Chapter 9 – Escape Through Blood and Shadows
The forest was quiet again. Too quiet.
Li Shen stood over the corpses of the three Seven Peaks disciples, the shard in his grip still pulsing with faint light, drinking the last drops of their blood. His chest rose and fell as the intoxicating strength surged through him.
But then it came—the sound that shattered the silence.
Booooom!
A horn echoed through the night. Deep. Thunderous. Carried by qi across the mountains.
Li Shen's heart sank.
That wasn't a simple patrol call. That was a signal. Reinforcements were coming.
The shard chuckled in his mind. "So what? More prey. More blood. Stay. Kill. Feed."
"No," Li Shen muttered coldly. "I can't fight them all. Not yet."
He crouched low, eyes darting to the corpses. He had been sloppy. The last one had cried out before dying. That scream was all it took for Seven Peaks to notice.
He had minutes. Maybe less.
Li Shen wiped the shard on the dead man's robe and slipped into the trees. His steps were light, his breath even, but his mind raced.
The forest shifted. Shadows stretched long as the moon climbed. Owls hooted, leaves rustled, the scent of blood lingered faintly in the air.
Li Shen moved fast, weaving between trunks, never in a straight line. His senses, heightened by the shard's bloodlust, picked up everything—the snap of twigs, the flutter of wings, even the faint ripple of qi in the distance.
They were coming.
A group. No, several.
Seven Peaks had unleashed their hunters.
Li Shen clenched his teeth. He remembered the night his clan burned—their armored figures, their blades dripping with the blood of his people. That horn had sounded then too.
Rage threatened to blind him, but he forced it down. Rage could come later. For now—escape.
Minutes later, voices rang out behind him.
"Over here!"
"Tracks—he went this way!"
"Seal the forest! Don't let him leave alive!"
Li Shen's pulse quickened. They were close. Too close.
He leapt over a fallen log, sliding down a slope, then pressed himself against a tree, steadying his breathing. His eyes narrowed.
They were fast, disciplined. This wasn't some lazy patrol—this was a hunting squad.
"You can't outrun them forever," the shard whispered. "Kill them. Drink them. Grow strong."
Li Shen gritted his teeth. "Not yet. I need time."
He sprinted again, weaving deeper into the forest.
But then he froze.
Up ahead—the faint glow of lanterns. More disciples.
Seven Peaks had already spread out, closing the net.
Trapped.
Li Shen's mind raced. If he charged blindly, he'd be cut down. If he hesitated, he'd be surrounded.
He glanced at the shard. Its edge gleamed faintly in the moonlight, almost eager.
"Fine," Li Shen whispered. "We don't fight them all. But we'll make them bleed."
He grabbed a stone and hurled it into the bushes. Leaves rustled.
The lantern-bearing disciples jerked their heads. "Over there!"
They rushed toward the sound.
Li Shen slipped the other way, low and silent, moving like a shadow.
But his luck didn't hold.
Another squad appeared from the right, four strong, blades drawn. Their leader's eyes narrowed as he spotted him.
"There! That's him!"
The forest erupted with shouts.
Li Shen cursed and ran.
Branches whipped against his face, roots clawed at his feet, but he pushed harder, faster. His breath was steady, but his body screamed with effort.
Behind him, footsteps thundered.
Qi surged as the disciples released their strength. One leapt forward, a blade flashing like lightning, aiming for Li Shen's back.
Li Shen spun at the last instant, the shard deflecting the strike with a sharp clang! Sparks flew. His arms trembled from the impact, but he used the momentum, rolling aside and darting deeper into the trees.
The disciple cursed, giving chase. "Stop him!"
The forest became chaos.
Disciples shouted from every direction. Some cut through trees with their blades, others leapt across branches like predators. The horn blew again, louder this time.
Li Shen's chest burned. His legs ached. But he kept moving.
Then—his foot caught a root.
He stumbled.
The shard's voice screamed in his head. "UP! MOVE!"
Li Shen rolled just as a sword slashed down where his head had been. The ground split, earth spraying.
A disciple loomed above him, eyes cold, blade dripping with qi. "Found you, rat."
Li Shen snarled, swinging the shard upward. The edge caught the man's wrist, tearing flesh. Blood spurted.
The disciple roared, staggering back, but another was already there, blade whistling toward Li Shen's throat.
Too fast.
At the last second, Li Shen ducked low, the blade slicing strands of his hair. He rolled between the man's legs, slashing as he passed. Blood sprayed again.
Two injured. But not dead.
And more were coming.
Li Shen's breath was ragged now. He could feel the net closing tighter.
Then he saw it—a ravine ahead, deep and dark, its bottom hidden by mist.
His only chance.
Without hesitation, he sprinted for it.
"Stop him!" someone shouted.
Qi surged behind him. A blade of light cut through the trees, slicing a trunk in half. It crashed down, but Li Shen didn't slow.
The edge of the ravine loomed. His legs pumped harder, lungs burning.
And then he leapt.
The world fell away. Wind roared in his ears. His body plummeted into darkness.
For a heartbeat, there was silence.
Then—impact.
He crashed through branches, pain exploding across his body, before slamming into the rocky ground.
Darkness swallowed him.
He didn't know how long he lay there. Seconds. Minutes.
Finally, he stirred. His body screamed in agony, ribs aching, skin torn. But he was alive.
The shard pulsed faintly at his side, its voice low and cold. "Good. You chose survival. You'll live to kill another day."
Above, faint voices echoed from the ravine's edge.
"Did he fall?"
"No one could survive that drop."
"Report back. The elders will want proof."
Their voices faded as they left.
Li Shen lay there, bleeding, broken, but alive. His chest rose and fell, his eyes burning with grim determination.
"They think I'm dead," he whispered hoarsely.
Good.
Let them believe it.
Because when he rose again, it would be as death itself.