San Lie walked westward,along a quiet path lined with ancient roots and towering treesthat seemed to hold the memories of a thousand years.No sound accompanied himbut the whisper of leavesand the steady beat of his heart—a rhythm slowly syncing with the earth beneath his feet.
He didn't like silence.But this road demanded it.
Three days passed, and not a single creature crossed his path.But on the fourth night,as he sat beneath a broken tree,a voice rose from within the earth:
"Why are you so harsh on yourself?"
San Lie clenched his jaw.
"Because the world will never be soft."
There was no reply.Only silence.Yet within his chest,the voice echoed like chains—binding, holding, cutting.
The next morning, he discovered a dark lake.Its surface was calm,but beneath, something stirred.He looked at his reflection—and saw himself in chains.Not made of iron,but formed from memory, rage, and guilt.
"You want to be free," the reflection whispered,"but you hold the key yourself."
San Lie dug his fingers into the dirt.His past was no quiet story.He had destroyed.He had harmed.Even now, though he walked the path of Heng Zhen,part of his soul was still tiedto the desire to conquer—not to understand.
That night, in a dream,he awoke inside a cave.Before him stood a figure—a version of himself.Older.Harsher.Stronger.
"Strength is the chain you forged," the figure said."Every step you take is not release—but reinforcement."
San Lie roared, striking with all his might.But the figure vanished.He struck only empty air.
When morning came,he opened his eyesand saw twigs and vines wrapped around his hand.He had been gripping them in his sleep—even unconscious,he held tight.
He finally understood.It wasn't strength that bound him.It was how he saw strength.He walked not to grow stronger,but to learn what had truly kept him tethered.
"Yuanqi… isn't about power.It's about direction.And I… still don't know where I'm going."
San Lie stood.And for the first time on that journey,he smiled.
The chains were still there.But now, he could see them.And what can be seen…can be unraveled.