Chapter 55: Embers Burning Heart, Endless Tenderness
On the shores of the East China Sea, dark clouds hung low, and a salty, chilly sea breeze blew against an old ship, heaving and rolling with the waves. This vessel wasn't the towering vessel from the decisive battle, but it had been deliberately aged by Di Feisheng's orders, its masts broken and its planks mottled, in an effort to recreate some of the solemnity and desolation of those days.
Li Lianhua was half-carried and half-supported onto the deck by Di Feisheng. The sea breeze rustled his snow-white hair and white robes. Uncomfortably, he clutched Di Feisheng's sleeve, gazing blankly at the unfamiliar, vast sea and the dilapidated ship, his eyes filled with childlike timidity and confusion. "A Fei... what are you doing here...?"
Di Feisheng didn't answer, but simply led him to the side of the boat, leaving him facing the endless sea, its rolling gray-black waves. He hugged him tightly from behind, his chin resting on the slightly cool crook of his neck. His voice was low and suppressed, with a barely perceptible tremor: "Lotus... look here... do you remember?"
Li Lianhua shook his head in confusion. The sea breeze was so strong that it made his eyes a little sore.
"Don't remember?" Di Feisheng's eyes darkened, and a mixture of anxiety and desperate madness suddenly rose in his heart! The words of the medicine demon echoed in his mind - "The host's memory barrier has loosened. Perhaps a stronger and more direct sensory impact is needed to break through the wall!"
A strong sensory impact...
Is there anything more powerful than that unforgettable breakup and destruction?!
He suddenly turned Li Lianhua around so that she was facing him. He clasped his slender shoulders with both hands, his gaze fixed on his blank eyes. His voice suddenly rose, carrying an almost cruel pressure: "What about this?! Li Xiangyi——!!"
He almost roared the last three words, like thunder exploding in the sea breeze!
Li Lianhua's entire body trembled violently, his pupils suddenly constricting! Those three words were like a rusty key, stabbing into his chaotic mind, bringing a sharp sting! Blurred, fragmented images flashed by rapidly—huge waves, broken planks, a blood-stained sword, a pair of painful, frantic eyes...
"Uh..." He held his head in pain, staggered backward, and his face turned pale as paper in an instant.
But Di Feisheng wouldn't let him escape! He pressed on, trapping him between himself and the cold side of the ship. His voice was hoarse, and every word was like a knife, cutting through the dusty past: "It was right here! We fought to the death! You were poisoned by the green tea! I wanted to take you away, but you refused! You would rather fall into the sea... than come with me!!"
With every word he spoke, Li Lianhua's face turned paler, her body trembled more violently, her breathing became rapid, and her eyes were filled with confusion and pain, as if something was struggling desperately to break out of the ground!
"No...no..." He shook his head in vain, his voice breaking.
"That's right!" Di Fei growled, suddenly grabbing his hand and pressing it against the old scar on his heart - the one left by Li Xiangyi. "This sword! You gave it to me! And here!" He ripped open his clothes, revealing more hideous old wounds. "All of this! It's all because of you!!"
When Li Lianhua's hands touched the uneven scars, her fingertips curled up as if burned, the confusion in her eyes became even worse, and tears rolled down without warning.
"Have you forgotten?! Have you forgotten everything?!" Di Feisheng's voice was filled with desperate madness. It was no longer a kiss, but a punishment and a brand. "Look at me! Look at me! I am Di Feisheng! The madman you hated, deceived, and in the end, you risked your life to save!!"
"Ugh... it hurts..." Li Lianhua was trapped in this small space, enduring this sudden and violent invasion. His lips were bitten, bleeding, and a salty taste spread in his mouth. The cold boat board rubbed his back.
"Hate me or be afraid of me!"
The roar of the flute was torn apart by the sea breeze, but every word was like a nail, fiercely chiseling into Li Lianhua's chaotic mind! He was breathing heavily, and his eyes were filled with the madness of burning everything and the despair of gamble everything on one throw.
The sharp sound of cloth tearing pierced the roar of the waves! The cold, salty sea breeze instantly hit the suddenly exposed skin without any obstruction, stirring up a violent shudder!
Li Lianhua shuddered violently, the cold shipboard rubbing against his bare back. In front of him was Di Feisheng's chest, scorching like a branding iron. The extreme interweaving of cold and heat brought an almost cruel sensory assault! He tried in vain to curl up, to hide, but Di Feisheng's absolute power trapped him firmly between the ship's side and the small cage formed by his body, making him unable to move!
"You must remember me for the rest of your life!" Di Fei growled, and his hot lips once again pressed hard against his slightly open lips that were oozing blood. It was no longer a kiss, but a bloody brand and punishment!
"You saved me! Exchange your life for mine! You are mine! I am yours too! No one can give up! Do you hear me?! Don't give up!!" Di Feisheng's roar was right beside his ears.
The sea breeze was howling, and the waves were hitting the hull, splashing cold water.
The freezing cold water... the heavy chains... a figure swimming frantically towards him... those scarlet eyes, filled with panic and despair...
"...My life...is yours..."
Whose voice?
More debris came pouring in like a flood.
The Four-Guan Clan… The Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance… The Young Master's Sword… The Poison of the Green Tea… The Final Battle of the East China Sea… The Ruined Lotus Tower… Countless days and nights of companionship… Careful care… And… And…
Li Lianhua suddenly opened her eyes wide, her pupils dilated, and all her struggles and whimpering suddenly stopped!
He raised his hand slowly, extremely slowly, and his fingertips touched the wetness on Di Feisheng's cheek, which was a mixture of sweat, sea water and... tears.
The sound of the flute suddenly stopped, and it froze in place, looking at Li Lianhua with red eyes in disbelief.
Their eyes met.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
The sound of waves, the sound of wind... everything disappeared.
Li Lianhua looked at him, at the face that was deeply engraved in his bones and had troubled him for half his life, at the love, hatred and madness in those eyes that had never faded and almost burned him out... Tears flowed silently, no longer out of ignorant fear, but huge, belated, heart-wrenching pain and... enlightenment.
His lips moved, his voice was as light as a sigh, but it clearly penetrated all the noise:
“…the sound of a flute…”
Three words, earth-shattering.
Di Feisheng's pupils suddenly shrank, and his heart seemed to be squeezed tightly and stopped beating.
Li Lianhua looked at him, tears continuously falling, but she managed a tired smile that was uglier than crying. Her voice was hoarse, with a long-lost tone that belonged to Li Lianhua and a sense of resignation:
“…You are…crazy…”
Di Feisheng stared at him intently, his throat as if blocked by a branding iron, unable to utter a single word. The immense ecstasy of regaining what he had lost and the overwhelming heartache intertwined into a surging wave, completely drowning him.
He suddenly hugged the person tightly in his arms, with such force that it almost crushed the other person's bones. His voice was broken and trembling violently:
"...You...remembered it?"
Li Lianhua buried her face in his sweaty neck that smelled of blood and sea salt, and nodded very lightly.
"I'm sorry..." Di Feisheng's voice choked, "I'm sorry... Lianhua... I..."
"Don't say anymore..." Li Lianhua closed her eyes, tears soaking his clothes, her voice tired but clear, "...It's all over..."
Li Lianhua's voice was as light as a sigh, carrying a kind of fatigue and resignation of surviving a disaster. Her tears silently soaked the fabric of Di Feisheng's shoulders. The slightly cool moisture seemed to carry a scorching temperature, which made Di Feisheng's heart shrink.
Di Fei was panting, his voice was hoarse. Instead of loosening his arms, he held him even tighter, almost crushing him. His hot lips moved up along the side of his wet and cold neck, with an irresistible strength.
Di Feisheng still held him tightly, as if afraid that if she let go, the person in her arms would disappear like a phantom. He buried his face in his sweat-soaked silver hair, greedily breathing in the scent that was uniquely his, a mixture of lust, sea breeze, and a faint medicinal aroma. His voice was low and content, "...I'm back...I'm really back..."
Li Lianhua collapsed in his arms, not even having the strength to lift a finger.
At the end of the sea level, a hint of paleness gradually appeared.
Dawn is approaching.
The crazy night is finally over.
The shadow of the past may still be there, but at this moment, they only have each other and the most primitive and direct confirmation of this body——
Love and hate are intertwined and will last until death.
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