Stranger Danger

Buzz!

Ye Qing's foot was only halfway through its motion when the world shook silently, and the flesh-and-blood giant abruptly froze.

Its raised arms could not be swung, its wide open mouths were silent, and even the flames covering its body were frozen.

The next moment, the flesh-and-blood giant crumbled inch by inch as if crushed by some sort of invisible force. They disintegrated into fine powder and rained listlessly on the sea like a rain of flesh and blood.

The rain looked harmless at first glance, but it was clear it wasn't when it made contact with the Ghost Dragon Boat. As if each drop was a cannonball, it broke the masts, shattered the deck, and snuffed out the ghostfire.

"Roar!"

It looked like the Ghost Dragon Boat was done, but it rapidly disintegrated into pieces and joined together into a three hundred meter long ghost dragon with green flames surrounding its entire body. It danced in the air and soared into the sky.

The rain of flesh and blood was evaporated into nothing by its roars.

Next, the ghost dragon swam circles around the sea and kicked up a titanic wave. Emboldened, it charged straight toward Ye Qing.

"The Ghost Dragon Boat is aptly named."

Ye Qing kept smiling, however. Without hurry, he completed the stomp his right foot was in the middle of performing earlier.

Thump!

It sounded like a winter thunder or a bell chime during midnight. The stomp could be heard dozens of kilometers away as Ye Qing stepped on the rising wave.

The wave immediately split into two, revealing the hiding ghost dragon. Then, Ye Qing's foot landed on top of the ghost dragon's head.

The long, dark roar abruptly came to a stop. At the same time, the ghost dragon's gigantic body crashed into the sea even faster than before.

The sea surface was just beginning to ripple when Ye Qing descended from the sky. It immediately calmed down as if terrified of his presence.

By the time Ye Qing was standing on the sea surface, the turbulent waters had become as calm as an old mirror.

The same could not be said for what was happening under the sea surface though.

Beneath the sea surface, one part of the sea water was turning left, and the other right like a millstone.

At the center of the "millstone" was none other than the ghost dragon.

As the millstone turned, the scales of ghostfire covering the ghost dragon and its flesh and blood were disintegrated by the second. It could not escape no matter how it struggled or screamed.

The millstone first ground its helpless victim into many pieces. Then, it ground those pieces into dust that vanished into the waters.

It wasn't until the ghost dragon was completely ground into powder that Ye Qing finally returned to the Cloud Boat.

"The Ghost Dragon Boat is still alive!"

Feng Qingyou said while pouring a cup of wine and handing it to Ye Qing.

"I felt it too. It's fine though."

Ye Qing accepted the cup of wine and drained it in one gulp. He wasn't surprised.

He might have ground the Ghost Dragon Boat to dust and scattered its ashes into the sea, but he had a feeling that it was still alive.

Not only that, he could feel an obscure, almost imperceptible curse taking root in his body. He could sense it but not remove it.

This was probably the fabled curse of the Ghost Dragon Boat. In other words, he was cursed.

It was fine though. He would simply kill the thing every time it showed its face. Let's see if the Ghost Dragon Boat could revive faster than he could kill it.

"You look like you can use more rest," said Ye Qing when he noticed her fatigued look.

"It's fine. It's going to be morning very soon."

Feng Qingyou propped her chin against her hands and stared at the distant sky. "I've heard that the sunrise looks fantastic in the sea, but I've never gotten a chance to verify it. This will be a good opportunity."

"Very well. I'll keep you company."

Ye Qing smiled, sat beside Feng Qingyou, and gazed into the same horizon as her.

The duo did not say anything after that, but neither felt lonely or disturbed. In fact, they felt peaceful.

The hustle and bustle was a window into the red dust and the passion of life. However, loneliness was a window away from all the noise and irritation of life. A calm heart in my chest, the stars and moon as company, the mountains and rivers as my friends, and you by my side. That was all one needed sometimes.

One's home was wherever one's soul was.

Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou admired the stars and moon, drank their delicious wine, and enjoyed a rare period of relaxation and freedom.

An incense stick later, a resounding, melodious horn suddenly blared from the distant horizon. It was deafening and reverberating like it wanted the entire world to hear.

A red sun slowly rose into the sky as the melodious horn continued to blare. The higher it climbed, the more intense and passionate the horn became. Like a tidal wave where each wave was only taller and stronger than the last, the red light of the sun eventually chased away all the darkness of the night and filled both the vast ocean and the infinite sky with light. It was the light that awakened humanity.

When the darkness receded, and light filled the world, the horn finally weakened until it was completely gone.

"Is that the legendary Horn of Morning?"

The sunrise was beautiful, but the ancient, bleak horn was what really drew Ye Qing's attention. He felt like he could hear it even now.

"That's correct." Feng Qingyou recited, "When the Horn of Morning blares, the sun rises and fills humanity with light."

"Legend had it that there existed a Soup Valley at a corner of the ocean and the end of the sky. There, a pair of interweaving, burning trees existed. They were called the Fusangs of the Sun.

Above the Fusangs of the Sun was the sun, and below the Fusangs were Divine Sun Generals. They were responsible for blowing the Sun Horn.

When the Sun Horn was blown, the sun would rise from the Fusangs of the Sun and chase away the darkness, bringing light to humanity and warmth to the world.

"There is a different version of the legend regarding the horn, however. Do you know it, Joyless?"

When Ye Qing shook his head, Feng Qingyou explained smilingly, "It was said that the horn sound did not, in fact, come from the Sun Horn. In fact, it's not a horn at all. It is the roar of a Stranger called the Sunchasing Dragon Whale."

"Legend had it that the Sunchasing Dragon Whale was a Stranger who spends its whole life chasing after the sun, never stopping for even a moment. However, the Sunchasing Dragon Whale can never leave the sea, so it can never truly catch up with the sun that only exists in the sky. That is why it roars passionately and joyfully when the sun rises in the horizon, and mournfully and sorrowfully when the sun sets."

"Which version do you think is real, Joyless?"

Feng Qingyou looked indescribably attractive and beautiful under the morning sun and wind.

"The first legend is more divine and dignified, but the second legend is more realistic, bleak, and romantic, isn't it?"

Ye Qing smiled. "Besides, there is one quick way to verify if the legend is real. We simply need to go to the origin of the horn right now."

"So? Are you up for it?"

"Why not?" Feng Qingyou replied smilingly.

Ye Qing immediately cranked up the Cloud Boat's speed and sailed toward the source of the horn.

They did not have a clear objective when they set out to the sea to begin with. So, they could do whatever and go wherever they wanted.

The horn had originated from a very, very far place, but the Cloud Boat was no slouch.

At full speed, the Cloud Boat cut through the air like an arrow and left behind a trail of white clouds. The trail eventually blossomed into many white flowers under the blue, shimmering gold sky.