Chapter 18: A Wounded Man

The mountains stretched endlessly before Itsuro, their peaks lost in the mist. Each step was agony. The wound in his side burned like fire, the poison seeping deeper into his blood. His vision swam, and his breath came in ragged gasps.

But he couldn't stop.

The High Monk had the shards now. Jubei had betrayed him. And Kaizen… Kaizen would come for them all.

If Itsuro wanted to stand a chance, he had to survive.

The Hunt Begins

The Capital's forces would not let him escape so easily. He could already hear them in the distance—tracking hounds howling in the night, the rhythmic clatter of armored boots against stone.

They were coming.

A weaker man would have collapsed. But Itsuro was not weak.

He had been forged in blood and hardship.

He had seen what the shards could do.

With a final, painful breath, he forced himself to move.

The Hidden Path

Somewhere in these mountains lay an old refuge, a place where wounded monks once went to heal. If the legends were true, it was hidden within the cliffs, concealed behind a waterfall that roared like thunder.

Jubei had once spoken of it in passing, not realizing he was giving away a secret.

Now, that knowledge was all that stood between Itsuro and death.

As the night deepened, Itsuro stumbled through the jagged terrain, his body growing weaker. His vision blurred, shadows shifting unnaturally in the edges of his sight. The poison was working faster than he thought.

He needed to find the refuge.

Before the Capital found him first.