Into The Torrent

Hidden beneath the bridge, Lin Shu clung to its underside with bone spikes protruding from his limbs, securing him silently in place. On the opposite side, Yan Qing hung using specialized climbing hooks. Neither spoke. Both waited for the signal—either the strike to begin or for someone to return with news of success.

Yet Lin Shu's mind was not at peace. His eyes narrowed beneath the shadow of the wooden planks above, thoughts swirling like the raging river beneath him.

"If we fail, we can't go back the way we came. That path's where the enemy lies. But the other direction… there's a wide, open field. Too easy to be spotted. No cover. No way to shake a trail."

His gaze drifted to the river churning below—violent, chaotic.

"That's the safest choice if I want to live. No confrontation. Just risk. If whoever defeated Jun Jie, Ming De, and Ya Fen comes for me, I won't last. If I jump… it's the river or death. Simple."

A sharp glint caught his eye.

Movement.

He focused.

Ming De—fighting two opponents.

"What?"

Lin Shu's eyes narrowed further. He recognized the distinctive flower-embroidered pattern stitched into their robes. The instructors at the mine had warned them about it.

"The Jiang Clan."

Ming De wasn't with Jun Jie or Ya Fen. That meant only one thing—he'd run. The others were likely being overwhelmed. Or already dead.

"Smart move… I would've run too."

Without hesitation, Lin Shu dissolved the bone spikes and vaulted silently atop the bridge. Yan Qing, confused by the sudden movement, followed moments later. He hadn't seen Ming De, nor heard the battle—drowned by the river's roar.

"Lin Shu?" Yan Qing started, only to see him sprinting away without a word.

"WHAT THE—"

A voice cut through the river's roar.

"YAN QING! LIN SHU! HELP ME! JUN JIE AND YA FEN ARE FIGHTING! THEY NEED US! THERE'S MORE ENEMIES THAN WE THOUGHT—BUT WE CAN STILL WIN!"

Ming De's voice rang out. His face was cut, his breathing rapid. Lin Shu slowed, watching him closely. Yan Qing did the same.

"Liar."

Lin Shu's eyes darkened.

"If Ya Fen is faster, why send you? And if you're stronger, why not stay and help Jun Jie? You ran. And now you're using us to delay your own death. You'd leave us like you left them."

He turned to flee again—but daggers flew at him.

He ducked instinctively. His back erupted with long, ivory blades—Ivory Monolith—as the bone plates formed a jagged shield.

A girl landed in front of him, her eyes sharp.

"Do not let any of them escape!" she yelled. "Our Young Master gave the order!"

Lin Shu froze.

"Young Master?"

That wasn't in the mission details.

"Someone like Han Yi or Zeng Shiyang… That level? Someone that important should've never been sent to a simple mission like this. This isn't a mission. This is a trap."

He raised his hand—lightning crackled violently.

"Thunderbolt Arc!"

A bolt of lightning screamed across the air. The girl darted sideways, narrowly avoiding the blast as it scorched the bridge planks.

Two more Jiang members emerged. One lunged at Yan Qing with daggers laced in a strange sheen, while another joined the girl to take Lin Shu head-on.

Lin Shu turned to run again—but another wave of daggers clinked harmlessly off his bone armor.

The girl narrowed her eyes.

"What is that armor…? No cracks? What kind of material—bone?"

She circled him, trying to gauge its weaknesses.

Lin Shu didn't wait.

He lunged.

One attacker struck first—a wide slash aimed at his throat.

Lin Shu dropped low, twisted, and slammed a gauntleted fist into the man's gut, lifting him off his feet. Then, with a brutal snap, he seized his neck and smashed him down like a hammer to stone. Blood sprayed from the man's mouth as bones crunched on impact.

The other Jiang member lashed at Lin Shu from behind.

He twisted—but too late.

Blades scraped across his back. His armor held, but cracks spidered across the bone plates. A second slash widened them.

Yan Qing danced across the planks, parrying the poisoned daggers with his blade. But another enemy cracked a thorn-laced whip toward him. He dodged, narrowly avoiding the curved lashes that hissed through the air.

His footwork was light. Precise. Then he dropped into a stance, channeling his breath.

"White Crescent Severance!"

Three pale arcs erupted from his blade, screaming forward like scythes of wind. One Jiang member cried out as the attack tore through his chest—he dropped instantly. The second was grazed, blood splattering as he stumbled back.

The bridge groaned, wooden supports creaking from the strain, but it held.

"There's too many!" Yan Qing called, panting. "We need to retreat!"

Lin Shu gutted another foe—ripping his throat open with the edge of his bone claw—just as two more flanked him. His armor finally gave, one shoulder shattering under a brutal double strike.

He roared and shoulder-charged one attacker back, bones reforging along his ribs. Then, he moved to Yan Qing's side.

They looked.

Ming De was down—barely breathing, his body broken.

If the two enemies beating him joined the fray, they'd be overwhelmed.

The girl stepped forward, calm.

"Surrender. Follow our orders. That's your best hope for survival."

Lin Shu laughed.

"What fool surrenders to a clan they just killed a member of? You think i am stupid enough to believe that? You think I'll put my life in your hands?"

He opened his mouth to stall—but froze.

A pressure filled the air.

A step. Another.

They felt it.

Not mid-stage Rank 1.

High-stage.

They turned to see a boy walking toward them, a decapitated head in his hand.

Jun Jie.

The boy's robes fluttered in the wind as he casually tossed the head onto Ming De's broken body.

"You might've lived," he said, lying easily. "But now, you'll join him since you chose to run away."he said to Ming De as he stomped his skull.

The Jiang clan members bowed.

"Young Master."

He looked at Lin Shu and Yan Qing.

"I'll give you one chance—tell me what you know, and walk away. Or follow your comrades into death."

Yan Qing turned to Lin Shu, expression tense. "What do we do now?"

Lin Shu smirked.

"We?" He raised a brow. "You mean you."

Then, without warning, he jumped into the river.

"GET HIM!"

"Damnit"

Yan Qing leapt right after him.

The Jiang clan shouted. Arrows rained down.

The river welcomed them both with a roar, the current seizing their bodies like claws of nature. Bones cracked, limbs spun, the water dragged them mercilessly forward—toward an unknown fate, but away from certain death.

Lin Shu tried to steady himself, bracing against the current, but the river's force was relentless—even for a cultivator like him. If it's just this, I can hold out. I still have enough Qi to restore my armor whenever it's cracked or broken, he thought, gritting his teeth.

Then he felt a sudden tug on his leg.

"Huh?" He glanced back—only to see Yan Qing clinging onto him.

"That damned—!" Lin Shu's curse was cut short as a rock, swept by the raging river, slammed into his face. He hissed in pain, Qi flaring as he hastily restored the armor around his head.

With a snarl, he twisted and punched Yan Qing in the face, trying to shake him off—but the other boy didn't let go. Blood trickled from Yan Qing's lip, but he held on stubbornly, arms locked around Lin Shu's waist like a lifeline.

He was using Lin Shu—using him as both an armor and a raft. Lin Shu's bone armor allowed him to resist the currents, Lin Shu was also able to stay afloat and survive even with this armor. Yan Qing had realized that. He'd been planning to dive into the river on his own, to abandon Lin Shu entirely… but Lin Shu jumped first.

And now, Yan Qing had found an even better outcome—clinging to the one person who could shield him from the river's wrath.

"Let go, you damned insect, before I rip your guts out!" Lin Shu roared, his voice lost to the thunder of the river.

But Yan Qing didn't hear him—or perhaps he did and simply didn't care. His grip didn't loosen in the slightest. He clung to Lin Shu like a parasite, eyes shut tight, refusing to let go of the one thing keeping him alive.

"Damned insect" Lin Shu growled inwardly. "Whatever. I'll kill him the moment we're out of this cursed river."

With that thought, he stopped wasting energy on the boy and focused entirely on survival. The current was unforgiving, battering him with boulders and debris as it tried to drag them under. Qi surged around his body as he reinforced his bone armor again and again, each impact threatening to shatter it. Every breath burned, every heartbeat roared in his ears—but he endured, teeth clenched, dragging both their lives forward through the torrent.