for the teacher, whispered about something.
Longwei, waking up from a sound sleep with opening his eyes, immediately saw Lei, who, with his arms around him, was sitting with the same tense look. Burying his nose into his sleeve, Longwei smiled happily.
“Good morning.” Lei said.
Hearing the conversation, Longwei sat up straight and began to open his eyes, listening to what was being discussed between the tall soldiers in fur hats and long capes.
“These sounds were terrifying. I was to close my eyes. For when I did, I had the feeling that someone was breathing right above me.”
“What a stupid man you are. You are always like this with your fantasies. And in general, have you ever had a day without your obsessive fears and delusional fantasies?”
pushing him, a soldier with a short hair pointed towards the forest and said, “There is a forest all around us. Around the forest is an endless steppe, and around the steppe there is only a curse.”
“But the screams were like that …”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“Hush, hush, the teacher is coming.” someone quickly said and at the same moment everyone raised their heads and stood exactly in anticipation of their coach.
Peering through the foliage, Longwei, trying to see who was the teacher of the Second Clan, shifted the weight of his legs to the branch that was below, thereby creating a creaking sound.
Hearing the sound from the trees, one of the soldiers said, “Why do I have the feeling that someone is watching us.”
Freezing, Longwei held his breath. The distance between them and the soldiers was small and, thanks only to the large leaves, they were invisible.
“Stop talking!” suddenly a loud voice was heard.
Bending his head even lower, Longwei saw a man in a black cape with white fur. Behind him hung a bow and arrows. At first, it was difficult to make out his face, but the closer he got the clearer his features seemed.
Standing in front of the soldiers, a tall man with a displeased tone said, “Looking at you, I am sure that the moment you enter the battlefield, you will be immediately destroyed.”
Turning his back to them, the man raised his head and now he could be clearly seen. It was a man of almost the same age as Lei. His face was unremarkable. Small eyes, a slightly upturned nose, and thin, colorless lips expressed constant displeasure. And only his hairstyle gave him an elusive charm. Long black hair that was perfectly tied into a braid gave him an unusual look. But overall, he was somewhat similar to Sun.
Turning around, the man said, “Looking at you, I always start to doubt my strengths and skills. I spend on you all my time, and why do I always feel like I’m wasting it? Just look at the First and Third Clans. The First clan already has an outstanding warrior, the Third clan too. And in addition, their soldiers are always disciplined and smarter. Well, you are all just a bunch of cowards and a mistake of nature. You have nothing. Not strength, no brains, nothing.”
“Master Dong, we do everything as you say. What don’t you like?” someone asked.
Dong said without looking, “What don’t I like? You are all weak, lazy and stupid. I don’t like everything about you. And you also ask what I don’t like?!”
Taking a bow and taking out an arrow, he studying the point added, “Teaching you, is a waste of time.” Dong pulled the bowstring and suddenly fired an arrow directly at one of the soldiers. He cried out in sharp pain. Taking the arrow out of his leg, the soldier silently continued to endure.
“Maybe you need to be taught under threat? Maybe only then will you become worthy of my time.” Pulling another arrow, Dong said, “Everyone quickly go to the field.”
Unable to stand any longer, the soldier with a wounded leg from which now blood was flowing fell to the ground. With a look of fear on his face, he said, “Sorry, Master. I’ll get up now.”
Dong, approaching him pulled an arrow and aimed at him again. “I’ll give you three seconds.” he said standing over him.
The soldier overcame the pain, got down on all fours and through a dull groan, leaning his hand on the ground, he could still get up.
“Now, run to the field.” ordered Dong and lowered the bow.
Longwei, observing all this, looked at Lei who, without changing his posture and expression, continued to sit without movement. When Dong left, Longwei whispered, “What kind of person is he. Have you seen how he treats everyone? No wonder this whole clan is weird. Just look at how this teacher behaves.”
Adjusting his backpack on his back, Lei checked his sword and said, “It’s time for us to go. There is no one around yet.”
“Okay. I’m first.”
When he first descended into the soft fresh snow, Longwei felt a slight weakness and numbness in his legs. But this did not stop him from moving towards the main house.
Quickly running past the houses, Longwei looked back and, seeing Lei behind him, continued walking.
From the distance, voices and shouts of soldiers could be heard. And at times, Dong’s loud and shrill voice echoed unpleasantly. Not paying attention to all this and not wasting time, they ran through the blizzard a little more and finally found themselves at the main house.
Carefully looking around, Longwei said, “Strange, where are all the guards?”
Without answering, Lei pressed himself against the wall and moved forward. The entrance to the main house was open and oddly enough, no one was there.
“There is a second entrance behind the house.” he said.
“There is no need to hide in this clan. There is no one anyway.” Longwei said, straightening his shoulders and moving towards the stone fence.
Having reached the back of the house, as expected, there was a small door covered with snow.
Quickly removing all the snow, Lei opened the door with one blow, and it easily succumbed to force.
“Doesn’t this Sun think about safety of his house at all?!” Longwei asked in surprise.
“The main house, rather than in our clan and in the Third Clan, is in a courtyard that is guarded from the outside. Therefore, there is almost no security here.” Lei replied looking at Longwei with a strange look. Noticing the change in his voice and face, Longwei grabbed his arm and pulled him inside with all his might.
Once inside an incomprehensible part of the house, they realized that the place where they were was like an abandoned warehouse or shed. In appearance, the place was more like a warehouse of various things. Most of which were unnecessary junk.
Many wooden boxes, sword hilts, ropes and other things filled a small room that was damp. Looking around, Longwei said, “Lei look, there seems to be a dungeon entrance here.” Pointing to the small well in the corner, Longwei looked at Lei. “It really is a well. If we can open this, then I think this path will lead us to Sun’s room. Lei, help me.” Before he could bend over to the iron door of the well, he immediately found himself in complete darkness.
Lei closed the door from the inside and grabbed his arm and pressed him with all his strength against the wooden boxes.
“Lei, I don’t think this is the right time for that.” Longwei whispered softly, feeling Lei’s warm breath on his neck.
Lei hugged him and said, “Longwei.”
Grabbing each other as if grasping in a fight, they both dropped several boxes on the ground and did not pay attention to the noise they made.
In complete darkness, unable to see each other, but hearing their hearts beating, the world around them ceased to exist again.
Forgetting about fleetingness, about the fact that time only flows forward, they have completely stopped time.
Touches, thoughts, words, all this created a whole world. A world in which only the two of them lived.
After some time, moving away from Longwei, Lei lay down on the cold ground, panting.
Longwei, unable to think, reached out and groped Lei’s hand and said, “Every time, you are better and better.” Hearing a low laugh, Longwei nudged him slightly and said, “What are you laughing at?”