Chapter 31: The Avalanche’s Fury and a Fragment’s Host
The first beast emerged from the blizzard— a dark qi wolf, its teeth bared, its eyes glowing. It stepped on a tripwire, and a net of fire runes exploded, wrapping around its body. The wolf screamed, burning, but more beasts followed— bears, wolves, even a large, scaled lizard, its mouth dripping with venom.
“Fire!” Elder Mu shouted.
The scouts fired their bows, their arrows tipped with fire runes. The arrows hit the beasts, setting their fur and scales alight, but the horde kept coming. The main beast— the one with the fragment— appeared last. It was a giant, ape-like creature, its body covered in matted black fur, its hands as big as boulders. In its chest, Lin Yue could see it: the fragment, glowing dark red, pulsing in time with the beast’s heartbeat.
“The avalanche,” Lin Yue said, turning to Xiao Wei. “Trigger it. Now.”
Xiao Wei nodded, running to a nearby boulder. He pushed it, and it rolled down the cliff, hitting the pile of fallen trees. The trees shifted, then fell— and the snow above them followed. A roar echoed through the mountains as the avalanche came, a wall of white that swallowed everything in its path.
The beasts screamed, caught in the snow’s fury. The giant ape tried to run, but the avalanche hit it, sending it tumbling down the pass. Lin Yue watched, his heart racing, as the snow covered the pass— burying the horde, burying the beast, burying the fragment.
“It’s over,” Ling said, her voice shaking with relief.
But Lin Yue shook his head. He could still feel the fragment’s pulse— faint, but alive. “No. The ape’s still alive. The fragment’s protecting it. We need to find it— before it digs itself out and heads south.”
They waited for the avalanche to settle, then climbed down into the pass. The snow was deep, up to their waists, and the cold was so intense Lin Yue’s fingers were numb. But he kept going, following the fragment’s pulse— faint, but steady— through the snow.
“There,” his father said, pointing to a mound of snow that was moving. “It’s digging itself out.”
They ran, their swords drawn. The giant ape burst from the snow, roaring, its chest still glowing with the fragment’s light. It swung its paw at Lin Yue’s father, who dodged, his sword slicing through the ape’s arm. The ape screamed, dark qi oozing from the wound, and it turned to Lin Yue— its red eyes locking onto the fragment in his robe.
It charged, and Lin Yue stood his ground. He pulled the jade box from his robe, opening it. The fragment inside glowed, and the ape’s fragment responded— pulling, tugging, as if trying to merge with it. The ape stumbled, confused, and Lin Yue seized the chance. He ran, jumping onto the ape’s back, his sword raised.
He drove the sword into the ape’s chest— right where the fragment was. The ape screamed, collapsing onto the snow. Lin Yue pulled the fragment from the ape’s chest— it was larger than the one he had, its dark qi stronger, angrier. But as he held it, the fragment from the jade box glowed, wrapping around it. The larger fragment’s anger faded, its dark qi dimming, until it lay still— just like the first one.
Lin Yue climbed off the ape’s body, his legs shaking. The fragment in his hand was warm, but not burning, and the one in the jade box pulsed in time with it— like two hearts beating as one.
“We did it,” Elder Mu said, walking over. “We stopped the horde. We got the fragment.”
Lin Yue nodded, but his mind was racing. He could feel it— the two fragments’ energy, merging, creating a clearer trail. A third fragment, far to the east, in the Sea of Mist. And something else— a faint, familiar aura, tied to the fragment. The aura of someone he’d met before.
“Long Xuan,” he thought, “do you feel that? The third fragment— it’s with someone. Someone we know.”
Long Xuan’s voice was grave. “I feel it. The aura… it’s the prisoner. The one who gave you the map to the Shadow Palace. He’s alive. And he has the third fragment.”
Lin Yue’s jaw tightened. The prisoner— who’d helped them, who’d asked him to find his family. He’d been hiding something. He’d been working with the Shadow Sect’s remnants, keeping the third fragment for himself.
“We need to go east,” Lin Yue said, tucking the second fragment into the jade box. “To the Sea of Mist. The prisoner has the third fragment. And if he’s working with the remnants… they’re planning to reunite all the fragments. To bring back the Dark Dragon.”
The blizzard was fading, the sun breaking through the clouds. They stood in the pass, the snow around them littered with the bodies of dark qi beasts. The danger was over— for now. But Lin Yue knew— the real fight was just beginning.
He looked east, toward the Sea of Mist. The journey would be long, the dangers great. But he had the fragments. He had his father, Elder Mu, the scouts. And he had the dragon qi— slow, steady, strong— humming in his dantian.
“We’ll find him,” his father said, placing a hand on Lin Yue’s shoulder. “We’ll stop them. Together.”
Lin Yue nodded. He closed his eyes, focusing on the fragments’ pulse. The trail was clear now— east, to the Sea of Mist. To the prisoner. To the third fragment.
And one step closer to stopping the Dark Dragon’s soul once and for all.
They turned, walking back through the pass. The sun rose higher, casting warm light over the snow. The wind died down, and for a moment, the mountains were quiet. Calm.
But Lin Yue didn’t relax. He knew— the next challenge was waiting. And he was ready.