The cave breathed with a cold stillness.
Wind slipped through cracks in the stone, carrying the faint scent of burnt earth from the ruined city below. The settlement at one point had been praised for its vibrant markets, its colorful banners hanging over every stall and courtyard. Everything had collapsed into a slumber of broken walls and leaning beams. Not even carrion birds lingered now; only the whisper of dust and the occasional echo of shifting rubble.
Li Wei sat atop a flat boulder, legs crossed, eyes half-lidded, his breathing slow enough to be mistaken for stone. Faint green light circled him in thin, wavering strands, threads of his Cultivation Technique repairing the damage to his meridians from the battle with Magistrate Yun.
Though he looked calm, his mind traveled paths far more tangled.
