Snow Flower, Fire Storm

XIV

THIS YEAR, AN ISLAND IN THE YELLOW SEA

When his senses returned to him the first thing Sicheng noticed was the smell of salt in the air, then the defeaning roar of water that hammered him from all sides. He pried his eyes open to behold an expanse of dark, churning sea stretching out all around him, waves upon waves rising up in violent gusts beneath an equally tempestuous sky. From what he could observe, he was sitting on a kind of rocky island, his hands fastened by a thin rope behind him. The wind was blowing hard enough to knock him over; it tore at his clothes and hair and stung his eyes. Several knots away he could spot the bobbing lights from the fishing boats and trawlers fighting the mounting waves and the worsening wind, the men on board trying their best to keep their boats from capsizing.

This was a bad time to be at the sea. Why would those boats be out at a time like this? Shouldn't they have paid better attention to the weather forecasting? Unless.

Unless this was an unexpected storm.

He flexed his wrists, trying to see of he could wriggle them out of their restraints, and almost astounding him, after a few seconds of struggling, the rope came undone on its own. He brought it close to his face, studying it in the dappling grey light, then threw it aside as he climbed to his feet and prepared to survey his new location. He had to find Xie Xiao. He had to make sense of this new form of trouble that had found them and help Xie Xiao get out of it. Most importantly, he had to stay alert so the storm wouldn't blow him straight into the sea. If it happens he wouldn't be much help to anyone.

Cautiously, he put a foot on the side of a rock shelf to hoist himself to the other side when he heard someone call behind him. "Yo, Sicheng. Long time no see."

He nearly lost his footing. Sicheng clung onto the rock projections with all he had as he carefully turned to look around.

The light was bad, but even so he couldn't mistake the people ambling towards him from the other side of the island. Well, two of them were ambling, the third was being dragged by his throat.

"Come, come," said Wuxian in a welcoming voice that did nothing to mask the malicious undertones. He had one of his hands wrapped around Xie Xiao's throat, who looked dazed and disoriented, as if he had just woken up from a fugue. When Wuxian noticed he  had Sicheng's attention, he pulled out a gun from inside his dark leather jacket and pressed the barrel against Xie Xiao's temple. Xie Xiao stiffened, but he said nothing. "Let's do some catching up."

Wuxian had remained unchanged throughout the years—the same harsh eyes, the same handsome features, the same long hair now tied up in a high ponytail. Only his clothes were different. He wasn't wearing his usual blue-black robes, instead he had opted for dark trousers, combat boots, a fitting black T-shirt and a fraying black jacket. On further observation he noticed that Catastrophe, Wuxian's trusted weapon was not with him either. Why would he leave it behind?

It was only then that Sicheng caught sight of the wound on Xie Xiao's forehead. The wound itself was hidden under his hairline, but the blood had trickled down the side of his face. Did he get into a tussle with Wuxian before? Was that why the War Deity decided to leave his sabre behind, after all, the weapon was deadly to even him, he wouldn't want it to fall into Sicheng's or Xie Xiao's hands even by accident. Xie Xiao didn't look like he was bleeding anymore, but he still had a half-dizzy look to his eyes.

"Do you think it will be alright?" Asked a new voice.

Sicheng paused. He had completely forgotten the third person. He strained his eyes against the intensifying darkness to see who had spoken, and when he saw who it was, he felt slightly baffled.

Why was the Wind Deity here?

"Everything is fine Heimien. Just keep the storm going." Wuxian adjusted his position so Sicheng could fully see Xie Xiao's pale face. "Remember, we talked about it."