# 131
Chapter 131: All Is Well
“Aunt…” The instant Lin Qiye saw the caller ID, his body trembled slightly.
The next moment, a vicious whip-kick slashed through the air toward his face!
Lin Qiye ducked in a flash, countering with a low sweeping leg that smashed into Scorpion One’s ankle…
Scorpion One merely swayed, steady as a mountain.
“So tough!” Lin Qiye cursed under his breath. The Starblade in his hand parried the folding knife, but the terrifying force still sent him flying.
He barely stabilized in the snow, yet the impact jarred his phone loose; it tumbled into the snow beside him.
“Oh~ lovely Smurfs~~ oh~ lovely Smurfs~~”
Scorpion One glanced at the singing phone and sneered:
“Family call? That woman? Or the kid?”
Lin Qiye slowly straightened, wiping blood from his lips. Icy killing intent surfaced in his dark eyes.
Unfazed, Scorpion One shrugged. “Right… today’s New Year’s Eve. They’re probably asking how you’re doing out here, whether there’s a reunion dinner waiting, then telling you everything’s fine at home… heh-heh.”
Before the laugh finished, Lin Qiye shot across the white snow, interweaving blades blossoming like butterflies, pale-blue edges racing for Scorpion One’s throat.
Scorpion One blocked strike after strike, then roared, blood-qi surging, strength multiplying several-fold as he blasted Lin Qiye away.
Lin Qiye twisted mid-air, landed hard, plunging a single blade into the snow to steady himself.
With his terrifying dynamic vision the speed gap wasn’t hopeless, but the raw power difference kept putting him at a disadvantage.
Keep this up and he’d never beat Scorpion One. There had to be another way…
Eyes locked on the enemy, Lin Qiye’s thoughts raced.
“Such a warm little family…” Scorpion One strolled forward, folding knife in hand. “Bet they don’t know what you’re really doing, don’t know you’re so close yet worlds away… lost in holiday joy, how could they imagine you’re here fighting for your life?
Ah, yes… after I kill you I’ll hang your head outside their balcony. When the New-Year bell rings, imagine their surprise!”
His grin turned savage.
Lin Qiye’s knuckles whitened on the hilt. Suppressing the churning qi in his chest, he hauled himself upright. The surrounding darkness flickered…
After battling the Mad Scorpion squad for so long, the duration of his Utmost Dark God’s Ruins was almost up and his mental power neared its limit. If the fight dragged on, death was certain.
“Far across mountains, beyond the sea, lives a band of Smurfs…”
The cheerful ringtone echoed for a second cycle; Auntie still hadn’t hung up.
Lin Qiye drew a deep breath. Darkness rekindled in his eyes, stabilizing the God’s Ruins.
Whoosh—!
He ripped the Starblade from the snow, crossed both blades downward, and charged like lightning.
“Last gasp.” Scorpion One sneered, settling into stance.
Lin Qiye closed in. At the instant of collision he stamped hard—pow! Under the God’s Ruins the snow beneath them erupted like a buried bomb, flinging a blinding white cloud sky-high.
Dancing flakes blinded Scorpion One. Frowning, he reacted on instinct—clang! The folding knife met Lin Qiye’s slash from the side. Seeing the exposed form, he smirked: Thought you could trick me?
The smile died.
Amid the drifting snow Lin Qiye’s blade rang against the folding knife—while his other hand… was empty.
Where was the second blade?
The thought flashed; danger screamed. Before he could move, brilliant gold burst from Lin Qiye’s eyes. Seraphic might crossed space and smashed into Scorpion One’s mind, scrambling it for a full second.
Overdrawn, Lin Qiye groaned, face pale as paper, toppling backward.
At the same time his left hand flicked…
Zhao Kongcheng’s Starblade sliced through the falling snow and silently sank into Scorpion One’s nape, neatly severing the head.
Blood fountained.
Lin Qiye collapsed. Zhao Kongcheng’s blade landed beside him, its surface reflecting his face—and the slight upturn of his lips.
“Won…” He glanced at the corpse, then lay back in the snow, gasping.
His mental power was completely spent. One mis-step in that desperate reversal would have meant annihilation.
But he’d won.
“Oh~ lovely Smurfs~~ oh~ lovely Smurfs~~”
The long-silent ringtone sounded again. Lin Qiye levered himself up on his blade, stumbled over, and retrieved the phone. Then he patted the corpse, pulled off the silver name-plate, and pocketed it.
“Hello, Auntie.”
“You rascal! I called forever—what were you doing? Don’t you want your aunt any more?”
A torrent of familiar anxious scolding poured out.
Lin Qiye’s lips curved. Dragging his blood-stained blade, he limped across the bodies, each step leaving a scarlet print in the snow.
“I was chatting with some buddies, didn’t notice the phone,” he said softly.
“Honestly… it’s New Year, couldn’t you call home first?”
“I was going to tonight…”
“Going to, going to—hmph.” Auntie paused, voice softening. “How’s army life? You doing okay?”
Lin Qiye wiped blood from his face, stepped into a stairwell, and gazed through a window at the little apartment block. From here he could clearly see Auntie on the balcony.
His hand holding the phone trembled. After a moment he answered gently:
“Yeah, I’m doing fine.”
“New Year’s dinner in the barracks?”
“Sure is—our squad leader’s already cooking. I’ll eat when I get back.”
“Get back? You’re outside?”
“…No, I mean when we go back to the mess hall.”
“Oh…” Auntie hesitated. “Then… eat plenty, all right?”
Sensing something wrong, Lin Qiye said, “Auntie, I’m not home this year—so your dinner has to be extra lavish.”
“Of course, don’t worry. I’ve got fish stewing—smells great. Later there’s pork. Only… with you away we might not finish it.”
“A Jin’s growing—make him eat more.”
“Mm. Want to talk to your brother?”
“Sure.”
On the balcony Auntie secretly wiped her eyes, went inside, and handed the phone to Yang Jin.
“Hey, bro.”
“A Jin, while I’m away you haven’t been clumsy, right?”
“Of course not. Why ask?”
“…No reason.”
“How’s life there?”
“Pretty good, don’t worry.”
“If it gets too hard you can come back. The sky won’t fall just because you step away.”
Lin Qiye was silent a moment, then murmured, “Mm.”
The two brothers held their phones; for a long time neither spoke…
“Hey, you two—gone shy after being apart?” Auntie grabbed the phone back.
“Little Qi, I’ve got to go—fish is ready.”
“Okay, Auntie.”
“Mm…”
“Auntie.”
“Hm?”
From the stairwell corner Lin Qiye watched the busy figure. After a long moment he smiled.
“Happy New Year.”
“Mm. Happy New Year.”