I'm dead anyway

[10 HOURS LATER]

As Shen Wu and Ling Ling crouched on a tree branch in the dense forest, Shen Wu surveyed their surroundings cautiously, ensuring not to make any noise. Suddenly, several people in blue robes dashed past the tree where they were concealed. Ling Ling utilized a special technique called voice transmission to communicate silently with Shen Wu. She instructed him, "Listen, Wu, I need you to run in the opposite direction of me. Your body is beyond third-rate, so even without a body-lightening technique, you should be able to cover a few miles."

Shen Wu glanced at Ling Ling, noticing the dirt and scratches on her face, evidence of their prolonged chase. He whispered back, "But Master told us to stay together."

Ling Ling swiftly covered Shen Wu's mouth and gestured for him to be silent, placing a finger to her lips. A lone man in blue robes approached the tree, having heard Shen Wu's whisper. Ling Ling tensed, preparing herself in case they were discovered. However, the man merely sighed and continued on his way, leaving them undisturbed.

As Shen Wu closed his eyes, memories flooded his mind, particularly Lee Jangdon's words urging him to "see deeper into yourself." Shen Wu acknowledged his own weakness. At this critical moment, when he needed strength the most, he felt powerless. He recalled Master Gu's departure, realizing that they were now vulnerable to powerful adversaries. Shen Wu's thoughts turned inward, contemplating his current predicament. "Ling was right," he thought. "I am weak... but only for now. I should listen to her and run away. Right now, I'm just a nuisance."

Opening his eyes, Shen Wu gently removed Ling Ling's hand from his mouth and gestured to himself and then toward the distance, silently agreeing to their plan. Ling Ling looked at him and used voice transmission to confirm, "You finally agree to the plan?" Shen Wu nodded in response, and a small smile appeared on Ling Ling's face.

As Shen Wu turned to jump down from the tree, Ling Ling caught his arm and conveyed through voice transmission, "... one last thing, don't look for me or Master... both of us will lay low for a few months or even years. We'll find you, so don't die." Shen Wu, with tears welling in his eyes, nodded in understanding. Ling Ling released his arm and smiled before Shen Wu leapt down silently, disappearing into the depths of the forest, determined to run as far as he could.

As Shen Wu ran desperately through the forest, his mind raced with thoughts of Ling Ling and the crashing sounds echoing behind him. Doubt crept in as he paused, contemplating whether he should turn back to assist Ling Ling. "...Ling Ling... I should help... right?" he murmured to himself. But then, after a brief moment of consideration, he shook his head and convinced himself otherwise. "I'd only get in the way. Hell, if anything, Ling should be able to easily rip them apart."

Continuing his escape, Shen Wu abruptly halted when he reached the edge of a massive cliff. He kneeled down with one leg, peering cautiously over the precipice. "I survived jumping off of the Nameless Peak, so I should survive now," he mumbled nervously to himself. However, after a brief pause, he quickly reconsidered. "Nah, that's a terrible idea..."

Suddenly, a sharp object whizzed past him, narrowly missing his head and embedding itself in a nearby tree trunk. Shen Wu's eyes widened as he turned sharply towards the dense tree line. "Well, which piece of shit threw a kunai at me, huh?" he muttered angrily, his senses on high alert in the face of danger.

Multiple men in dark blue robes and hoods, their faces concealed by white masks, emerged from the dense forest, their footsteps silent as shadows. With swift and calculated movements, they encircled Shen Wu, their blades gleaming menacingly in the dim light filtering through the canopy above.

Aware of the imminent danger, Shen Wu moved with agility, his senses heightened as he anticipated their attacks. Despite his efforts to evade their strikes, he lost his footing on the treacherous terrain, stumbling backward.

In a desperate bid to regain his balance, Shen Wu seized hold of two of his assailants, their bodies intertwined as they careened toward the edge of the cliff. Amidst the chaos, one of the men unleashed a furious swing of his blade, his voice filled with venomous spite.

But the tumultuous descent robbed the strike of its accuracy, the assailant's blade narrowly missing Shen Wu as they plummeted down the sheer rock face. Sensing an opportunity amidst the chaos, Shen Wu propelled himself off the cliff's edge with lightning speed, his fist connecting with devastating force against one of his assailants.

The impact shattered the man's mask, revealing a face twisted in agony as blood spurted from his broken nose. Amidst the tumult, the other assailant cried out in anguish, a desperate plea for his fallen comrade.

Undeterred by the chaos around him, Shen Wu fixed a steely gaze on the remaining attacker, his voice resonating with fierce determination. "When we land, I will kill you," he declared, his words a chilling promise of retribution.

As they crashed into the muddy ground below, the two assailants met their fate, their bodies broken by the unforgiving impact. Shen Wu, though battered and bruised, emerged from the ordeal with grim resolve, pushing himself off the fallen man who had inadvertently cushioned his fall.

Shen Wu lay in the mud, his gaze fixed on the cloudy sky as he caught his breath, each inhale a laborious effort. "I'm never doing that again..." he muttered to himself, his voice strained with exhaustion. Slowly, he attempted to rise, but a sharp pain shot through his chest, causing him to instinctively clutch at his ribs.

With growing dread, Shen Wu gingerly probed his chest, his expression contorting in agony as he realized the extent of his injuries—two of his ribs were broken. "Uhhh... without modern medicine, uhhh... how do I... uhhh... heal this?" he wondered aloud, torn between the urgent need to rest and the necessity of putting distance between himself and his pursuers.

Surveying the landscape, Shen Wu's eyes settled on another forest in the distance, the promise of concealment beckoning to him. However, the situation worsened as rain began to fall, a foreboding development that threatened to reveal his footprints in the mud.

Quickly assessing his options, Shen Wu moved with urgency, kneeling beside one of the fallen assailants. Swiftly, he stripped the man of his dark blue robe and white mask, donning the disguise as a shield against detection. Equipped with a sheathed blade salvaged from the fallen, Shen Wu clutched his injured chest and forced himself to move, running into the cover of the adjacent forest.

The rain intensified, its steady drumbeat muffling his footsteps as he disappeared into the shadows of the trees.

[MULTIPLE HOURS LATER]

Shen Wu's body rebelled against him, each movement an excruciating ordeal as he forced himself to continue running. Hours stretched into eternity as he pressed on through the relentless rain, his muscles screaming in protest, his chest a constant source of agony.

But even as his vision blurred and his breath grew ragged, Shen Wu refused to yield. His determination was his sole companion in the darkness of the forest, driving him forward despite the overwhelming odds stacked against him.

Then, fate intervened cruelly as Shen Wu's foot caught on a treacherous tree root, sending him crashing to the ground with a gut-wrenching impact. Agonized cries escaped his lips as the broken ribs screamed in protest, tears mingling with the rain on his masked face.

Struggling against the agony coursing through his body, Shen Wu attempted to rise, each effort met with failure as he collapsed back into the muddy embrace of the forest floor. "Uhhh... just a bit more, uhhh... come on..." he muttered through gritted teeth, his voice a mere whisper of determination.

Fighting against the overwhelming urge to surrender, Shen Wu summoned the last vestiges of his strength and began to crawl. Slowly, painstakingly, he dragged his battered body through the mud, his movements fueled by sheer willpower and the flickering hope of sanctuary.

Finally, he reached the entrance of a small cave, its dim light offering a glimmer of respite in the encroaching darkness. With a final surge of determination, Shen Wu's trembling form collapsed at the threshold, his consciousness slipping away as he surrendered to the embrace of unconsciousness.

Shen Wu found himself in what appeared to be an endless void, surrounded by an expanse of nothingness that stretched infinitely in all directions. He looked around, feeling a sense of disorientation and unease creeping over him.

Reaching out, he placed a hand on his chest, half-expecting to feel the pain from his broken ribs. To his surprise, he felt nothing—no pain, no sensation at all. It was as if his physical body had been left behind, and he was now adrift in this strange and familiar realm.

"Well... it's this place again..." Shen Wu murmured to himself, his voice tinged with a hint of sadness. He had been here before, in this surreal void that seemed to exist outside of time and space. It was a place he associated with death, a place where the boundaries between reality and the afterlife blurred.

His attention was drawn to a curious sight—a dimly lit egg floating in front of him. It was unlike anything he had ever seen, adorned with intricate talismans and adorned with swirling patterns reminiscent of flames. Shen Wu regarded the egg with a mixture of curiosity and caution.

"This wasn't here before..." he muttered, eyeing the strange object warily. Despite his reservations, a sense of curiosity tugged at him. After a moment of hesitation, he took a cautious step forward, drawing closer to the enigmatic egg.

"Ohhh, what the hell," Shen Wu said with a resigned shrug, his voice echoing faintly in the emptiness around him. "I'm dead anyway. What's the worst that could happen?"

With a mixture of trepidation and determination, Shen Wu reached out and began to peel away the talismans that adorned the surface of the egg. Each one came off easily, revealing the smooth surface beneath.

As Shen Wu removed the last talisman, he felt a sudden shift in the air—a crackling energy building around the egg. Before he could react, the egg began to crack, emitting a blinding light and intense heat that engulfed him in its brilliance.

"Shit!" Shen Wu cursed, shielding his eyes as he staggered back from the searing light. The cracks spread rapidly across the surface of the egg, radiating outwards like fissures in the earth. Shen Wu watched in astonishment as the egg shattered into countless fragments, releasing a blinding blaze that illuminated the void with its fiery glow.