61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJBDVuZCbgm
The sky was gray and sickly.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSv5GNelAG5
The junk drifted. No wind filled its torn sails. No current pushed its cracked hull. It simply sat on the water, turning slowly in circles, as if the sea had forgotten it existed.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6JLaFwikp
General Feng Jian stood at the bow, scanning the horizon. Nothing. No land. No ships. No birds. Just water in every direction.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJyAWahPeO
"We are stranded," he said to no one in particular.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSQJlvFicL
The navigator, Master Chen, knelt beside a bucket of seawater. He had been vomiting for an hour. "The storm last night threw us off course. I cannot tell where we are. No stars. No landmarks. Nothing."
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5NRTjAQUCc
"How far from land?"
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUV4QZOAjK0
Chen shook his head. "Could be a day. Could be a week. Could be we are sailing in circles until we starve."
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhoJ8Ms8mnb
"Can we turn back?" the general asked.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXb8QR5xWwx
Chen pointed at the empty sea behind them. "No wind. No current. The oars are useless in this dead water. We cannot go forward, and we cannot go backward. We are trapped."
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjiGQBm1tJj
The general turned to the crew. They sat in small groups, their faces pale, their eyes hollow. The servants huddled near the cabin where Liang Wei lay.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfo2OGOhPH3
"How is the master?" the general asked.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVp4QELwDH
The young woman who had first seen the purple flames – her name was Li Hua – looked up. "He is awake. Barely. He asked for water."
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFuD2VVQG4
The general walked to the cabin.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlaQECvKHoC
Liang Wei lay on a pile of torn sailcloth. His robe was stuck to his chest with dried blood. The arrows had been removed, but the wounds were still raw. The cannonball dent on his ribs had turned purple and black. His face was burned, but his eyes were open.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQFNBsdYXQG
General," he whispered.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYDs4sAnp3f
"Master. Don't speak. Save your strength."
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz88O6Cc3HY
Liang Wei shook his head slowly. "We are not moving."
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFZ7P2pQv0
"No. There is no wind."
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO91raIohPU
"It is not the wind." Liang Wei tried to sit up, winced, and fell back. "The purple flame. The soul‑seeking arrows. They are gone, but they left something behind. A curse. The water around us is dead."
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0RxZFIKKe
The general frowned. "Dead water?"
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgeOcGhRH2
"The dragon lines. The currents of qi beneath the sea. The arrows disturbed them. We are stuck in a pocket of stillness." Liang Wei closed his eyes.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxImO7bWJhR
His chest rose and fell slowly. "But we have only one option. A last resort."61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpQSRtRYLx
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlH9ZUMtuq
"What last resort?"
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuj10Oilrh
"There is a way to invoke the spirit of a sea dragon. Not a living one – a dead one, preserved. I saw it once, long ago, in a secret temple. Even the emperor does not come close to that place. It is guarded by elites – the same families who have protected that temple for generations, the ones who made me untouchable to anyone including the emperor."
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLbISa9aVq2
The general frowned. "Did you train with their ancestors ?"
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡez6wfYCGlT
Liang Wei nodded weakly. "When I was young, I was chosen to study with them. They showed me the dead dragon. Its body was coiled around a pillar of jade, preserved by magic. Its spirit still lingered. The temple monks had learned to invoke it in times of dire need. They taught me the invocation – but only for the gravest danger."
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ740tAJVocn
"Then why didn't you summon it earlier? Before the cannon fire?"
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyiw0PlnnkY
"Because it is not something you can call at will," Liang Wei said. "The dragon's spirit is proud and easily angered. It only answers when there is no other hope. And there is a warning." He opened his eyes. "No impure mortal may set eyes on it during the invocation. If anyone looks upon the dragon's form, the spell will break. And the dragon's wrath will bring havoc upon us all."
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTxSZ526nc
The general swallowed. "How do we do this?"
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rnsDkY8i4
"Help me to the bow. Have everyone kneel with their faces to the deck. No one opens their eyes until I say. Not for any reason."
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGa7bQUF1m
***
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf5Arugj2J8
The general mobilized everyone.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0foMQWHV98
The crew patched the holes in the hull – there were three, from cannonballs and splintered wood. They used canvas, rope, and a thick paste made from rice and tar. It would not hold forever, but it might hold long enough.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcEIBFBR6nw
The servants gathered the remaining food and water. Two weeks' worth, if rationed. Maybe three.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKDagwbo7iS
The guards stood watch at the four corners of the junk, spears in hand, scanning for threats that might not come.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkzKu9Pp42
After an hour, Liang Wei emerged from the cabin.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWTLAUF4cm
He walked slowly, leaning on a staff carved from a broken oar. His robe had been changed. His wounds were wrapped in clean cloth. He still looked like a dead man walking.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGrGH73fCj
"Master, you should rest," Li Hua said.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPwg5vDW0S
"I will rest when we are moving." He made his way to the bow, facing the empty sea. "Everyone stay back. Do not interrupt. Do not speak. Do not open your eyes."
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzEdQMqeUtF
Liang Wei stood at the bow, leaning on a staff carved from a broken oar. His wounds had been wrapped, but blood still seeped through. He looked like a man who should be in a coffin, not commanding a ship.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP1pZfesWKZ
General Feng Jian stood beside him, one hand on the master's arm to keep him steady. Everyone else – the crew, the servants, the guards – knelt on the deck, their foreheads pressed to the wooden planks. Their eyes were shut.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIxQHsy1HG
"Remember," Liang Wei said, his voice thin but clear. "No one opens their eyes. No matter what you hear. No matter what you feel. The dragon will come. Do not look upon it."
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66BEKLyh4p
He raised his hands.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyF5a1YC15J
He began to chant.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3mK8qFa76
The words were old – older than Chinese, older than any language spoken on land. They were the tongue of the deep, the speech of tides and currents. He had learned them from the temple monks, who had learned them from the dead dragon's spirit itself.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjoddDuTzkq
The air grew cold.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHnPj6MxUZ8
The water began to glow.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESr4I7VPY5
A soft blue light rose from the depths, spreading outward in rings. The junk shuddered. Then, slowly, it began to move. Not much. A few feet. Then more. The light carried it forward, as if the sea itself had become a river.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jP7puukyB
"It is working," the general whispered. He kept his eyes fixed on Liang Wei's back.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEonfMPdsc8
The light grew brighter. The water beneath the junk turned turquoise, then silver, then gold. A shape formed below the surface – long, serpentine, enormous. A dragon.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKJeO8v6vN
Not a living dragon. A spirit – translucent, glowing, its scales like polished moonlight. It coiled beneath the junk, wrapping itself around the hull, and began to pull.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Nbcud8DCh
The junk surged forward.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Z5olwfQg4
The crew felt the movement. Some wept with relief. Others prayed silently. All kept their eyes shut.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaoMEFEvx3k
The dragon carried them for what felt like hours. The water rushed past. The wind – real wind, not the dragon's breath – began to fill what remained of the sails. The junk was moving faster than it had since leaving port.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHh4Hs6DQ5
And then one man opened his eyes.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23jC5LZt45
His name was Zhang Wei – a young guard, no older than twenty, who had joined Liang Wei's household only a year ago. He had never seen magic before. He had never believed in dragons.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIwq9MygaIj
But he felt the light on his face. He heard the water hissing. He smelled the salt and something else – something ancient and powerful.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44CGwSZ3mk
Curiosity burned in him.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnv06IBAaT
He lifted his head.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxqovqslGf4
He saw the dragon.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs6syOTpHu7
It was beautiful. Its scales were the color of deep ocean, shifting from blue to green to black. Its eyes were twin suns, burning gold. Its body stretched for miles beneath the waves, translucent and glowing. For a moment, Zhang Wei forgot to breathe.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFGO5dhCkW
The dragon turned its head.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVt0b5MPtR
Their eyes met.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDuGIW2ecvh
The dragon's mouth opened. A voice — not a roar, but words — came from its throat. Human words.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKPDleMbHr
"Sacrilege."
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGGVQBtS9i
The word hung in the air, heavy as stone.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hjDoVOJcB
"A grave sin. An impure mortal has looked upon my sacred form with evil eyes. Only death can calm my wrath."
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd66dMqcXjb
Master Liang Wei raised his hands, shouting at the spirit. "Forgive him! He is young! He knew not what he did!"
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFqXJsbS9J
The dragon did not listen. Its golden eyes blazed. Its body turned, coils shifting, and its massive tail rose from the water.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6z7ZEBxTXD
"Forgiveness is not mine to give," the dragon said. "Only vengeance."
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28VrJ3VMp0
The tail came down.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRPYUPus4x
It struck the junk's stern with a crack like thunder. Wood splintered. A guard flew into the sea. The entire ship lurched, throwing everyone sideways.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhW4cUuI2ji
Then the dragon dove.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pnQMzcsl2
Its glowing form sank into the depths, disappearing into darkness. The light vanished.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6FqPkPWgrp
The sea went dark.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAIF1KC33yF
Then the storm came.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGKZBh5d5e
It did not build gradually. It exploded. Wind slammed into the junk from all directions at once. Rain fell sideways, needle‑sharp. Waves rose – not from the horizon, but from directly beneath the hull, as if the sea itself was vomiting in rage.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOHr417u4U
The junk lifted into the air, hung for a terrible moment, then crashed down.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIeGXVhcthr
The crew screamed. The servants wept. The guards grabbed onto anything they could.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOk7n6e6K8k
Liang Wei fell to his knees on the bow, his staff clattering away. The general grabbed him before he slid overboard.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbDJsZdfHwj
"The dragon is angry," Liang Wei shouted. "He will not stop until we are all at the bottom!"
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObi0vZoqN2
Another wave crashed over the deck. Men and women slid across the planks, screaming, grabbing, drowning. The mast cracked, then fell, taking the torn sails with it.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYNdZx4BcM
The junk spun. The junk sank. The junk rose.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvcKriUbKy
Zhang Wei, the young guard, clung to a barrel. His face was white with terror – and guilt. He knew what he had done.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSuCX1gpALO
There was no time for blame.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QY1PGhA1q
The sea swallowed them all.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ5AcbnVuKY
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwwRnSeM50
→ Request update
and then Add to home screen.