The Voyage In The Blizzard - Chapter 99

“Lei wake up. Lei. Dad!”

Still hearing the hum in his ears, Lei did not immediately understand who was calling him and who was dragging him with such force somewhere. But from the sensation that sharp stones were scratching his back, he finally opened his eyes and saw Yun Qi’s face above him.

“What happened?” he asked looking around but seeing only mountains of corpses.

“There was a massacre. You were wounded, but I see you will live.” Yun Qi replied.

“Where are we now?”

“On Tiger Mountain.”

Looking at the heavy clouds, Lei raised himself to his elbows. At first glance, it was not clear whether it was day or night. Although the rain had stopped pouring, you could still hear the thunder and at times leaps of lightning.

“Are you okay? Not injured?”

“Yes. Everything is fine. But of course we would not have coped with such a crowd of warriors alone. If not for the soldiers of the First Clan.” she said, pointing in the direction of a small rock on which Xing Fu and Shidai and other young soldiers were sitting.

Helping him up, Yun Qi looked down and saw nothing but bloody fields and said, “Well, now is the time to destroy this curse.”

“Did you find the place?”

“We are standing at this very spot.”

Just realizing that they were standing by the sharp cliffs that were part of Tiger Mountain, Lei looked down at the brown-red ground and noticed that no grass was growing on this particular piece of land.

“So it was here where Jang Sun burned out and cursed Li Hua.”

“Yes. This is where it all began. And this is where it ends.” Yun Qi said and grabbing a small knife squeezed it in her palm and several drops of blood fell down.

“What are you doing?” Lei asked, stopping her.

“My blood will remove the curse. I am the key. My whole being.”

“Yes, but …”

Taking his hand, Yun Qi smiled and brushed her hair from her face and said, “Don’t worry Dad. Everything will be fine. It’s just a scratch.”

Gripping the knife tighter, she closed her eyes and now the blood poured in a thin stream directly onto the ground.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Kingdom.

“You just can’t imagine how this ruined the life of each of my ancestors! Because of Li Hua, my grandfather killed himself! He suffered, and his suffering was passed from generation to generation. Queen Li Hua ruined my whole family! We are all poisoned. Do you even know how it is to be the heir of the poison who can feel all the misfortune of the world, because my grandfather died in agony, in the very hands of the dark forces! These dark forces reflected on my father too.” shouted Sun, kicking the ground under his feet. “There was not a drop of happiness in my family! And now you want everything to end like this?! No! Well, no! I won’t let you! I will reach the heights! I will become the one who opens the door to luck and happiness! I will stop the poison. I will. I will do everything so that my grandfather’s death is not in vain.”

“You will never achieve happiness if you do not stop following the lead of this very poison.” Li Hua said while still under the blade of the sword.

“Your Majesty, don’t move!” Nien ordered.

With every passing second, imperceptibly for Sun, coming closer to him, Longwei looked at Li Hua and slightly nodded his head.

“You’re right. You haven’t seen anything good in this life. Sun, I understand you.” he said suddenly.

Allowing himself to become a little vulnerable at his words, Sun changed his expression to a softer one and said, “Longwei, you still understand me. I always knew that you would understand me. Sooner or later, you will understand me.”

“I’ve always understood you. From the very beginning. You have lost many in your life. And so have I.” Walking closer to him, Longwei put his hand on his shoulder and whispered, “We have a lot in common.”

“Brother Longwei!” Baofeng-Xue shouted.

Approaching his ear, thereby causing him to lose his guard, Longwei whispered even more quietly, “We equally want to take revenge on those who hurt us.”

Sun, turning his head, smiled, but not that poisonous smile, but kind and tired. Tears accumulated in his eyes. “I was waiting for you to tell me that. We are the same. Yes, we are the same.”

“So let’s get our right to be happy back.” Longwei said, and the moment Sun lost himself, lost all his ego and for the first time in his life, he shed a few drops of tears.

Taking advantage of the moment, Longwei abruptly grabbed him by the neck and snatched his sword.

“Your majesty, run.” he told to Li Hua.

“Your Majesty.” Nien ran up to her and covered her with her cloak.

“Get away from here! Get away quickly! Everyone!” shouted Longwei waving his sword.

“Brother Longwei!”

“Baofeng-Xue go away! Take everyone away!”

“But Longwei!”

“Leave quickly!” exclaimed Longwei, and then, feeling the strongest earthquake, everyone fell to the ground. As if on horseback, the ground under their feet rose up and down, and then began to crack like thin ice.

“Go away, everyone!”

Ignoring the earthquake, Sun grabbed Longwei by the neck just like he grabbed him. “Longwei! You seem to want to die!”

Pushing him away from himself, Longwei did not hesitate to strike the next blow.

Sword on sword, blow after blow, that was the beginning of the last duel.

Managing to stand on their feet during the next tremors from the bowels of the earth, they both moved towards the forest behind which the stone labyrinth began.

Expending all his remaining strength, Longwei cried loudly, and this cry was replaced by the growl of a real beast. The ground underfoot was going away leaving cracks behind.

Hundreds of dead bodies of monsters falling into these cracks disappeared forever in the bowels of the earth.

“The curse is lifted, Sun. Look!” laughing said Longwei, pointing at a dozen beasts.

Standing on all fours, they fearfully looking began to burn with a blue flame. Blazing fire covered their fur. Passing from one to another flame of fire, from nowhere embraced each monster. And now, in agony and screams, rushing from side to side, they turned into ash.

“What a pity for your dear pets.”

With horror in his eyes, watching the flame devour the fruit of his labors, Sun swung his sword and wanted to stick it in Longwei’s chest, but an arrow came from behind and pierced him through.

Lowering his head down to see the tip of the arrow covered in blood, Sun turned his head back and spotted Yun Qi at the farthest end of the fiery chaos.

Then grabbing Longwei, he found the strength to move forward. But after a few steps, falling to the ground, he fixed his gaze on Longwei and no longer found the strength to blink. Sun was dead.

“Dad! Get away from there!” shouted Yun Qi.

Standing on opposite sides of the fire that was still burning the monsters, Longwei was not afraid, he smiled. And there were all shades of happiness in his smile.

“Dad!”

“Longwei!”

Noticing Lei far from him, Longwei nodded his head.

“Dad get out of there!”

Lei, knowing that this was the last moment, ran to Yun Qi and pulled her to himself.

“Let me go! What are you doing?!” Breaking free from his embrace, Yun Qi said. But Lei held her tight, held her so that she would not see that very last moment of her father.

Looking at each other for the last time, looking like this was their first acquaintance, Longwei and Lei were sharing the blue flames of fire and the chaos that was slowly subsiding, simultaneously nodding their heads as a sign that each of them knew what the other was thinking.

Pursing his lips into seriousness and cold-bloodedness, Lei was ready to see that very look. A look that demanded forgiveness.

Longwei, on the other hand, smiled and held back his tears, but tears of happiness still flowed down his bloody cheeks.

The moment when everything was over, the moment when everything became as he always wanted it to be, the moment when he stood in the world in which he always dreamed of living, at that very moment he was the happiest of all. And as a sign of his victory, he accepted the fact that now, the future will be brighter than ever. His Victory was that Yun Qi would live in a better world where there was no need to survive and be afraid. Knowing all this, he smiled once more at Lei. But Lei continued to stand motionless, like a real soldier who is watching the end of the war. Like a soldier who has lost the ability to smile and rejoice. As a soldier who left all his soul and heart in the war.

“I love you.” Longwei said. “Take care of her.” he added and feeling how his heart began to stop abruptly, he smoothly fell down.

Knowing what he said but not answering, Lei hugged Yun Qi.

“No dad.” Yun Qi whispered and hitting Lei so that he stepped aside, she looked in the direction where Longwei was standing, but he was no longer there.

All she saw was fire and ground that rose up and deep cracks in which the soldiers found rest.

Turning over, moving like waves of the sea, the grounds continued to rage. Like vertebrae rising back, the earth seemed to want to run away or get rid of everything that was on it.

“Dad!” Yun Qi continued to scream, watching the ground on which he stood a few minutes ago had already been cracked and now an abyss has formed there, which will now always be a sign of pain and eternal sorrow.

“Longwei.” Lei whispered and taking Yun Qi’s hand, he pulled her to him again. She, crying heavily, wrapped her arms around him. Falling to their knees, they froze in place, until the sun’s rays began to appear in the sky.