The place is deserted - Part 1
He Zian opened his eyes and saw a familiar earthen-yellow roof.
The sloping room, the piles of yellow sand in the corner—everything seemed so familiar. Only, there wasn't a sand dune pressing him down, making it impossible for him to move.
The night was brighter than He Zi'an had imagined. From his vantage point, he could see Li Najiong's profile on the other side of the room. Her peaceful sleeping face and even breathing were almost flawless. Everything was perfectly in harmony with the tranquil desert night.
There wasn't so much sand that it was about to bury her. He Zi'an didn't need to wake her up and break her peaceful sleep.
Looking again at the spot where Li Letian stood in her memory, it was empty. In that opening that could hardly be called a window, Li Letian sat sideways, legs bent, upper body hunched, head almost buried between his knees. He was cramped and curled up.
Beyond Li Letian, the gaze could see a dazzling starry sky. The night sky wasn't black, but rather tinged with a faint red. Those red and bright white specks of light, seen through the gaps between his fingers and his upper body and legs, entered He Zi'an's eyes, outlining Li Letian's figure.
He Zi'an let out a long sigh of relief. It felt like he had just had a long nightmare.
"You're awake?" Li Letian asked, turning his head to the side. Because it was nighttime and he was backlit by the stars, He Zian couldn't see his expression at all.
Why are you awake? Didn't you say it's because you often fall asleep by the sword furnace and have gotten used to it? He Zi'an wanted to ask that. But the words were on the tip of his tongue, and he swallowed them back.
“I had a dream,” He Zi’an said. “The three of us were here competing to see who could complete the most cycles of the Heavenly Cycle before dawn.”
“Miss Li used it twenty-four times, you used it twenty times, and I used it nineteen times.” Li Letian waited for He Zian to finish speaking for a while before slowly saying, “Actually, I held back. I didn’t mean to compete with Miss Li.”
"Really? I tried my best." He Zi'an paused, his gaze shifting to the crack in the earthen floor. "Was it you?"
“Miss Li chose us.” Li Letian used a strange wording. After a moment, he added, “In the end, we survived only because of Miss Li.”
He Zi'an, lying on his side, tried to sit up, but a tearing pain immediately shot from every muscle to his brain. He fell heavily back down. The intense pain made him oblivious to the fact that he had fallen. He could no longer even control the contortions of his face and the convulsions of his body.
"Don't make any big movements." Li Letian hugged his knees with both hands, interlocking his fingers. "You'll feel better if you curl up like this."
After the pain subsided slightly, He Zi'an forced himself to stand up. Because of the change in altitude, the light reaching his eyes also changed. From this height, he could see Li Letian's expression, which was much calmer than he had imagined.
"How is Miss Li?" He Zi'an stood there, panting heavily.
“She shattered her sword heart, and her condition is very bad.” Li Letian frowned and said, “Like you, she has been unconscious for several days. I don’t know if she will wake up.”
"What about Liu Mengde? Should we get rid of him temporarily, or...?"
"You mean that old man?" Li Letian asked. He waved to He Zian, who, despite the pain, staggered toward the window.
Several days passed, and the landscape around the earthen house had completely changed. The yellow sand that had buried the floors had disappeared, revealing that it was a four-story earthen house, not a three-story one. At this time, He Zi'an and his companions were at the highest point of this sandy plain, with an unobstructed view.
He Zi'an couldn't imagine the pain Li Letian had endured to bring him and Li Najiong from the bottom of this tower-like earthen house to the top floor. Standing on the edge of the window, he could also see the source of the red in the sky. To the west of the earthen house, the closer to the horizon of the sandy plain, the deeper the red became.
"How are you?"
“Don’t worry too much. When I came here, it wasn’t this high.” Li Letian jumped down from the windowsill. “And don’t worry about the Blood Palace people reporting back. That old man,” Li Letian thought for a moment, then changed his words, “Liu Mengde killed them all.”
"Um."
“We were all going to die anyway.” Li Letian looked at He Zian earnestly. “It was Miss Li who chose us. You, and me.”
He Zi'an looked at the sleeping Li Najiong. Her face was so peaceful, as if nothing had happened. They were still on that night when He Zi'an couldn't sleep.
"You may not care about what happened on Black Mountain, but I still want to make it clear to you."
"Um?"
“The day I met Miss Xin at Yunxia Peak, it wasn’t her who arranged to meet me.”
He Zian lowered his eyes, gazing at the seemingly ethereal quicksand drifting in the air under the starlight. Those fine grains of sand, like ribbons of silk, were both visible and almost transparent.
"I did receive the letter." Li Letian also looked into the distance, as if trying to let his gaze travel across the vast desert back to Yunxia Peak. To see the towering pine trees, the clouds, the starry sky, and the moon that had not yet appeared.
“The letter wasn’t written by Miss Xin,” Li Letian continued. “She also received a similar letter, which is why she went to Yunxia Peak at night. These letters were neither from me nor from Miss Xin.”
Is that Zhao Zheng?
“My letter seems to have been written by Zhao Zheng,” Li Letian replied. “Miss Xin’s appearance was also unexpected by Zhao Zheng. So I’m afraid there are other people involved.”
"They are from the Blood Palace."
“If that’s the case, then we can rest assured. Their purpose seems simple: to kidnap Miss Xin and force her into marriage. In any case, she won’t be in immediate danger.” Li Letian withdrew his gaze and waited until He Zian looked at him before continuing, “You need to verify this with the people in the Blood Palace. If not, Miss Xin may face even greater danger in the future.”
"I understand." He Zian nodded calmly.
“What I really want to tell you is that Miss Xin has always chosen you.” Li Letian looked at Li Najiong. “I can’t let Miss Li continue like this. If we return to the Central Plains, I might be able to find someone who can mend her sword heart.”
"I'm fine."
“I witnessed the skills of that man from the Blood Palace at Cloud Peak.” Li Letian paused. “His martial arts are no less than the three of us. This time, we are venturing deep into enemy territory, and the road ahead will be fraught with danger.”
“Just like you said, Rui En has always chosen me.” He Zi’an smiled. “How could I not respond?”
Li Letian confirmed He Zian's determined gaze, raised his hand and pointed to the most intense red spot in the distance: "That's where Liu Mengde died, and the fire raged for three days."
“Once a person dies, their breath should also disappear. Why…”
“It’s the Sword of Calamity,” Li Letian said. “This kind of sword has unimaginable power. I saw another Sword of Calamity in the Sword Forging City when I was a child. But this kind of sword is also a demon. If you are not careful, you will be devoured by the sword.”
“Is that so?” He Zi’an fell into deep thought. “So that’s how it is.”
"Get some rest," Li Letian said, turning around and sitting down in the corner. "We'll be on our way again tomorrow."
*
As dawn broke, He Zi'an was awakened by rustling sounds. He opened his eyes, lay on his side facing the wall, and remained motionless in a deep sleep.
The noise didn't last long. After everything fell silent, He Zi'an waited a while before sitting up. Yellow sand pattered down from the folds of his clothes. A thin layer of sand covered the floor of the earthen house, with some faint footprints still visible. Sunlight streamed in through the window, making the sand shimmer with a golden glow.
Beside the stairs leading down to the lower level, a Blood Palace sword lay askew. Li Letian must have taken it from a Blood Palace guard. Next to the sword was a tightly wrapped bundle. Besides that, there was nothing else.
He Zi'an tried to get up; the pain in his body had eased considerably. He walked to the window and looked westward, where there was only endless yellow sand and slightly distorted air. It was no different from any other place in the desert.
Reaching the stairs, He Zi'an struggled to squat down. He gritted his teeth; squatting was now more difficult than standing. He untied the bundle beside the sword, which contained some dry rations and water. He drew the longsword; the blade was chipped, but it was better than nothing.
Descending the stairs was an arduous task. He had never imagined that one day descending stairs would feel like facing a formidable enemy. Before being used as a weapon in battle, the longsword had first served as He Zi'an's crutch.
A camel was tethered beside the earthen house, but it wasn't one of the camels they had ridden when they arrived. It was probably a camel from the Blood Palace.
He Zian mounted his camel, glanced at the four-story earthen house behind him, and then turned to look westward.
All he could see was yellow sand, but he seemed to hear the sound of raging flames.
*
"Will my senior sisters be alright?" Qian Shu asked, looking at the deep blue lake under the moonlight.
Han Hyo-joo did not answer.
Just a few days ago, this place was a lush forest, but now it has become a lake that stretches as far as the eye can see. Han Xiaozhou and Qian Shu waited for a long time before the surging waves finally calmed down.
Why is this happening?
"This is the fate of most users of the treacherous sword." Han Xiaozhou looked at the center of the lake. "Greedy for power, controlled by inner demons, and ultimately devoured."
Qian Shu still felt a chill run down her spine when she recalled the scene of the "tsunami". If her master hadn't rescued her, she would have been overwhelmed by that force.
"Even if someone is this powerful, would they still want to rely on external things?"
"The Palermo Icefield in the North. Legend has it that it was the creation of the Cursed Sword. The swordsmen who went to seek the sword back then are still frozen in the ice. The stronger a person is, the greater the temptation of the Cursed Sword, especially a sword that is compatible with their own nature. No one can resist it."
"Why is this old man's sword intent fire, yet he also carries a 'tsunami'?"
“This is indeed somewhat illogical.” Han Hyo-joo took a step forward.
Qian Shu timidly reached out her hand, but in the end, she didn't dare to touch Han Xiaozhou's clothes. "Master, where are you going?"
"Wait here." Han Xiaozhou's gaze never left the calm lake. "I am going to retrieve this treacherous sword."
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