Liang Wei sank.
The water wrapped around him like cold silk. His lungs burned. His chest screamed. The arrow wounds had reopened, leaking warmth into the endless cold. The cannonball dent in his ribs pulsed with every beat of his heart.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7IdqkWr0UN
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjNLmGzqDqO
I cannot die, he thought. But this feeling is unbearable.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWM1c1brDI1
But his body would not obey. His arms hung limp. His legs dragged behind him like dead weights. He tried to paddle. He could not.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM5V7qdPaku
The light from above faded – blue to gray to black. The pressure grew. His ears popped. His skull throbbed. The darkness pressed against his eyes.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPsXRCUD0ii
Still, he did not lose consciousness.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAkNF5gS7MF
I cannot breathe, he realized. The need for air was unbearable. His chest heaved. His throat closed. Water filled his mouth. He swallowed it. Coughed. Swallowed more.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNje2TqLHiD
This is how drowning feels.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK0g0BNcOBn
Something large moved past him.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBtc8sfD0En
Too fast for its size. A blur in the darkness – white, enormous, gone before he could focus.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhuKRpHRvDU
He thought he had imagined it.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0PHIzgOsI
It came again. Closer this time. He felt the displacement of water, a current that spun him slowly. A trail of bubbles rose past his face.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0laqy7YZ9w
Again. A third pass. Closer still. He saw scales – pearl white, each one the size of his palm. A flash of an eye, dark and deep as the ocean floor.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWX1MbWtKh
Then it stopped.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2N4MQEXpQe
The creature hovered before him. A dragon. Not the spirit dragon from the storm – a real one, living, breathing. Its body was longer than three junks placed end to end. Its snout was narrow, its horns curved like the crescent moon. Its scales shimmered in the dim light, reflecting a glow that came from nowhere.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6b5EnYDuv
It moved closer. Its eye – large as a shield – examined him. The pupil contracted. Dilated. Contracted again.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6AfduUVdPD
Then it darted away.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0SKSaDUZ5
Liang Wei sank deeper. His skin had turned red from the struggle, from the lack of air, from the pressure. His vision blurred. The darkness closed in.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4VAEHJWBm
He saw the dragon again, far in the distance. It was circling, watching.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAB2ULBAjlg
Help me, he thought. He did not know if the words left his mouth or stayed in his mind.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjeInEiVKdu
The dragon moved.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUODKApGHx
It shot toward him like an arrow, faster than anything so large had a right to move. Before he could react, it had swept beneath him. He felt its scales against his back as it carried him upward, sideways, through currents he could not feel. The water rushed past his face.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJl3R6DcLrm
They emerged in a cave.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbIAe4JFQ9c
Air.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYVdheQ2egR
Blessed, wonderful air.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzoqNAw25gO
The dragon placed him on a shelf of rock, just above the waterline. He coughed. Water poured from his lungs. He gasped, choked, breathed.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBmtswEyAUi
The dragon turned to leave.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxDZ82Zcsb5
"Wait," he said. His voice was a croak. "Who are you?"
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWz8AdaTKF5
The dragon paused. Its head turned. One enormous eye regarded him.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKFVyJnc1H
Its voice was not a sound. It was a thought placed directly in his mind. Feminine. Calm. Curious.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoU2m1srTdd
I am Ning. This cave is safe. Rest. Heal.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyA4GGt0Jev
"Why did you save me?"
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7sBggSbX8
Your qi is powerful. I felt it from across the current. Few mortals burn so brightly. You would have been wasted on the sea floor.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4PdaVJ7qW
Liang Wei tried to stand. His legs would not hold him. He settled for sitting, his back against the cave wall.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yJIAkDWGQ
"I am Liang Wei," he said. "Master of martial arts. Teacher of the Dragon's Fist. I owe you my life."
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVh4N5PHHP
You owe me nothing.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv3wgJ3BMbZ
"I do not wish to be indebted to anyone." He bowed his head as best he could. "Tell me what you want in return. Gold? Service? My techniques?"
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQmJwdzd3K
Ning was silent for a long moment. Her eye did not blink.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo1NUGpme2M
You are not ready to discuss payment, she said finally. Heal first. Grow strong. Then we will talk.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwm7GG76XC
"But—"
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡToOjqdfh6J
She was gone. A flicker of white, a rush of water, and the cave was empty.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENCH2b5lz0
Liang Wei sat alone in the darkness, listening to the drip of water, the beat of his own heart.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNfLp2VP1B
***
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDzXNO6PHxn
The tall men emerged fully from the trees. There were seven of them, each standing between 180 and 200 centimeters.
General Feng Jian held his ground. His sword was drawn. His men had fanned out behind him, forming a loose shield wall in front of the servants and crew.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyMy3Eo4yb
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2WYvhL5n9V
One of the guards stepped forward. He had been a soldier for five years. He had fought bandits, pirates, even a rebel uprising. He was not afraid.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmIzM7QXG9
He lunged.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgaHL8fzR6P
His sword struck the nearest tall man's chest.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXaHbZ6W6KZ
The blade hit the leather armor and stopped. It did not pierce. It did not cut. The tall man did not even stagger. He looked down at the sword, then slightly raised his gaze at Zhao.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5teoLbUkj
His milk‑white eyes reflected the torchlight like twin orbs of pale glass.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡazViMGEutj
The guard’s hand trembled. He tried to pull the sword back. It would not move – not because it was stuck, but because his own arm had gone weak.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwX2QJ0Jrya
"Demon," he whispered. Then he stepped back, his sword falling to the sand.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RwgE9YhA8
The tall man did not attack. He did not even raise his spear. He simply watched.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPWG1vWgZi
One of the others stepped forward. He was taller than the rest, his robes a deep indigo with patterns of gold thread. His voice was deep, like stones rolling in a river.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDQbhHWOG1
He spoke words none of them understood. The sounds were strange – heavy vowels, sharp consonants, nothing like Chinese but a little bit like the smattering of the Arabic the navigator knew.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFz9UuRflMP
But then he slowed down. He gestured to himself, then to the group, then to the trees behind him.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1als8UHR8K
"I know you cannot understand us," he said – or seemed to say. Their language was a mystery, but his tone was calm. "But we are not hostile . We do not wish to attack. You look troubled and traumatized and some of you are injured.” He pointed to a few injured crew members, “ Please. Come with us.”
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmxZ3ZyjLdq
General Feng Jian heard the sounds, not the meaning. But he saw the open hands, the lowered spears, the way the tall men stood – relaxed, not poised to strike.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwm6IajzbeY
"Lower your weapons," the general said quietly.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgbetKLvJQ
The guards hesitated.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNKhvKTefQ
"Now."
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAUSnQdEBI
Swords went down. Spears tilted. The crew released their grips on makeshift clubs.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ770JIwje0V
The tall man in indigo stepped forward. He stretched out his hand – palm open, fingers relaxed.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4J45z6cZKg
The general understood. He had seen this gesture before, in markets and courts across China. It was an offer of peace.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJApFExv0Ca
He sheathed his sword. He reached out. Their hands met – the general's light brown hands against the tall man's nearly black. The grip was firm and warm.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIzz5HDo3sE
The general bowed – a small bow, just a dip of his head.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0NtAAIET1
The tall man did not bow. He simply smiled.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQZT2Hgbl7
It was a strange smile. His teeth were white as his eyes, and his lips were plump . But there was warmth in it. Or perhaps the general only wanted to believe there was warmth.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqB9mrVMeI
The tall man turned and gestured toward a path that led away from the beach, into the trees. Fires flickered in the distance – more torches, perhaps a village.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTv2opfhsY7
"Follow," he said, using hand signs. He pointed at the general, then at the path, then made a walking motion with his fingers.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MLgWrGPYn
The general looked back at his people. The servants were huddled together. Li Hua had stopped crying, but her face was pale. The crew clutched their remaining supplies. The guards held their weapons low but ready.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JYIXZgLac
"We follow," the general said. "Stay close. Stay aware. If anything feels wrong, we run for the boats."
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMq3zFcZGxP
He turned and walked after the tall man.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDLEmahIrz
The others followed in a loose column.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7gSlaV4n7
The torches bobbed ahead, casting dancing shadows on the trees. The path was narrow but well‑trodden. The air smelled of smoke and something sweet – flowers, perhaps, or incense.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfAyIEA0DB
No one spoke. The only sounds were the crunch of sand beneath their feet and the distant crash of the waves.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjHXOQdv9g
Li Hua walked beside the general. She kept her eyes on the tall men ahead.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtIGPzADgF
"General," she whispered. "Do you think the master is alive?"
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKx5UAT1lAK
The general did not answer for a long moment.
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVkLI5Dt70
"I have to believe he is," he said finally. "Because if he is not, we are truly alone."
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSIeWlffWzo
They walked on into the darkness.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJnqrs86Glu
→ Request update
and then Add to home screen.