Chapter 3 (1/2)

Ice Fantasy Chapter 3 – Granny, I Don’t Want To Grow Up

Luo Ying Hill was a holy place of the Magical Snow Mountain; the entire hill was covered with white cherry blossoms and they would never wither. This was where s.h.i.+ and I pa.s.sed our final test to become the top illusionists. We have to use every piece of snowflake to hit the petals of the cherry blossoms and replaced the cherry blossoms with snowflakes. I remembered that day our father, my mother and s.h.i.+’s mother, Lian Ji, were particularly happy because we have created a miracle in the history of the Snow Empire. There wasn’t even a petal left on the tree. But the only difference was that when s.h.i.+’s last petal fell to the ground, I still have a lot of snowflakes flying in the air.

When it’s time to leave, granny sent me out all the way to the border of the forest. I went to give her a hug, and I realized her back had become a little more hunched, and she was only at my chest level. In the past when I was still a kid, I loved sitting on her laps.

“Granny, to be honest to you, I didn’t want to grow up.”

“Ka Suo, you are the future king. So how can you not grow up?”

“Granny, I used to think the king is the superior one, and has everything except one thing. And that is freedom. I love freedom so much. In fact, I wanted to leave this castle, leave the snow kingdom. In fact, the 30 years in the mortal world was the happiest days I ever had. I witnessed the hustling and bustling of the mortals’ lives. And also s.h.i.+. During these 30 years, I protected him with my life, and I felt that he’s my world, my everything. Granny, you have been living in the forest, you don’t know the moment when the snow falls, everything become cold. Let alone the castle in the snow, where the snow will continue for ten whole years.”

After saying that I left the snow fog forest. Just when I was about to step into Ren City of Snow, I heard granny’s ethereal voice, she said. “Ka Suo, my young king, the red lotus will blossom soon, the twin stars shall gather, and the wheel of fate has begun. Please wait patiently…”

—

When Li Luo died – I always thought that she was dead, buried in the depths of the Sea of Ice – I always had the same dream, in the dream s.h.i.+ and I were walking on a deserted street in the mortal world. It was snowing heavily, s.h.i.+ turned to me and said. “Ge, I’m so cold! Hug me.” I untied my robe and pulled him towards me. Then I heard the sound of snow-crus.h.i.+ng footsteps ahead of me, and then I saw Li Luo She came over, crossed her arms and looked at me. “My king, I am here to bring you home.” Then she turned to leave, I wanted to chase after her but I couldn’t move at all. I could only watch Li Luo disappeared into the heavy snow, and never come back.

There was always one man who would appear at the end of the dream - silvery-white hair, unruly handsome face, tall physique, snow white magic robe – he looked just like my father in his younger days. He came over, knelt before me and kissed my brow. He said, “Ge, if you do not want to go home, then don’t go back. Please be free…”

Then I felt a sudden chill, and that person would always ask me. “Ge, are you cold?” I nodded. He then curled his left index finger up, and began chanting a spell. Lotus-liked flames began dancing around me, I used to be exceptionally afraid of the fire of the Fire Tribe, but I felt sincere warmth instead. When I looked up to see his face, his image would become blurred, and then gradually dispersed away like the mist.

Since young, I have always been a quiet kid. I never liked talking to others except s.h.i.+. Ever since the return from the snow fog forest, I have been suffering from insomnia. Every night I would stand on the palace roof, watching the moonlight dancing on the tiles, listening to the breathing of the northern snow fog forest, and smiled dazedly with lonesome moonlight on my face.

I didn’t want to be a king, when my older brothers were still alive, I hoped when I grew up I could go live in seclusion at Magic Snow Mountain with s.h.i.+ after we grew up. When I told s.h.i.+ about my wish, I remembered his smile was exceptionally bright and happy. He told me. “Ge, you have to remember. You must remember.” However, the moment my older brothers died in the holy world, I never spoke a single word about that wish to s.h.i.+ anymore and he also never mentioned anything about it.

After that I met Li Luo, the two of us sat on the roof the whole night. Staring at the dancing starlight, watching the falling snow, covering the entire territory of the Snow Empire.

After Li Luo’s death, Xing Jiu gave me a dream that he wanted me to enter.  In the dream, I saw Li Luo in white, and she was standing high up on the unicorn. I heard her saying. “A long time ago, I was a simple and fortunate person. Everyday I would have very sweet and deep dreams until I met Ka Suo. Every night was a sleepless night to him, and so I would accompany him to sit on the vast empty palace roof, watching the starlight dancing on his silvery-white hair…”

On my 240-year-old birthday feast, my father seated on his high icy throne, smiling at me and said. “Ka Suo, I announce you as the next king of the Snow Empire. I will hand the whole empire to you on your 250th birthday.” Then I heard the cheers from the sorcerers and astrologers, wors.h.i.+pping me but I just stood in the centre with an expressionless face, my empty heart was filled with the sound of the wind.

“Father, maybe I am the better candidate to be the king.” s.h.i.+ stood next to me, smiling, but said firmly.

“s.h.i.+, what are you talking about?” Father looked at him and the whole court of sorcerers as well.

“I said, maybe I can be a better king than Ka Suo.” Then s.h.i.+ turned to me and smiled. He leant down and kissed my eyebrow, saying. “Ge, my hair grows longer than yours.” I saw my mother sitting next to my father, looking at me with concerns. And Lian Ji, s.h.i.+’s mother, had an eerie smile in her eyes.

I remembered that day a highly respected sorcerer, Fa Ta, stepped out and helped to end this embarra.s.sing situation. He looked up at my brother and said. “Young prince, the king is not just someone with the strongest spiritual power, so you cannot replace your brother.”

Then s.h.i.+ walked over, touching his hair and said. “Sorcerer Fa Ta, but if someone like you whose hair is only at the length of the knees becomes the king, and that someone wants to kill you, what should you do? How long can you stay as the king? Sorcerer Fa Ta, I want to kill you, what will you do?” Then s.h.i.+ turned around to leave the hall, his smile was unpredictable and evil. I heard his unbridled laughter echoing everywhere within the city. Three days later, Fa Ta was found dead in his sorcery room, clothes intact, but his body has melted into water completely, just like death caused by the fire magic of the fire elves.

The death of Fa Ta caused the entire city to sink into dead silence. People were wondering if the Fire Tribe had sneaked into the territory of the Snow Empire, and even Ren City of Snow.

I once asked Xing Jiu. “Do you know how Fa Ta died?”

“Yes, but please forgive me, my young king. I cannot tell you.”

“You can’t even tell me?”

“Yes even your father too. You should know that astrologers of Ren City of Snow have the freedom to read the stars and to interpret dreams, but also the right to remain silent.”

“Fine, I’m tired now. I don’t want to know anymore now. Let me ask you one last question, is there someone from the Fire Tribe in Ren City of Snow?”

“My king, the answer is no. If there is one, I’ll tell you and I will protect you with my life. My king, as long as there is someone that threatens you, I will protect you with my life.”

“Then did Fa Ta die under the fire magic?”

Xing Jiu turned his back to me, and left without saying a word. Snow fell and covered Xing Jiu’s shoulders. I wanted to go over to s.h.i.+eld him with my magic s.h.i.+eld, but I didn’t in the end. I turned and left. As I walked back to the palace, I heard granny’s ethereal voice piercing through the snow, saying. “Ka Suo, my young king. Red lotus is about to bloom, twin star will eventually gather, the wheel of fate has begun. Please wait patiently…”

—

Three months after Fa Ta’s death, the city suddenly went ablaze, everyone’s face was reflected in the red firelight. This was the second time I saw the red ablaze sky after that holy war and my father’s cold solemn face. The place on fire was Mirage Sky, Ying Kong s.h.i.+’s palace.

When I arrived the Mirage Sky, the fire had already engulfed the entire palace. I saw the palace maids dissipated into the fire and eventually turning into white mist, just like how the sorcerers of the empire died in the holy war. I thought of s.h.i.+, suddenly I saw his smile in the sky. I curled my ring finger and called upon the snow. With snow swirling around me, I burst into the burning palace. s.h.i.+ was lying on the ground, surrounded by very little residual snow to protect him. I picked him up from the floor and s.h.i.+elded him with my snow barrier. I saw his hand over his eye; glistening white blood couldn’t stop gus.h.i.+ng out from his fingers. That moment I was so devastated, was he the world that I would protect with my life? Was this how I protected s.h.i.+?

s.h.i.+ looked at me with one eye and smile, then he fainted. Right before he went out of conscious, he said something to me, one word, just one word. “Ge.”

I held him in my embrace and told the unconscious s.h.i.+. “s.h.i.+, no matter who wants to hurt you, I will tie him into pieces. Because you are my world.”

—

Xing Jiu was standing on the altar at the Magic Snow Mountain in the fog.

“Xing Jiu, do you anything about the fire at Mirage Sky?”

“I know, my dear king. Your father asked me the same question as well. But please forgive me, I can’t say anything.”

“Let me ask you. Is it the fire from the Fire Tribe that hurt s.h.i.+?”

Xing Jiu walked over and knelt in front of me with his hands crossed, saying. “Ka Suo, my future king, no one will hurt Ying Kong s.h.i.+, believe me. But king, some things are not as simple as you think. Ka Suo, my young king, the red lotus is about to bloom. Twin stars will gather eventually, the wheel of fate has begun, please wait patiently…”

After that fire, s.h.i.+ lost his sight of one eye. Seeing him wearing an eye patch, my heart couldn’t help but to feel sad. But he always told me it’s fine, smiling sweetly.

He leant over and kissed my eyebrow, calling me. “Ge.” Cherry blossoms never stopped falling from the tree, falling all over our shoulders.

After so many things had happened, my father began to worry about the safety of the empire, and he seemed to consider handing the throne to s.h.i.+. However the end result was never made known, but everytime I walked past Lian Ji, I would always see her eerie yet bewitching smile. For once, father had asked s.h.i.+ when at the grand hall. “s.h.i.+, you really want to be a king?”

s.h.i.+ said. “Yes, I want to be the king. Gege wanted freedom, please give him his freedom. Please give me the throne.”

Lian Ji’s smile became wider, bewitching the whole city, bewitching the whole country.

One day under the cherry blossom tree, I asked s.h.i.+. “s.h.i.+, you really want to be a king so much?”

“Ge, do you want to be a king?”

“No. I want to go back to snow fog forest where there is no snow, warm like spring, and there’s granny – the first person who taught me sorcery.”

“Ge, since you don’t want, then just let me be the king.” Cherry blossoms fell like snowflakes; I heard the sound of the s...o...b..rd, snow started to melt. The bewitching smile of Lian Ji.

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