The Voyage In The Blizzard - Chapter 85

“Do you remember in the legend how Jang Sun began to burn while pronouncing the words of a curse? It was near some rocks. Far from the kingdom. And dad, remember the last words of the spell.”

“One road, oblivion of fire.”

“And also in this life my candle.”

“So what?”

“Jang Sun sent a curse to the whole kingdom and then burned down right? And think. One road, oblivion of fire. In this life, my candle. Dad, to remove the curse, you need to find the place where Jang Sun burned.”

“He sacrificed himself, he shed his blood.. Yun Qi, your blood will remove the curse!” Longwei said.

“If I am the key, it should work. Your Majesty, where are the stone cliffs here?” Yun Qi asked as she ran to the throne.

“Stone cliffs? There are many stone cliffs around the kingdom. But if you say that this Jang Sun burned down, then perhaps some kind of imprint remained in the ground.” said Li Hua.

“Or maybe it’s all about the Moon? We’ve been walking towards the Moon all this time. Maybe we need to go to the Moon again?”

“Maybe.”

“Then you have to hurry.”

“Wait. Do you really think this will work? I’ve heard and met a lot of curses in my life, but this curse is very strong. Do you really think that a girl like her can lift it?” suddenly asked Li Hua.

“You said you believed me!” Yun Qi exclaimed.

“I believe. But I just can’t understand.”

“Your Majesty, I know you are a little shocked. But we brought Yun Qi to your world because we want to end the beasts. We are tired of watching people die. And the insidious warrior and his army, along with the monsters, are hunting us. So if we won’t hurry, I’m afraid they’ll catch us before Yun Qi can do anything. ” Lei said kneeling down.

“Are you being hunted?” Li Hua asked warily.

“Yes. We have no time. We must not give him strength and power. And this curse is his only weapon. And if he stops us, then I fear your kingdom will be in danger.”

Lost in thought, Li Hua stood up and walked over to the column. Watching her slender figure, the three of them expected words from her.

Turning around, Li Hua said with obvious tenderness, “I will send my troops in search of that very place. And you can go with them. But for the next three days, the Kingdom will have a festival of the Golden Fish and the gates of the kingdom will be closed. And at this time no one should go outside the gate. Therefore, you will have to wait.”

“Three days is a lot. A lot can happen in three days.” Longwei said while still sitting on his knees.

“If you act in a hurry, you might fail. In three days I don’t think anything can happen. And this Sun of yours with his army, he won’t be able to invade my lands. Outside the kingdom are high cliffs that will confuse anyone.” she said with a sly smile.

“So this means your maze!”

“Nature has shut us out of danger.”

“What are the dangers if you don’t know what lies next?”

“There are still troops in the Kingdom of waterfalls, and if they are, then they will see danger everywhere. And besides, this labyrinth was created by nature.” replied Li Hua. “Now please forgive me.” Having retired, she left them alone.

Having escorted them out, the guards stopped at the entrance of the palace, thereby blocking their way back.

“Three days is a lot. What if Sun finds us? Then because of us, many people will die.” Lei said.

Noticing Nien not far from them, Longwei said loudly so that she could hear, “The local warriors in one minute will destroy all of Sun’s soldiers along with the beasts!”

“Follow me.” Suddenly, Changchang’s barely audible voice was heard.

“Your name is Changchang right? And I’m Yun Qi.” Yun Qi held out her hand to her and stopped in front of the slightly frightened small girl. “Do not be so afraid. We are not beasts.”

“Beasts?” Changchang asked, clutching a jug of water in her hand.

“Yes. They are such creatures with long arms and legs, with red eyes and a large mouth with almost a hundred fangs. They also have a crooked back and when they get down on all fours, you can see every vertebra.”

After dropping the water jug, Changchang froze in place.

“Are you scared?”

“Yun Qi. It’s too scary for her.” Bending down to pick up the broken pieces, Longwei said, “Don’t be afraid. They won’t be here.”

“And you have gathered your hair nicely. Will you teach me how to do the same?” Yun Qi asked while examining her two braids.

Still looking at them in dismay, Changchang quietly said, “Her Majesty told me to walk you to your room.”

“May I ask, do you have any food?” Yun Qi asked.

“Follow me.”

Walking around the large palace that gleamed with its golden color, Changchang led them past a fruit garden and then past a windowless building with a large number of books, and stopping in front of a three-storey stone building she said, “Your room is on the ground floor. At the end of the corridor.”

“Where are you going? Won’t you stay with us?” Yun Qi asked as she quickly walked away.

“I think we scared her.” Lei noted.

At first glance, seeing the bed, throwing off her vest and jumping onto the soft pillow from which the scent of fruit emanated, Yun Qi said,

“I think we deserve a three day break. And besides, I have never celebrated any holidays. Interesting to see what kind of holiday it is. Golden Fish.

“Sleep now.” said Longwei, covering her with a soft blanket that did not smell like Snowball’s wool.

Carrying all their fatigue into the world of dreams, the night filled with moonlight and passed in a matter of seconds. And before each of them had time to enjoy their dreams, the bright sunbeams made their way through the thin curtains.

Waking up from the sunrays Longwei was in no hurry to get up. Allowing himself the luxury of lying in bed, he turned over on his stomach and spread his bare feet and, feeling the wind on them, smiled happily.

“Look, their legs are big. And so are their hands.”

“And the skin is rougher.”

“But they’re so pretty.”

“They are clearly not women.”

“Beautiful strangers. Are they trolls?”

“Trolls from a fairy tale? They are scary. And these are beautiful.”

“Before, my grandmother told me about different worlds and magical creatures with wings. She said they were very beautiful.”

“Where do you see their wings?”

“They’re definitely from some magical world.”

“Wake them up.”

“They’re sleeping so deeply. I feel sorry for them. It feels like they’ve been through a lot.”

Turning abruptly on his back, Longwei opened his eyes and saw many women around him, standing and looking at him in surprise.

“Good morning.” said one of them.

Not knowing how to deal with them, Longwei sat down and pushed Lei with his foot. He just made a displeased sound and covered his head with a blanket.

“Lei wake up.” he said pushing him.

“They’re getting close!” Lei exclaimed, and as if he was at war, he quickly jumped up and, with his eyes closed, pulled off his outer clothing.

The embarrassed women, seeing Lei’s relief muscles, simultaneously turned away. But you could hear their whispers. “Very beautiful.”

Opening his eyes, Lei noticing the crowd of women.

“What’s going on here? And where is Yun Qi?”

Curiously finding the courage to turn, one of the girls answered with a smile, “Yun Qi with Changchang in the gazebo.” Stopping her gaze alternately on Lei and on Longwei, she continued to say, “I brought you clean clothes and a towel. You can take a bath and then get ready for the holiday.”

“And what is this holiday?” Longwei asked while still sitting on the bed.

A girl with flowers woven into her hair turned and asked, “You really don’t know about this?”

“We hear about it for the first time.”

“The festival of the golden fish is when the water in the pond becomes the color of gold. This color lasts for three days and while the water in the pond is golden, Her Majesty Queen Li Hua throws all the wishes collected from the residents there. This is a kind of ritual so that everyone’s dreams come true and the future becomes bright.”

“And you believe in it.” Lei said, throwing a towel over his shoulder.

“The Festival of the Golden Fish really works wonders. Make a wish and throw it into the pond. It will definitely come true.”

“So stop watching! Come on. We still need to decorate the room before the guests arrive.” a woman with a large book in her hands hurried them.

Closing the door, they all left the house together. And even outside, you could still hear their whispers filled with surprise and delight.

“Make a wish?! Do they still believe in these fairy tales?” Longwei chuckled. “And what kind of show are you doing here? Do you want them all to fall in love with you?”

“Are you jealous?” Lei bent over his face and smiled slyly.

“Better look at yourself. It’s not for nothing that poor Changchang looked at you so terrified. You look like a filthy forest monster.”

“You should bath me.” Lei kissed him sharply and fell on him.

“Get off me.”

“Now I am the main handsome man in this world. You will be jealous, right?”

Turning his head away, Longwei said nothing.

Out into the courtyard, which was a grassy lawn with several large wooden buckets that looked like small pools, barefoot, stepping on the grass strewn with sunlight, Longwei stretched lazily and walked over to the bucket of water. Having dipped his hand there and feeling the lukewarm, even slightly hot water, he smiled and without hesitation went inside.

For the first time in his life, taking a bath so calmly, he completely dived into the water with his head.

“Should I rub your back?” Lei asked.

“If it’s not difficult.”

Lei couldn’t help smiling at the sight of his wet hair wrapped around his broad but gentle shoulders. “This is the first time I’ve seen you like this.”

“You’ve seen me like this many times.”

“Yes, but now you are especially beautiful.”

After splashing water on his face, Longwei laughed loudly.

Pushing him down by the shoulders Lei said, “Let’s play now.”

“Let me go!”

Grabbing his hand and pulling him towards him, Longwei did not notice how Lei was already in the same water with him.

Splashing the water all around, they disturbed the peace of little yellow flowers.

“So what are you doing?” Longwei asked as he watched Lei start soaping his body.

“Helping you clean up.”

“It tickles!”

“Don’t move like that, or you’ll spill all the water.”

Splashing water on each other and laughing loudly, they allowed themselves to forget about everything in the world.

Grasping Lei by the face, Longwei kissed him and a slight sadness ran over his expression.

“I want this to last forever.” he said. Feeling Lei’s hands on his waist, he rested his head on his shoulder. “Why can’t a person be happy for all eternity?”

“Because a person thinks that he is not ready to be happy for all eternity.” Lei replied.