Chapter 32: The Journey East and a Dual Fragment’s Harmony
The Ironspine Mountains faded behind them as Lin Yue’s small team traveled east, the snow-covered peaks giving way to frost-kissed plains. The jade box in Lin Yue’s robe felt heavier now— holding two fragments of the Dark Dragon’s soul, their pulses syncing into a slow, steady rhythm. Each night, when they set up camp, Lin Yue would sit cross-legged by the fire, opening the box to practice weaving his dragon qi around both fragments.
Long Xuan’s voice guided him, patient as ever. “Don’t treat them as separate. Think of them as two strings on a lute— pluck them together, and they make a stronger sound. Your dragon qi is the hand that guides the melody.”
Lin Yue closed his eyes, focusing on the warm glow of the fragments. He summoned a wisp of dragon qi, thin as silk, and let it drift toward the first fragment— wrapping around it gently, then extending to the second. At first, the fragments resisted, their dark qi twitching like startled animals. But Lin Yue persisted, adjusting the tension of his dragon qi, letting it flow between the two fragments like a bridge.
After an hour, he opened his eyes. The fragments glowed in unison, their dark qi dimmed to a soft hum, and his dragon qi shimmered around them— a blue veil that held them steady. “They’re… working together,” he whispered, a small smile tugging at his lips.
“Progress,” Long Xuan said, approval in his tone. “But don’t grow complacent. The third fragment will be stronger— the prisoner has had longer to bond with it. When you face him, your control over these two will be your greatest weapon.”
Lin Yue nodded, closing the jade box. His father walked over, carrying a map rolled up in his hand. “We’ll reach the coastal town of Wavebreak by tomorrow noon,” he said, unfolding the map to point at a small dot on the edge of a blue expanse— the Sea of Mist. “From there, we’ll need a ship. The Sea of Mist is treacherous— storms, hidden reefs, and worse. We’ll need a local sailor who knows the waters.”
Elder Mu joined them, his face grave. “I sent a scout ahead to Wavebreak. He returned an hour ago— the town’s on edge. Fishermen have been going missing, their boats found adrift with dark qi stains on the hull. The locals say it’s ‘the Mist’s Curse,’ but we both know what it really is.”
Lin Yue’s jaw tightened. The prisoner. Or the Shadow Sect’s remnants. Either way, they were already leaving a trail of death in their wake. “We’ll be careful,” he said. “We’ll find a sailor, hire a ship, and head into the mist as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the more time the prisoner has to find other fragments.”
That night, they camped in a grove of bare oak trees, the wind rustling through the branches. Lin Yue lay awake, the jade box clutched in his hand. He thought of Xiao Yu— leading the alliance back to Azure Cloud, protecting the villagers— and hoped she was safe. He thought of the prisoner, and the lies he’d told, and the third fragment he held. And he thought of the Dark Dragon’s soul, waiting to be reunited, waiting to destroy the realm.
But he didn’t feel fear. He felt resolve. His dragon qi hummed in his dantian, steady and strong, and the fragments in the box pulsed in time with it— a reminder that he wasn’t alone in this fight.