The storm was nothing like they had ever seen.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvA9VGpurVj
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXrPlyIOdk
It did not come in waves. It came in walls of water – black, towering, hungry. The wind screamed like a thousand dying animals. Rain fell so thick that breathing was like drowning from the inside.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnhUHy6Ls8W
General Feng Jian held onto the mast stump, shouting orders that were barely heard. "Everyone inside! Below deck! Now!"
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHXSpvNkyC
The servants scrambled for the hatch. The crew followed. The guards pushed the wounded ahead of them.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgbYIgggGR
But Liang Wei remained on the bow.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKJbW2pO7k
He stood alone, his staff gone, his robe plastered to his broken body. He faced a wave taller than the junk's mast. He took a breath – shallow, painful – and blew.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHHgNVs9Ev
The wind from his lungs met the wave. The water curled, folded, collapsed. The wave fell back into the sea, harmless.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA0pVZB2JHV
Another wave rose. He blew again. It fell.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjIrp5Tl3NS
A third wave, larger than the first two combined, rose from the port side. Liang Wei's hands moved. He spun them – slowly at first, then faster. A tornado formed between his palms, small but fierce. He pushed it toward the wave. The tornado met the water and twisted it, scattering it into mist.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTr1FW2ebHY
The general heard the sound of bones cracking. Liang Wei's ribs. His spine. His knuckles. Every movement cost him, and he paid without flinching.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwK0wJa9y2
"Master, you cannot—"
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtsUDOmXC9i
"I can," Liang Wei said. "And I will. Get the others to safety."
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsuv6Q5CpDk
The general turned and barked orders. "Keep moving! Shift your weight to starboard! Use the torn sails – catch whatever wind you can!"
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLDQrmyEaA
The crew obeyed. They leaned, they pulled, they pushed. The junk swayed but stayed afloat. For an hour, they fought.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgg7EPm7G4x
Liang Wei fought the waves. He blew. He spun. He punched. Each wave he killed, two more rose. The storm adapted. It learned.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8CGORsaCPh
He stopped a wave with his palm. The water splashed aside – then reformed into a tentacle, thick as a tree trunk. It whipped toward him. He ducked, but the tentacle followed, changing direction.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhODSuldp86
The storm was learning his techniques.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsX3CsOKioX
He jumped.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeg2BjUoMQd
Into the air he went, above the tentacle, above the waves, above the screaming wind. From above, he could see the whole storm – a spiral of black clouds and green water, miles wide. He was a speck in its eye.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOWSuwgsuT
He came down fists first, striking the tentacle. It shattered. He landed on the water, ran three steps, and launched himself again.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm3WILRps7W
Above the waves, he was more effective. He could see the patterns, predict the strikes. He moved like a dragonfly, touching the water only to spring again.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OrBsuLu5j
But his body was breaking.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyz8hPNYjn
The general heard it – a crack like a dry branch every time the master landed. His left arm, already useless, hung at a sickening angle. His chest wound had reopened. Blood dripped into the sea.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEMpiHzV6M
"Master, please—"
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQac8WOySIr
A stray wave caught Liang Wei from the side. It tossed him like a doll. He flew through the air, spinning, and crashed onto the junk's deck. The impact splintered the planks beneath him.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb0L5Eu09ou
He did not move.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS1xKO6IMk4
The general ran to him. "Master!"
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AcN5yYVqu
"I am… alive," Liang Wei gasped. "Where is the navigator?"
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWIJTjUwmSh
The navigator, Master Chen, stood at the stern, his spyglass pressed to his eye. His hands trembled. His voice cracked.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS303Xhp18R
"Land! I see land! Fires on the shore! I swear by all the gods – land!"
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQvX8E3Wzj
The general looked. Through the rain, past the waves, he saw them. Small orange dots. Campfires. Distant, but real.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllfWXa5ZDA
"How far?" the general shouted.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡryjBKmnhXC
"Two miles! Maybe three! If the storm does not sink us first!"
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekuFphZ2Pf
Liang Wei pushed himself to his knees. His face was gray. His eyes were hollow. But his voice was steady.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSwa1gsLJm
"India," he said. "Take the lifeboats. Get everyone to land."
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJ1Yptz0w9
"Master, you are coming with us."
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBvjIHxcITJ
"No." Liang Wei stood. His legs wobbled. "The storm will not let the boats reach shore unless someone distracts it. That someone is me."
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcEeE1e4M0a
"Master—"
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgP6Rlc0Cyp
"That is an order, General." Liang Wei turned to face the sea. "Go. I will come to you as soon as I am ensured your safety."
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJuEFNQW96k
The general opened his mouth to argue. Then he closed it. He saw the truth in the master's eyes. He turned to the crew.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdW5sOQaXui
"Lifeboats! All of you! Now!"
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡON4mwdVtVU
The boats were scarce – four small vessels, each meant for six people. But the crew was willing to crowd. The servants climbed in. The guards helped the wounded. The general pushed Li Hua toward the last boat.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUwzEk9Fkh2
"I will stay," the general said.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5jsCMDmTF
"You will not." Liang Wei pointed at the boat. "Go. Protect them."
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrqGjm6Ho9E
Li Hua wept. "Master Liang Wei…"
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUeOEOPyg8M
Liang Wei did not turn. He raised one hand in farewell.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5lMRDmlHXy
"Go."
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4QldDEPA3
The boats lowered into the churning water. The crew rowed with broken oars, with wooden planks, with their bare hands. The waves tried to swallow them. The wind tried to push them back. But they rowed.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXaYDF9YfU0
Liang Wei watched until the boats were specks on the dark water.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0w9VT8DLc
Then he turned to the storm.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qQn95xLrF
The water before him rose. It formed not a wave, not a tentacle, but a face – vaguely human, vaguely dragon, all hunger.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nllsQqSL1
"You should have fled with them," the storm seemed to say.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrs5CtX8GuH
"I do not flee," Liang Wei said.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKWMnRv92R
He leaped.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVWTphuoU6g
He landed on the water and ran. The storm struck at him with fists of water. He dodged, he blocked, he struck back. The water adapted. It grew more tentacles – six, eight, a dozen. They moved in patterns, coordinating, learning.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8NOz8v19e
One caught his ankle.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTyZSAqiul
He fell. The water dragged him under. He kicked free, surfaced, gasped for air. A tentacle slammed into his chest. He flew backward, fast as an arrow, and crashed into the junk's hull.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw79TzhNiHd
The wood splintered. The junk lurched. Water poured through the new hole.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF935X9xF5y
Liang Wei pushed off the hull, staggering. His vision blurred. His ears rang.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQIuvULwpP
A sixty‑foot wave rose before him. He had no time to dodge. It crashed into him, smashing him against the junk's railing. His head struck wood. The world spun.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82rc1N6ExU
He heard the general's voice, in his memory: "Don't die on us."
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdo6RVF8dVT
He tried to stand. He could not.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lZfIYicoh
A final wave – seventy feet, black as ink – rose over him. It hung there for a moment, as if savoring its victory. Then it fell.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTslssil6Y
The water swallowed Liang Wei.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPwAU3B6AG
The junk rolled. The mast snapped. The hull split in two.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKkKOuDnQR
And the master sank into the dark.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCO67bMWX2
***
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyunDmpW3tt
On the shore, the boats scraped against sand.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFG2K5cqPZ
The crew stumbled onto the beach, dragging the few supplies they had grabbed – a bag of rice, a water barrel, a coil of rope. They collapsed on the wet sand, coughing, weeping, praying.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHy0s4HL0UU
General Feng Jian stood apart, staring at the sea. The storm was still raging, but farther away now. The junk was gone.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5R6cwhy9Yy
"Master," he whispered. "Forgive me."
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaim1smtNVD
Li Hua knelt beside him, her face wet with tears. "He will come. He promised."
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGBgA2cO8s
The general did not answer.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ53xMbOeYnT
A guard pointed toward the tree line. "General. Look."
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqP0YyuZV7
Figures emerged from the bushes. They carried torches that hissed in the rain. They were tall – taller than any man the general had ever seen. Seven feet at least. Their shoulders were broad. Their steps were silent.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gRuXs0ucA
Their skin was as dark as the night sky, but the moon gave it a faint blue hue. They wore finely woven leather armor over their chests, and robes that stopped at the knee – multicolored, each with intricate patterns, each unique. Their faces were hard, their eyes sharp.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDMrV3dIfBq
One stepped forward. He held a spear with a blade of polished stone. His voice was deep, like a drum.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHGTKi5BaE
"Who goes there?"
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHkdRzpOSjE
The language was foreign – nothing the general had heard in China, nothing the navigator had heard in his years at sea. But the meaning was clear: Identify yourselves.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDaFEJqvSl
The general drew his sword. The guards drew theirs. The crew huddled behind them.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlQ1HfeWqCt
"Stay calm," the general whispered to the navigator and the guard beside him. "We are not in India. But we are not safe either."
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXD8YqTC1C
The tall man stepped closer. His torch illuminated his face – high cheekbones, a broad nose, eyes that reflected the firelight.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBwDE8CQdO
"I asked," he said again, slower this time. "Who. Goes. There."
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQs4GLyqdt
Li Hua began to cry.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKxBGOefpv
The general tightened his grip on his sword. His heart pounded. He wished the master was here. He wished Liang Wei would rise from the sea at that very moment, calm and steady, and speak in that quiet voice that made enemies pause.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjejAepuNIE
But the sea only roared.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldXZTLVetw
And the tall men waited.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeZYd5bnxBk
and then Add to home screen.