The Voyage In The Blizzard - Chapter 49
With each passing day, the day when Longwei was created approached.
Not wanting to think about it, Longwei tried to fill his thoughts with training and books as much as possible. Although these books, only brought him pain. It was unbearable to hold Lei’s books. The hard covers burned every inch of his skin. The imprints left by Lei touched his heart, making him think about him, worry about him, and thus increase his hatred for Sun.
After a long day unable to sleep, Longwei sitting in the library recalled the night when he and Lei let their feelings express themselves. Seeing Lei in front of him, the way he was lying on this carpet, with tenderness looking at him, Longwei clenched his fist, jumped up and hit the table. Wandering in the twilight, breathing in the smell of books, he continued to think about Lei. And the more days passed without him, the stronger his feelings became.
But knowing that his feelings could lead to death, he tried to destroy them, but everything was in vain. As stated in the lines of one verse he found in one of the books:.
Feelings can be forgotten
But this is just an illusion.
Hearing a loud knock on the door that interrupted his meditation, Longwei, tying the belt of a warm robe, went towards the stairs.
Standing on the doorstep covered with snow and shivering from the cold, Yue Liang abruptly rushed inside.
“Every time I wonder how cold it can be in this world. I can’t feel my toes and feet.” Shaking off the snow, Yue-Liang took off his warm cloak and walked briskly towards the stairs.
“Longwei, I hope I didn’t wake you up? I just saw the light and thought that you must be reading.”
Returning to the chair as Lei did, Longwei replied, “There is a stone with dragon fire near the fireplace. Take this.”
Placing himself comfortably on one of the pillows, Yue-Liang took off his boots and straightened his legs forward towards the fire. “It’s so nice to sit by the fireplace after a long workout. Longwei, thank you for your kindness. I am so lucky that you became my friend.”
“Soon, you will all graduate. Your father must be coming soon to watch the final fight.”
Rolling a small stone that burned his skin, Yue – Liang, looking at the flames of fire, said, “Yes. Soon there will be the last battle in these fields. And then my father will send me to meet the beasts.”
Sitting next to him, Longwei clasped the pillow and looked at him. “I always wanted to ask. Why did your father send you to the battlefield without letting you finish training?”
Spreading out on the soft carpet and putting a pillow under his head, Yue-Liang answered with sadness in his voice, “My father was always unhappy with me. As I told you, in his eyes I was always weak and inept. That’s why, my father decided to send me to survive in the war. He thought that there, I would change. Although I must admit on the battlefield, all I did was run away and hide behind my soldiers. My father gave me an army, talented soldiers, but I looked like a coward among them.”
Feeling the impending desire to sleep, Longwei turned to him. “Soon, we will have the last battle before the Heads of the clan. After which we will go to the battlefield. And I am sure that this time you will not need anyone’s help.”
Approaching him, Yue-Liang’s eyes sparkled with fire. Without taking his eyes off Longwei, he silently thought about something.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You know, a few months ago, there was a fight in my clan between two soldiers.” he said suddenly. “This fight was the most terrible and cruel I have ever seen. Two soldiers were hittting each other and were using all their strength to stop the other. I was standing there and was looking at them. While two of them swung their swords and were striking each other. There was a lot of blood. The snow field suddenly turned red. And even the snow that was falling at that moment seemed to be falling already bloody. I was standing in front, just watching. I have tried to look away, but I kept looking at their eyes. And you know, in the eyes of these soldiers there was nothing but misfortune and grief. I wanted to stop them, help them. But they had to keep fighting with each other until both of them took their last breath. This fight went on for a long time. Because each was afraid. Afraid to hurt the other. And therefore the injuries were not serious. The blows were not fatal. But as expected from them, they had to bring death to each other. And that was all. They looked into each other’s eyes, the last smile flashed on their lips, the last look, and the last whisper. Then, they just stopped it. Blood gushed out, staining everything in dark red tones. And until their hearts stopped beating, they looked at each other. I did not dare to move away from this bloody field. I didn’t know why a person should suffer so much when his only dream was just to be happy. Then, I was very scared. And to this day I am still scared. I’m afraid that someday I will meet my end as well as those two people.”
“Why do you think you will meet your end …”
Yue Liang interrupted him and approached and the next second he slightly, as if afraid, covered Longwei’s lips with his own lips. Keeping his gaze on him, Yue Liang slowly lay back down. As if surprised by his action, he looked up at the ceiling and quietly said, “I’m scared, Longwei.”
“Brother Longwei, what a pity that you did not become our teacher earlier. Very soon there will be a final battle and then, we will all leave your teachings.”
“Are you crying? I never thought you were that sentimental.”
“Shut up.”
“Longwei, teacher, are you ready for the final fight? As a teacher, you are responsible for all of us. And if someone does not show what you taught us, then Xing Fu will blame you.”
“Yes, and since you are of the same age as we are, you too have to show your skills in front of the heads of the Three clans.”
“I wonder who Longwei will fight with. We’ll all be defeated for sure.”
“Better focus on push-ups.” Longwei said.
In the early morning, having gathered on the field, slowly raising and lowering their bodies, the soldiers were talking about the upcoming battle.
“I don’t know how you think, but I think I can defeat this giant.” said Delun. “Ye Ying, he is already old and I don’t think he still has powers.”
Baofeng-Xue quickly finished push-ups and said through heavy breathing, “Have you ever seen him? One hand is like all of you.”
“He’s not young anymore. Just remember the last fight. Almost all of the students defeated him.”
“It’s because the former students were so much stronger than all of us. Even Lei said that, remember?”
Xiaoli sat down on the snow, brushed off the beads of sweat and asked, “This Ye Ying, do we really need to fight with him?”
After finishing the push-ups, Longwei quickly jumped up. Putting the cape over his back, he said, “Ye Ying, despite his age, he is still the strongest of all warriors. Therefore, his goal is to carry out the last test for the soldiers. Yes, he is strong, and even very. But that does not mean that you you should be afraid of him. Just do what I taught you. Use all your skills. ”
Catching Yue-Liang’s gaze, Longwei turned away and continued, “Ye Ying is quite strong, but beast is much stronger. His strength compared to them is just a snowflake against the background of a snowstorm. Ye Ying has no fangs and claws, his muscles are not so strong and solid, he is human and he gets tired. But those beings, they know nothing but how to go forward and destroy everything in their path. So stop thinking that your strength will not allow you to survive. ”
“What if one of us is defeated at the hands of Ye Ying? What then? Then we won’t be allowed to go to the battlefield?” asked one of the soldiers.
Trying not to look in the direction of Yue-Liang Longwei replied, “If you are defeated, you will still go to the battlefield. If you win, then you will go there anyway. This fight is not a decisive moment whether to send you to battle or not. This fight shows not your strength, but mine. What I taught you, what kind of soldiers I prepared. So, most likely, the heads of the clan will test me. And decide whether I will remain a teacher or continue on my way as a simple soldier. ”
“We won’t let you down! I will do everything in my power to keep you as a teacher. The First Clan needs a teacher like you Longwei.” exclaimed Delun. “And perhaps in the future you will become a great warrior.”
Without saying anything, Longwei wanted to continue training, but Yue-Liang suddenly asked, “Master, there are only a few days left until the final fight, so maybe we should fight right now? Let’s say, a preparation.”
“No. These days we won’t fight. Just keep training your muscles.” Longwei answered coldly.
After everyone had gone home, in the late evening when the candles were lit, Longwei, not wanting to go to Lei’s house, went into the forest.
Gloomy paths covered with a thick layer of snow led to different places in the forest. The branches of the trees, dyed black, merged together creating a gloomy atmosphere around.
Ignoring the darkness around Longwei, slowly moving his feet, thought about what Yue Liang had said. About those two soldiers, about bloody snow. Seeing their gazes in front of him, gazes filled with fear and the last sparks of tenderness, Longwei stopped.
Fear and worries gripped his heart from all sides.
Clenching his fists, feeling a lump in his throat, Longwei closed his eyes as if thereby wanting to close his feelings.
His words sounded through the wind. Quietly, with pain, his words slightly disturbed the peace of the forest. The words that kept saying, “I will forget about you.”