Thunderstorm Heart-to-Heart
Outside the window, the sky was gloomy, with thick clouds hanging low, like a piece of gray cloth soaked with water, weighing down the air so hard that it was hard to breathe. In the distance, thunder rumbled faintly, as if a huge wheel were rolling across the sky.
Suddenly——
A blinding flash of lightning ripped through the sky, followed by a roar of thunder and a torrential downpour. Bean-sized raindrops slammed densely against the window, making a rapid, crackling sound that seemed to engulf the entire world.
Inside, the two men, having just finished their energy training, slowly separated their palms, channeling their internal energy back into their dantian. Even as their energy surged through their meridians, Tiao Tiao frowned, his gaze fixed on the rain-blurred world outside the window. His voice was filled with anxiety, "It's still early. Why did you stop? You can still circulate one more cycle." He wished he could transfer his remaining vitality to her, giving her a chance on the battlefield tonight.
Su Baiwei didn't answer immediately, but simply gazed at him deeply. Her gaze, like the gentlest brushstrokes, traced his pale cheeks, passed over his tightly pursed lips, and finally gazed into his eyes filled with worry. Her voice was soft, yet strangely pierced the rain: "I want to spend some time with you."
Tiao Tiao was slightly startled. All his thoughts about training, his injuries, and the dangers of tonight melted away at these simple words. He looked into her clear eyes, which reflected his reflection, the flickering lightning outside the window, and a deep attachment and reluctance to leave. His heart tightened, and all the words he wanted to say choked in his throat, finally escaping into a low, hoarse response: "Okay."
She carefully tucked the soft pillows and quilt behind him so that he could lean on her more comfortably. Then she carefully moved to the side and leaned close to him, deliberately restraining her strength.
Tiao Tiao noticed her restraint and exerted a little force in his arms, pulling her closer to him. "After two days of training, your wound has healed a lot. You can lean on me." His voice was soft and deliberately calm. "It's okay."
Feeling the gentle strength coming from his arm, Su Baiwei's body gradually relaxed, and she tentatively transferred some of her weight to him. She raised her face and asked softly, "Does it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt." Tiao Tiao shook his head and rubbed his chin lightly across the top of her head.
At that moment, another pale flash of lightning split the sky, and thunder roared, shaking the window paper. Tiao Tiao instinctively pulled her closer to him and blurted out, "Are you scared?" There was a hint of fear in his voice that he hadn't even noticed.
Su Baiwei shook her head gently as his arms tightened. "I don't know why, but I feel safe staying home on rainy days. Even if it's thundering and lightning outside, I'm not afraid." She paused, her voice softening as she asked, "What about you? Are you afraid?"
"Are you asking me if I'm afraid of thunder?" Tiao Tiao laughed, his tone tinged with arrogance. "The source of my inner strength is the power of thunder and lightning."
"Well," Su Baiwei stubbornly raised her face and looked into his eyes, "Are you afraid?"
The forced smile on Tiao Tiao's lips slowly froze, then quietly faded. The glimmer in his eyes dimmed, as if covered with a layer of gloomy gray. After a long silence, he whispered in a hoarse voice, "Afraid."
Another muffled thunder rolled across the sky, and his thin back suddenly tensed. He buried his face deep in her hair, which smelled of medicine. His arms unconsciously tightened, holding her deeper in his arms, as if to draw strength from this warm body.
"That year... the day the Azure Dragon Sect was breached," he said in a low voice, carrying the bloody wind and rain of a distant rainy night. His Adam's apple rolled with difficulty. "It was also a thunderstorm like this... the air was filled with the damp smell of blood. Rain mixed with blood flowed on the ground, cold and sticky..." His gaze grew empty, as if he had pierced through time and returned to that despairing night. "Dad... used his final move, 'Azure Dragon Subduing the Demon'... and in the end, he died."
"At that time, Daddy's trusted confidants risked their lives to rescue me and hid not far away..." His voice trailed off, as if afraid to disturb the scene in his memory. "I looked up at the sky, and Daddy's body gradually became transparent, dissipating bit by bit like mist... At that last moment, he seemed to... see me." The corners of his lips raised a very gentle arc, and that smile was more heartbreaking than crying. His eyelashes quickly moistened. "I saw... him smiling at me."
Su Baiwei's heart clenched. Through his low, hoarse words, she seemed to have witnessed that heart-wrenching farewell. Suddenly, she remembered the look her father had given her as he struggled to turn his head before his death. Her eyes suddenly heated up, and her vision blurred.
A blinding flash of lightning flashed again, illuminating a tear slipping from the corner of his eye. "Since then, I've been unable to shake my fear of thunderstorms. Every flash and roar of thunder drags me back to that night. I watched helplessly as my family was shattered and destroyed, yet I could do nothing." His voice began to tremble, revealing the panic buried deep within him. "Later, in order to protect me from danger, my father's old men... fell before me one by one. Everyone I knew... was gone. Suddenly, I was left alone in the vastness of the world... with no one to rely on."
Su Baiwei recalled the days she'd spent alone in Huichun Hall, feeling as if she could personally sense the loneliness and fear that had etched itself into his bones. She gripped his cold fingers tightly, transferring the warmth of her palm to them bit by bit, as if trying to dispel the chill that had lingered for years.
Tiaotiao took a deep breath, years of accumulated pain swirling in his chest. "That move, 'Blue Dragon Conquering Demons,' has become a demon within me. Every time I practice it, images of my father before he vanished appear before my eyes. I don't even want to master it, I just want to... let them go." His voice suddenly choked. "But deep down, there's always a voice crying out for survival, for revenge. I don't know how many times I've failed, how many times my own sword energy has backfired on me..."
Su Baiwei's fingers suddenly tightened, her gaze falling to the faint scars beneath his sleeves. Then, looking at the similar scars on her own wrist, her heart ached. It turned out that beneath these scars, they both hid such similar pain and despair.
"It wasn't until later, during that life-or-death battle with Black Tiger, that I seemed to see my father again... He smiled, relieved that I'd survived. In that moment, I truly mastered that move. Later, the seven swords combined, our vengeance was avenged, and Black Heart Tiger was finally slain."
"But when the thunder sounds, I still think of that night. I can't forget everything that happened that day. Every time there is a rainy night like this, I dare not fall asleep." His arms unconsciously tightened, and his voice was filled with panic, "This time... you had to leave on a night like this, to such a dangerous place... I..." His Adam's apple rolled, and finally closed his eyes, pouring out the deepest fear in his heart, "I'm really scared..."
Boom!
Another thunderclap roared, as if crashing down on the roof. Tiaotiao's entire body trembled violently, and all his forced composure crumbled at that moment.
Tears silently fell from Su Baiwei's eyes. She gently pulled out of his embrace, sat up straight, and gently placed his head on her shoulder. Carefully avoiding any injuries, she hugged him tightly, choking back tears as she said, "From now on, I will be your support. Every thunderstorm, I will be by your side. You will never have to be alone again."
Tiao Tiao's whole body trembled violently, and a sour feeling rushed to the tip of his nose.
Outside, the rain poured down, the thunder roared relentlessly. Yet, in her warm embrace and gentle voice, the chill and fear that had plagued him for years gradually melted away. A long-lost sense of peace quietly descended upon him.
"If you want to talk, I'll listen." Su Baiwei's voice was gentle, and she stroked his back with one hand. "If you are sad, I will be sad with you. If you want to cry, I will cry with you." After that, the tears that had been accumulated for a long time slid down again, and a drop of hot tears fell on the back of Tiao Tiao's slightly cool hand.
Tiao Tiao slowly turned his head, meeting her downcast gaze. Tears welled in both of their eyes, reflecting each other at their most vulnerable and authentic. In this unreserved moment, they simultaneously lifted their lips, their smiles mingling with bitterness and sorrow, yet also a hint of relief and comfort.
But before she could even smile, tears welled up. At first, Tiao Tiao wept silently, her shoulders trembling slightly. But gradually, the sobs, suppressed for so long, became uncontrollable, breaking loose in fits and starts.
Su Baiwei didn't say anything, but just patted his back gently, as if telling him: I'm here.
In her all-embracing embrace, his last remaining defenses finally melted. He lowered his head, burying his face in the fabric of her shoulders, as if to hide in this only safe haven. The sobs he had suppressed for so long finally broke free, their initial, agonizing sobs escalating into an unbridled wailing, as if he wanted to unleash the loneliness, fear, and grievances he had pent up for over a decade into the thundering dusk.
Su Baiwei was moved by his complete release, and tears flowed uncontrollably. The two of them hugged each other tightly, like two long-adrift souls who had finally found each other's home port, crying like children who had finally returned home after being lost for a long time.
Outside, the thunder faded, but the rain continued. Heaven and earth seemed moved, wanting to wash away all the world's sorrow with this torrential downpour.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
