Shen Chen woke to the sound of rain.
He lay on the bed of straw, his body aching with every movement. The cuts on his back had been bandaged, the wounds treated with herbs that smelled sharp and medicinal.
Where am I? What happened?
He tried to sit up, but the pain forced him back down. His body was broken, his spirit shattered.
I failed. I failed, and now I'm hiding in a cabin in the middle of nowhere.
"Careful," a voice said. "You're in no condition to move."
Lian Xue emerged from the shadows, a bowl of steaming liquid in her hands. Her face was pale, her eyes tired, but her expression was kind.
"How long was I out?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
"Three days. You were in bad shape. The wounds on your back were deep, and you had lost a lot of blood. I did what I could, but you need proper treatment."
Shen Chen looked away, his jaw tight. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. The Li Clan is still hunting for you. They've sent scouts across the entire empire. It's only a matter of time before they find us."
His heart sank. "Then what do we do?"
Lian Xue was silent for a moment. Then she spoke, her voice careful.
"I've sent word to my sect. The Blazing Phoenix Sect will come to retrieve me. I'll be safe once they arrive. But you..." She trailed off, her expression pained.
"I'm on my own," he finished. "I know."
"It's not that I don't want to help you. But the sect won't protect someone they don't know. Especially someone who's being hunted by the Li Clan."
Shen Chen nodded slowly. He understood. He wasn't part of a powerful sect. He wasn't anyone important. He was just a wastrel, a second son, a nobody.
"I'll find my own way," he said, his voice hollow.
Lian Xue studied him, her eyes filled with something that might have been pity. "Your family. The Shen Clan. Could they help you?"
Shen Chen's heart clenched. My family. My father. My clan.
He thought of his father's cold eyes, his cousins' mocking smiles, the servants' pitying glances. He had been a disappointment his entire life, a waste of space, a failure.
They gave up on me. They gave up on me before I was even born.
"They won't help me," he said, his voice barely a whisper.
"You don't know that. They're your family."
"I know." He met her eyes, his gaze steady despite the pain. "I know them. They'll see me as a liability. A danger to the clan. They'll hand me over to the Li Clan to save themselves."
Lian Xue was silent for a long moment. Then she nodded slowly.
"I understand. But you have to try. It's your only hope."