"What doesn't kill me doesn't make me stronger—it just makes me more like a monster."
---
I. Fleeing Through the Wounded Forest
The night was deep. Dew dripped from the leaves.
Shen crouched in a stone crevice near the stream, face pale as paper, lips blue, chest soaked in blood.
He was poisoned by at least three toxins, and a special "Muscle-Sealing Talisman Spike" from Huanshui Hall was still embedded in his shoulder blade.
Wan'er sat beside him, pressing a bloodstained poultice to his wound, her little hands trembling, eyes almost in tears.
"You… can't die."
Her voice shook, but she didn't cry.
Shen opened his eyes halfway, voice hoarse: "Crying won't help… go find a red-core four-leaf herb. If you don't bring it back within three incense sticks' time, I'll die from the poison."
Wan'er froze, then bit her lip and dashed into the darkness.
He hadn't lied to her—but he also knew:
Whether he lived or died… wasn't up to her anymore.
---
II. Old Poisons, New Wounds
Shen pulled out a small vial of snake-scale extract—a byproduct of poison refining he'd secretly brewed over the past month. It could temporarily slow the toxins.
He forced himself to pour it directly into the wound. Agonizing pain exploded through his body, and for a moment, his vision dimmed.
"Can't sleep yet… can't fall…"
He muttered to himself, biting his tongue to stay awake.
His mind raced through the past three days—every escape, every kill, every trap he'd set.
> —Mirror Snake isn't dead. He'll keep hunting.
—Huanshui Hall won't give up on Wan'er. If even one sacrificial child escapes, their entire ritual has to restart.
—If she's caught again, there won't even be a corpse left to bury.
"I still haven't… killed Mu Youlou…"
He gritted his teeth and began carving a formation diagram into the dirt with his fractured elbow.
---
III. A Flicker of Light
Wan'er stumbled back, arms full of crushed herbs, covered in mud, face streaked with fresh cuts.
"I found it… here…"
She fell to her knees beside Shen, dropping the herbs into the poison mix. Smoke began to rise—clear reaction.
Shen forced a weak smile. "It's… real… you got the right one."
Wan'er sat beside him, asking softly, "Why did you save me? You said… you don't save people."
Shen was silent for a moment. Then he spoke:
> "I didn't save you."
> "I saved someone who was once thrown away like you… but still lived."
Wan'er's eyes widened.
"And you… you're not the one being saved."
He leaned against the stone wall, slowly closing his eyes.
> "You're a piece on my board."
---
IV. Mortal Body, Will of Broken Bones
At dawn the next day—
Though the toxins were mostly purged, Shen's body was still unstable.
He stood, wounds unhealed, joints stiff, steps heavy.
He began training.
Not cultivation. Not meditation.
Basic, brutal drills:
Weighted squats
Sprinting
Breath control
Dodge mechanics
Every move made him vomit blood, but he continued.
Wan'er watched from a distance, confused.
"You're broken. Why are you still training?"
Shen didn't reply—he kept punching.
"I'm no cultivator," he said.
"I'm no genius either."
"But if I want to kill someone… I have to learn to die first."
Wan'er said nothing. She turned and returned to the woods, quietly collecting more herbs to treat him again.
She finally began to understand—
> This man wasn't living to stay alive.
He was alive—to kill.
---
V. New Character: Zhong Lie
That night, a sudden wind sliced through the forest.
Shen instantly tensed, grabbing his bone dagger, setting two poison talismans, pulling Wan'er into the shadows.
"Don't move," he whispered.
Moments later, a large, muscular man burst into the cave, sharp-eyed, scanning the air.
"There's a scent of blood here."
His gaze swept around, then he smirked.
"A half-dead… mortal?"
He turned to leave—only to pause as Shen stepped out, coldly asking:
"You with Huanshui Hall?"
The man raised an eyebrow. "Me? Name's Zhong Lie. Rogue cultivator from North Mountain. Been at war with those bastards."
He stepped closer, studying Shen's gaze.
"You… I know those eyes. You've killed. More than once."
"Who are you?"
Shen didn't answer. But he didn't lower the talisman either.
Zhong Lie laughed. "Fine. Don't care who you are. But you won't last long in this state."
"If you really want to survive—come with me."
He turned and walked off, figure towering like a mountain.
Shen stood silent for a few breaths, then muttered:
> "Wan'er… should we take the gamble?"