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.97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7SoAjU0bmv
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9FbxippOlz
I cannot die, he thought. But this feeling is unbearable.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonSgDIoEkh
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlXUc3v4kfk
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMQ31WyeBy
Still, he did not lose consciousness.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmXlCxTX4BT
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7xvOM3aER
This is how drowning feels.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0iy0SYAN52
Something large moved past him.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQZi0tqQS4
Too fast for its size. A blur in the darkness – white, enormous, gone before he could focus.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQdTDx6n8B
He thought he had imagined it.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRTkoOYkz0G
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQEqMUOaoa0
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiI0aUdV86Z
Then it stopped.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqCvnOTeJJ
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeKOV5QLlW
It moved closer. Its eye – large as a shield – examined him. The pupil contracted. Dilated. Contracted again.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrAO4OU6s9
Then it darted away.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtxvCw75c0d
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdx0EvtfOkk
He saw the dragon again, far in the distance. It was circling, watching.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIprRYJyYRm
Help me, he thought. He did not know if the words left his mouth or stayed in his mind.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW10xzQ62Vy
The dragon moved.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq67fCJa9Dk
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd08MFLYfL6
They emerged in a cave.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBQ0lUIa9R
Air.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObKp1SAfDm
Blessed, wonderful air.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKmgKrj9sK
The dragon placed him on a shelf of rock, just above the waterline. He coughed. Water poured from his lungs. He gasped, choked, breathed.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvUn1aW0SG
The dragon turned to leave.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsfRW6uebE
"Wait," he said. His voice was a croak. "Who are you?"
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXATMccQU4W
The dragon paused. Its head turned. One enormous eye regarded him.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtiOuGNJ7Vb
Its voice was not a sound. It was a thought placed directly in his mind. Feminine. Calm. Curious.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxglNendQ8
I am Ning. This cave is safe. Rest. Heal.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZUyUt9Otq
"Why did you save me?"
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1XjpeLuXN
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8Sm3sRDnY
Liang Wei tried to stand. His legs would not hold him. He settled for sitting, his back against the cave wall.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwwbTRHO39P
"I am Liang Wei," he said. "Master of martial arts. Teacher of the Dragon's Fist. I owe you my life."
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7n9dO7BtoZ
You owe me nothing.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwMq3mlWKbS
"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?"
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0MHgt7svDb
Ning was silent for a long moment. Her eye did not blink.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjhP97tTLU
You are not ready to discuss payment, she said finally. Heal first. Grow strong. Then we will talk.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6XG7KS8DWH
"But—"
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwILkoK4xt
She was gone. A flicker of white, a rush of water, and the cave was empty.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcApZZQI0u
Liang Wei sat alone in the darkness, listening to the drip of water, the beat of his own heart.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspr2xFUope
***
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKO0jQsleGq
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.97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmEUhSX50Hd
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcP9GVkG9V
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRJuV244pc
He lunged.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX1MCWx6hAJ
His sword struck the nearest tall man's chest.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBMCBUIEMp
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe2Jp3K4S1m
His milk‑white eyes reflected the torchlight like twin orbs of pale glass.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYcrC4fzEA
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaAdjmGhYMb
"Demon," he whispered. Then he stepped back, his sword falling to the sand.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJq2JSKkiv
The tall man did not attack. He did not even raise his spear. He simply watched.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ggpchCSGe
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxjCox573o3
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1kwyLOzKQf
But then he slowed down. He gestured to himself, then to the group, then to the trees behind him.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ11XGkgS6rP
"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.”
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaCEQF67bc
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3DSc83IoB
"Lower your weapons," the general said quietly.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ezPZLHTnX
The guards hesitated.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfeSAz8Iy6p
"Now."
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmZRlGaY599
Swords went down. Spears tilted. The crew released their grips on makeshift clubs.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBbp3auXUlQ
The tall man in indigo stepped forward. He stretched out his hand – palm open, fingers relaxed.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡioHI9ms2VH
The general understood. He had seen this gesture before, in markets and courts across China. It was an offer of peace.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrKwGVfMP9
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJUvIpNntp
The general bowed – a small bow, just a dip of his head.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpKzZNlpPsA
The tall man did not bow. He simply smiled.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgQsrnj8Ds
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWt7XySXk96
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrNgjF8cOEk
"Follow," he said, using hand signs. He pointed at the general, then at the path, then made a walking motion with his fingers.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUjgFLPMNS
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkRtTqgYbFF
"We follow," the general said. "Stay close. Stay aware. If anything feels wrong, we run for the boats."
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEOvo7wPpkF
He turned and walked after the tall man.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPaeOa8Em4D
The others followed in a loose column.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Nd1JkJHhq
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.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUK01wTm3g
No one spoke. The only sounds were the crunch of sand beneath their feet and the distant crash of the waves.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0T2ji00Ftl
Li Hua walked beside the general. She kept her eyes on the tall men ahead.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtuLuWxno4h
"General," she whispered. "Do you think the master is alive?"
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqoOFFl1Oua
The general did not answer for a long moment.
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2tOfIb1CG
"I have to believe he is," he said finally. "Because if he is not, we are truly alone."
97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdayhB5smQy
They walked on into the darkness.97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9V39IYQKD4
and then Add to home screen.