Three weeks had passed.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGXwN7kLqT
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJS8MXlK4Ao
Liang Wei stood at the mouth of the cave, breathing the salt air. His wounds had healed completely – no scars, no bruises, no memory of pain. The arrow holes in his chest had closed as if they had never been. The cannonball dent in his ribs had smoothed over. Even the burns on his face had faded to faint pink lines.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMrrSb1B3g
He was himself again.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJpJrATI50
But more than healed, he had been renewed.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ14pMI1ZSh9
The cave's strange energy had seeped into his bones, strengthening his qi, sharpening his senses. He felt younger – not just in spirit, but in flesh. When he caught his reflection in a still pool inside the cave that morning, he had almost not recognized himself. The face that stared back was not the weathered, gray‑haired teacher of sixty‑seven. It was a man in his mid‑thirties – smooth skin, clear eyes, no lines of age. Only his eyes held the weight of centuries.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk32YCMXw09
He touched his cheek, then smiled.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWrNixeoRd
So this is what cultivation can do, he thought.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgWTLD6EF4
He walked to the water's edge and looked down at his reflection in the calm surface. A young man with dark hair and a straight back looked back. He almost laughed.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBZRIZXqlT
They are alive, he thought. General Feng Jian. Li Hua. The crew. Their qi was faint but steady and calm, non‑aggressive. No one was fighting. No one was wounded.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1II02TKdjK
He smiled.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHYCDead7n
Then he dove into the water.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPvoZqxeAM
The sea welcomed him. He swam deeper than any mortal could, his lungs filled with air that lasted and lasted. He moved through schools of silver fish, through forests of coral, through canyons of dark rock. His hands shot out – once, twice, three times – and came back with sardines, their scales flashing in the underwater light.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLKvrzqWiK
He surfaced near a flat rock, just outside the cave. He gutted and cleaned the fish with his fingernails, working quickly, precisely. Then he placed them on the rock in a neat row.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6aFHxnZMJL
From the wreckage of the junk – which had washed into a crevice near the cave – he had salvaged a few items. One of them was a small glass vial, translucent, empty. He positioned it on the rock at an angle, catching the afternoon sun. The light refracted through the glass, focusing into a hot beam that fell on the sardines.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xdbzH57LF
They would be sun‑dried within an hour.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0NbNpjHUYf
He sat cross‑legged and waited, chewing on a piece of dried fish he had prepared yesterday.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPKW466ao7
Then he felt it.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvvPXbgNRy
A presence.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxo8kejpBJT
Not the gentle presence of a passing turtle or a curious dolphin. This was powerful – far more powerful than anything he had ever encountered. It radiated qi like a furnace radiates heat. It dwarfed his own cultivated energy.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXuu4EfptAU
He stopped chewing.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVyv83FYqTW
His hand froze, still holding a piece of sardine halfway to his mouth.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYeLVixAioO
The presence moved closer.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5iLCgW940
What is it? he thought. A sea creature? A spirit?
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNnaPZXKMp
He could not fight it. Even fully healed, even strengthened by the cave, he knew he would lose. But he could not stand there frozen either. He had to be alive. He had to thank the white dragon that had saved him. He had to return to his people.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaV7Vrg2XAx
I will strike first, he decided. Buy time. Run.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXc4f0AfHhQ
He took a deep breath – not for air, but to warm himself. His qi stirred.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLtMkgm7SE
A second breath. Blood rushed to every vessel in his body. His muscles tensed.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Eyre9Bpjn
A third breath. The air in his lungs became a weapon.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAqwvDtobo
He spun around.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0AwrwhUVj
And he blew.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8sHcFoQ2V9
The wind that left his mouth was not a breeze. It was a hurricane, compressed into a single exhalation. It roared across the rocks, tearing up seaweed, shattering pebbles, carving grooves into the stone.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniiD5oaqUy
It was aimed at the presence.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk4V4IrqKU3
But the presence was a woman.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4muhCv0MC
She stood on a rock twenty feet away, her feet bare, her dress made of almost translucent silk that showed the milky pale skin beneath. Her hair was pure white, long, flowing in the wind that should have ripped it from her scalp. Her eyes were gold – not brown, not hazel, but gold, like twin suns. Her neck had a faint shimmer, as if covered in tiny scales.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3fNPzGWbv4
The wind struck her.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy1ILz4WBD3
Rocks behind her exploded. Waves crashed and scattered. A boulder the size of a cart split in two. The ground around her feet cracked like dry clay.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddzbIhFrxd
She did not move.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgtews0KmD
Not one inch. She stood in the center of the hurricane as if it were a gentle summer breeze.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUCuINfR99
Her lips curved into a small smirk.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMX2qIerZsl
"That is a strange way to thank your savior," she said.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPMtOgrGIL
Liang Wei's eyes widened. He knew that voice. It had spoken in his mind, three weeks ago, in the depths of the sea.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSH07kt2oBz
Ning.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFlCDNU35Sf
He dropped to his knees so fast the rock cracked beneath him. He bent forward, reaching for the ground to press his forehead against it – the deepest bow, the highest respect.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFv4psuVMXX
Her hand caught his face.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKWzxlbLWH
Not roughly. Gently. Her fingers were cool against his cheeks, stopping him before his head could touch the stone.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNL4x1HB4V
"Please," she said. "No need for that."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtoPUjFaC0
He looked up. She was smiling – not a smirk now, but a real smile, warm and amused.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcZqXoiYI8
"Master Liang Wei," she said. "I am pleased to see you fully healed. Your attack was my fault. I should have announced my arrival. I also should have warned you about this…" She gestured at her body. "Strange form."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfGRe7Yupp
He stood slowly. "Thank you once again, Ning. I am utterly delighted by your presence."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMSbP6Tx0b
She curtsied.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdeI15nC60
It was not a casual dip. It was formal, elegant – the way a Chinese princess might curtsy to a guest of honor. Her hands pressed together at her chest. Her knees bent. Her head inclined.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJBk82akMo
Liang Wei's blood ran cold.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5KBelYlBW
That curtsy, he thought. That is palace courtesy. She knows Chinese court etiquette.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3c3qXQADwp
He dropped to his knees again – not slowly this time, but desperately. His forehead slammed into the rock with such force that the stone shattered beneath him. Cracks spread outward like a spiderweb.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOQMdx7LFPi
Ning flinched. Her hand reached toward him. "Are you okay?"
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEhA6BjTmG
He did not look up. His voice was tight.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuctaRvqlGw
"You are royalty, aren't you?"
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAPjhZOy2s2
She was silent for a moment. Then he heard her voice – still warm, but with a new edge of curiosity.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0OdQ9wDMV
"How can you tell?"
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzoFDlZgl7
"Let's just say I have a sixth sense." He kept his forehead on the broken rock. "Are you a princess? A queen? A dragon lord's daughter?"
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsDwFydOQq
She walked closer. Her bare feet made no sound on the stone. She knelt beside him, her translucent dress pooling on the ground.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjecMdbZg8h
"Get up, Master Liang Wei. Please. I do not enjoy watching a man of your stature grovel."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOp9hgBB1ah
"I am groveling because you deserve it," he said. "You saved my life. And you are royalty. That is two reasons."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnJ5Kdu7ps
She laughed – a soft, musical sound. "Then I will give you a third reason to get up. I need to discuss something with you. Something important. It is difficult to negotiate with a man whose face is embedded in rock."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqFFaGcNxz
He raised his head slowly. His forehead was scraped, bleeding slightly. He ignored it.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAjw6sO4u1x
"What do you wish to discuss?"
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6CcuVgoYf
Ning stood. She offered him her hand. He hesitated, then took it. Her grip was firm, cool.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUahcZj2uTD
"I saved you for a reason," she said. "Not out of kindness. Not out of boredom. I need something from you. And you, I suspect, need something from me."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBTpFf0qic3
"I need to return to my people."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtm1Uxoa6J
"They are safe. I have watched over them from a distance. The tall men you met – they are called the Watchers. They guard these shores. They will not harm your people."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQpiN54Hu3
Liang Wei exhaled. "Thank you."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTvg44QLm5
"Thank me by hearing my offer." She sat on a flat rock, crossing her legs. The sun caught her golden eyes, making them glow. "Sit, Master. We have much to discuss."
ns216.73.216.64da2
and then Add to home screen.