A City Swept by Wind and Snow GL - Chapter 48

◎The end of the old world is the beginning of the new world.◎

The Lesser End Sea is a huge circular sea area, a vortex belt that surrounds the entire continent. Water Moon Island is nearly a hundred miles in circumference, oval-shaped. If it were in an ordinary sea area, it could safely navigate even in the biggest storms. However, the Lesser End Sea is covered with vortices. Each vortex spins rapidly straight down to the seabed, and extremely powerful currents form between the vortices. As soon as Water Moon Island rushed into the vortex belt, it was met with an earth-shattering tremor. The soil and rocks at the island’s edges disintegrated, and even the hardest rock was washed away by the powerful current. Everyone thought the island would surely be torn to pieces. However, looking at the edge of the island, a dark, black rock layer was exposed beneath the washed-away soil and rock. No matter how great the impact, that rock layer was indestructible. Subsequently, more soil and rock peeled off the island, and the vegetation above fell into the sea. Only the increasingly exposed black rock remained motionless. Birds fled in panic, and countless living creatures fell into the sea. Jinse quickly took out the Spirit Guiding Flute and played a soothing melody to calm the startled creatures, guiding them to gather toward her location. This was the center of the island, where they might escape the sea waves’ engulfment.

In this chaotic jungle, several blue shadows were suddenly visible, appearing exceptionally agile and quick among the panicked birds and beasts. Jinse looked and was overjoyed. Those blue shadows were indeed the Grand Yin Dolls. However, the silver fox, Little Xue, whom she had been worried about, never appeared. Before this, she had sent signals to Little Xue multiple times, but there was no response. Xue Qianxun and Yi Xinci searched for the silver fox’s figure without daring to blink, but never found it, inevitably making them unhappy.

Suddenly, a flock of snow-white heavenly wolves soared up from the jungle to the southwest. One of the heavenly wolves carried a person on its back, which was naturally Little Wolf. Xue Qianxun was very surprised because she had initially thought Little Wolf had been killed by Jinse. She didn’t expect him to be alive, though he looked somewhat weak. Jinse had always loved playing tricks. After winning the final move in her duel with Little Wolf, she casually said, “Although you don’t realize it yet, you are already dead.” It was honestly just a whim, intending to scare him for fun. Little Wolf, who had always known the cruelty of the Grand Yin Doll’s attacks, and who had just suffered a counterattack during such a fierce fight, deeply believed that he had no chance of survival this time. Thinking this, he felt increasingly that his bl00d was gushing out and his strength was gradually fading. Seeing the wicked smile in Jinse’s eyes, he felt both hatred and regret, and almost breathed his last on the spot. The heavenly wolf and Little Wolf were connected in spirit. Sensing his utter despair, the wolf had no will to fight and immediately carried its master away in defeat.

After returning to the wolf den, Little Wolf waited and waited but never truly died. Not long after, Fifth Charm came to deliver trauma medicine. Only then did he realize that although his wound was painful, it hadn’t injured a vital spot. At that time, he was both resentful of Jinse’s trickery and grateful for her sparing him.

Little Wolf and the heavenly wolves flew straight to Tianyuan Peak, settling down a few dozen feet away from Jinse and her group. He didn’t greet Jinse’s group, and Jinse had no time to exchange pleasantries with him.

The speed of the Grand Yin Dolls’ leaps was not much slower than the flying heavenly wolves. They immediately ascended Tianyuan Peak and rushed towards Jinse. These evil beasts had intelligence no less than humans. Although the master-servant connection with Jinse had been severed before, facing such a natural disaster, they instinctively relied on the Tamer who had once subdued them. Moreover, at this special time, Jinse exuded an incomparably calm and powerful aura. The melody of the Spirit Guiding Flute became a beacon in this deep-sea disaster, containing the infectious power of soothing, sheltering, and subduing, enough to make them surrender again as her tamed beasts. More importantly, the bond established this time was a hundred times stronger than before.

After a while, Zhong Gui and a few people with unfamiliar faces also arrived at Tianyuan Peak. They originally intended to go toward Fifth Charm. Seeing that Fifth Charm’s clothes were covered in bl00d, and he was unconscious, with Jinse and others, as well as the Grand Yin Dolls, nearby, they all went to Little Wolf’s vicinity, wanting to ask what was going on. The heavenly wolves bared their fangs at them to protect Little Wolf, so Zhong Gui and the others had to keep their distance, their faces all showing confusion and fear. Evidently, these people had no idea what had transpired until now; they were all Star Sea’s cast-offs.

Water Moon Island was buffeted by the currents, moving east for a while, then west for a while. These vortices were like living black dragons, rooted in the sea, blocking the path of all comers. In this harsh sea area, even the largest ship would be swallowed or torn to shreds by the vortex clusters. Fortunately, Water Moon Island was a hundred miles in circumference, several times larger than the diameter of the vortices, and seemed to be controlled by some ingenious mechanism, cleverly avoiding the strongest tearing forces. Even so, Water Moon Island was lifted high several times, and countless living creatures were again flung into the sea. Seeing this situation, Zhong Gui and the others clung to the trees as if they had grown there, refusing to let go for fear of death. A pack of heavenly wolves protected Little Wolf very well. As soon as the island shook violently, the heavenly wolves would take their master flying. Jinse, with her superb light-foot technique, held Yi Xinci around the waist, protecting her from being shaken off. Xue Qianxun strongly indicated that Jinse didn’t need to worry about her so she could fully take care of the weak Yi Xinci. She, relying on a burst of strength in her hands, “grew” onto a tree like Zhong Gui, with the Zhiren Zither, larger than her entire person, strapped to her back. She swayed amidst the violent tremors, appearing quite dishevelled. The Demon Slayer watched her and smiled, as if saying: “Do you want help, poor wretch?” Xue Qianxun gave him a glare. But seeing that he was effortlessly holding Fifth Charm with both hands, flying and stepping lightly with the violent heaving of the island, Xue Qianxun was both impressed and envious. She stared intently at his movement technique, wishing she could be so relaxed.

Water Moon Island was like it was being controlled by someone, rushing resolutely toward the unknown world on the other side of the light curtain, regardless of any obstacles. During this time, Fifth Charm’s condition rapidly worsened, leaving only a faint breath. Everyone was very worried but powerless. Suddenly, Water Moon Island collided with an exceptionally huge vortex. This vortex had a diameter half the size of Water Moon Island, causing Water Moon Island to spin with the vortex. Everyone was shocked, fearing the island would be dragged to the seabed. At this moment, a terrifying bellow suddenly came from beneath their feet. This sound was sudden and deafening.

A man next to Zhong Gui immediately cried out in fear, “Oh my mother, a sea monster is waiting to eat us!”

Another person cursed, “Coward, you’ll die anyway. I’d rather be swallowed by a sea monster than drown in the water so boringly.”

“You’re already dead, who cares if it’s boring or not?”

Zhong Gui shouted, “Stop screaming, as long as you don’t fall, you won’t drown, and you won’t be eaten!” But he was also timid in his heart, secretly regretting his momentary show of courage, letting this living island carry him so far. If he had known this, he would have jumped into the sea earlier and swum back to the continent.

The man who cried earlier said, “I’m just afraid the sea monster will climb up to eat us.”

The second person laughed, “If it dares to climb up, I’ll take a look to see if the sea monster is handsome or ugly.”

At this moment, the strange bellow beneath their feet became louder, carrying anger. Then, the entire Water Moon Island shook violently, and the front end suddenly tilted high up. This time, even the Demon Slayer had to hug a big tree like Xue Qianxun. Fifth Charm was in his other arm, his eyes tightly closed, perhaps having fainted. The island tilted higher and higher, almost perpendicular to the sea surface. If it tilted even a little more, it would capsize. Everyone held their breath. Life or death was in this one moment.

“Ah, look what that is?” Someone cried out.

People looked in the direction he pointed. They saw a colossal foot, like an iron tower, raised in mid-air, its pitch-black giant claw grasping at something in the void. The person who had been scared to tears earlier fainted on the spot. His hand released its grip, and he fell. The person who had talked to him shouted, “Hey! Hey!” reaching out but failing to grab him, watching helplessly as he lost his life to the sea.

The Demon Slayer sighed, “Why did this sea monster stick a foot up?”

Xue Qianxun said, “This foot belongs to it. It doesn’t want to capsize.” Saying this, she pointed at the Water Moon Island below.

Everyone was stunned, but upon careful thought, it was indeed true. Judging from the angle at which the giant foot was extended, it clearly grew out of Water Moon Island.

The Demon Slayer couldn’t believe it: “We’ve been on the sea monster’s back the whole time?!”

Jinse suddenly realized: “So it is the Sea Overlord. No wonder Fifth Charm called that place ‘Sea Overlord’s Heart’.”

The Demon Slayer said, “Great, you know again. What is the Sea Overlord? Does it eat people?” He quickly changed from shock to composure, and then became humorous.

Jinse said, “The Sea Overlord is a giant tortoise. It eats anything when it’s hungry and can swallow a massive ship. However, if I remember correctly, it only eats once every three to five years.”

The Demon Slayer said, “Heaven forbid, I hope it’s not hungry this year. Jinse, did you see this in that book again? Do you still remember what it said? If you could give us a heads-up, it would prevent us from being so unprepared.”

Jinse said, “I was only five or six years old when I read that book, and I hadn’t even learned all the characters. Let me think.”

While the two were talking, the Sea Overlord finally struggled and did not capsize. It successfully broke free from the entanglement of the vortex and settled back onto the sea surface. The icy cold seawater was stirred up tens of feet high, falling down like a sudden rain, drenching everyone. Xue Qianxun cried out, “Cold!” The Sea Overlord let out a long bellow and once again rushed toward the other side of the light curtain.

After the peril just now, the subsequent obstacles seemed insignificant. Everyone dared not relax, each hugging a large tree, waiting for the moment when the Sea Overlord would pass through the Lesser End Sea.

At this moment, Jinse remembered something and said, “Hmm, that side is called ‘Outside the Barrier’.”

The Demon Slayer and Xue Qianxun asked in unison, “What is Outside the Barrier?”

Jinse shook her head: “I don’t know. Maybe something major will happen.”

Upon hearing this, Xue Qianxun felt a pang in her heart and thought: “Major event… that might be exactly what Star Sea is expecting.”

Just as they were speaking, a dazzling light curtain of colorful brilliance enveloped them from above, becoming increasingly blinding. At this point, there was no place to hide; they could only face it. Inside the light curtain, the strong light was glaring, but otherwise harmless. Jinse, Xue Qianxun, Yi Xinci, and the Demon Slayer couldn’t help but gather together to look out for each other. The strange light enveloped everyone, making their faces blurry. At this moment, Fifth Charm suddenly struggled to open his eyes, staring intently at Xue Qianxun.

Xue Qianxun said, “Auntie Charm, you’re awake. We are about to rush through the Lesser End Sea and to Outside the Barrier.”

Fifth Charm’s lips parted and closed, smiling, but without sound.

Slowly, the light curtain faded. After being entangled in the Lesser End Sea for several hours, the Sea Overlord finally passed through the suppression barrier.

Fifth Charm’s eyes slightly closed. He strained to lift his hand to touch Xue Qianxun’s cheek. Xue Qianxun hurriedly grabbed his hand. Whether from the cold or something else, those hands were already icy cold and stiff.

Fifth Charm gathered quite a bit of strength and softly said, “Azhi… Azhi… Azhi…” He called “Azhi” several times, his voice weakened, and he closed his eyes, passing away.

The Sea Overlord gradually slowed down, finally stopping on the calm surface of this new world’s sea, letting out a long, low moan, as if immensely joyful.

The end of the old world was the beginning of the new world. Behind them was the bizarre and motley barrier curtain, and they could still hear the roaring sounds of countless vortices in the Lesser End Sea. The stars were setting. The belly of the fish (dawn) appeared in the east. The sea surface was as calm as an infinite sapphire, seeming to hold none of the drastic changes everyone had imagined. Yet, who knew that the death of Fifth Charm was the first major event “Outside the Barrier.”