The storm was nothing like they had ever seen.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡobVczjcPON
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCA0Omb0NVH
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYuU8tQ0mbg
General Feng Jian held onto the mast stump, shouting orders that were barely heard. "Everyone inside! Below deck! Now!"
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNngfTaCwKR
The servants scrambled for the hatch. The crew followed. The guards pushed the wounded ahead of them.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDTZcvQOkU
But Liang Wei remained on the bow.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4J4X6Is38v
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYXgq0aigl
The wind from his lungs met the wave. The water curled, folded, collapsed. The wave fell back into the sea, harmless.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYxjgjawcR
Another wave rose. He blew again. It fell.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCiYnwcM4Sv
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHp8Ikxhcj
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJdmF2OQfeK
"Master, you cannot—"
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOix6lf1gl
"I can," Liang Wei said. "And I will. Get the others to safety."
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNk0IC8RZ6
The general turned and barked orders. "Keep moving! Shift your weight to starboard! Use the torn sails – catch whatever wind you can!"
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQZRrkFuby
The crew obeyed. They leaned, they pulled, they pushed. The junk swayed but stayed afloat. For an hour, they fought.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡostStC2hR4
Liang Wei fought the waves. He blew. He spun. He punched. Each wave he killed, two more rose. The storm adapted. It learned.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNuT0udpudR
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhPPLciqHf
The storm was learning his techniques.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRHBkAmDke
He jumped.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQw96zouSMj
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRlKkFKNoRL
He came down fists first, striking the tentacle. It shattered. He landed on the water, ran three steps, and launched himself again.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfthsQHyef4
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ79GPRpIqt
But his body was breaking.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYwaOz78m2g
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbxt7ZfzLG
"Master, please—"
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kT95pPqde
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3lF1dFXUk9
He did not move.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtQFICxqsJ
The general ran to him. "Master!"
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjgsnAjsZ3h
"I am… alive," Liang Wei gasped. "Where is the navigator?"
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wyt23KGVm
The navigator, Master Chen, stood at the stern, his spyglass pressed to his eye. His hands trembled. His voice cracked.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7H36L8XgQ
"Land! I see land! Fires on the shore! I swear by all the gods – land!"
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNz0PDkhcgR
The general looked. Through the rain, past the waves, he saw them. Small orange dots. Campfires. Distant, but real.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZk5QIqTkW
"How far?" the general shouted.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0mRqw25LF1
"Two miles! Maybe three! If the storm does not sink us first!"
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIEHPAfBsvS
Liang Wei pushed himself to his knees. His face was gray. His eyes were hollow. But his voice was steady.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuLGd7p1IGX
"India," he said. "Take the lifeboats. Get everyone to land."
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCzuH3k34b0
"Master, you are coming with us."
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo13J0hzklA
"No." Liang Wei stood. His legs wobbled. "The storm will not let the boats reach shore unless someone distracts it. That someone is me."
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvXfhbe4jv
"Master—"
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm34S1uJkAA
"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."
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyyAhpiJMa
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWIaP3z07pe
"Lifeboats! All of you! Now!"
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAe3ylhf12b
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16xVtr93YK
"I will stay," the general said.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCG39BYowNN
"You will not." Liang Wei pointed at the boat. "Go. Protect them."
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOh0QXSYb44
Li Hua wept. "Master Liang Wei…"
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZVOqm7hK6p
Liang Wei did not turn. He raised one hand in farewell.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tgE9mypaB
"Go."
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHATKR3XVTZ
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlK9i7NBlU4
Liang Wei watched until the boats were specks on the dark water.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEca8kNqf3e
Then he turned to the storm.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIC1c2J5h50
The water before him rose. It formed not a wave, not a tentacle, but a face – vaguely human, vaguely dragon, all hunger.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wkMGG3GYl
"You should have fled with them," the storm seemed to say.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3CL7IvwMOW
"I do not flee," Liang Wei said.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgeTlBFrtGV
He leaped.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNa1CBIy61g
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkietS9E4Nh
One caught his ankle.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9S4jWVZ5s
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrnSGk3OwEv
The wood splintered. The junk lurched. Water poured through the new hole.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBF4WFHJENZ
Liang Wei pushed off the hull, staggering. His vision blurred. His ears rang.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLuZui3xU3
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhhmwQr439
He heard the general's voice, in his memory: "Don't die on us."
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeR6HM7y5eW
He tried to stand. He could not.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWcwhboQoq
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmZnCCdvTge
The water swallowed Liang Wei.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWb0J4WIiBC
The junk rolled. The mast snapped. The hull split in two.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJ3Z5b64pp
And the master sank into the dark.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOYuZBkW6lR
***
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsbYLVJ06Hk
On the shore, the boats scraped against sand.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRmNtZsxSK
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnb2ls4XDDc
General Feng Jian stood apart, staring at the sea. The storm was still raging, but farther away now. The junk was gone.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9OcgTj0X7J
"Master," he whispered. "Forgive me."
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYYj1bJVo6
Li Hua knelt beside him, her face wet with tears. "He will come. He promised."
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡapcA8McUbs
The general did not answer.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz5gLTQkmGY
A guard pointed toward the tree line. "General. Look."
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCrInjtrFk
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJ4ID5xH2z
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78mu2V36vX
One stepped forward. He held a spear with a blade of polished stone. His voice was deep, like a drum.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEwj4Cdg9SF
"Who goes there?"
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaUxhZ9vzj
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6lqRvbam5n
The general drew his sword. The guards drew theirs. The crew huddled behind them.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEohqCHhBtE
"Stay calm," the general whispered to the navigator and the guard beside him. "We are not in India. But we are not safe either."
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtAiqH2U6Tv
The tall man stepped closer. His torch illuminated his face – high cheekbones, a broad nose, eyes that reflected the firelight.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMKcIX7f9GP
"I asked," he said again, slower this time. "Who. Goes. There."
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpyxDOIKb9p
Li Hua began to cry.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRwAvcCygL
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.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRSx6TeqQu
But the sea only roared.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpiDnzG0gj
And the tall men waited.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QOSTDYWd8
and then Add to home screen.