Recovery Cave
The air still smelled of medicinal herbs.
Wang Tao sat propped against the stone wall, his body wrapped in bandages. His skin was dry, his breathing slow. Every movement still hurt, but the pain wasn't what bothered him most.
It was the void. Something inside him felt wrong.
The cave entrance opened—light footsteps. Sai entered, his expression as serene as ever.
"I see you can already sit up," he commented.
Wang Tao didn't respond immediately. "You..." his voice came out raspy. "Why are you here?"
Sai raised an eyebrow. "That shouldn't be the question, should it? Shouldn't you be thanking me?"
There was a light irony in his tone. Wang Tao clenched his teeth.
"Why? Why did you save me?"
Sai stared at him for a few seconds, then answered simply:
"Because you are my disciple."
The answer fell heavy. Wang Tao didn't know what to say—part of him wanted to laugh, part of him wanted to scream.
"No... that isn't all."
Sai didn't deny it; he only stepped a little closer. "You used the technique."
Wang Tao's heart tightened. "You know..."
"I gave you the manual," Sai said calmly. "It was inevitable that you would try it."
Silence.
"Do you think you cheated Heaven? No. Far from it."
Wang Tao looked up. "Then why am I alive?"
Sai observed him as if evaluating something invisible. "Because fate does not work with absolution. It works with adjustment."
Those words chilled Wang Tao to the bone. "What did I lose?"
Sai didn't answer immediately. "Some debts are not collected from the body," he said at last. "They are collected from paths that cease to exist."
Wang Tao's chest tightened. "Paths..."
"You jumped steps you do not yet understand," Sai continued. "So the Dao collected its due from something you cannot yet feel."
Wang Tao was breathing heavily now. "Then this was your fault?"
Sai stared at him. "I gave you knowledge. The decision to use it was yours."
A long pause followed. Weight settled upon the disciple's shoulders.
"In cultivation," Sai said finally, "no one pays for the sins of others. Only for their own choices."
He turned away.
Wang Tao sighed, resigned. He didn't regret it. Now, looking at his master with conflicting feelings, he hesitated.
"You may ask," Sai said dryly, noticing his disciple's gaze.
"Master... what about my body?"
Sai stopped, turning only half his face toward him. "What about it?"
"It's broken."
Sai stared at him, then, with his right eyebrow slightly raised, asked:
"Did you not read the manual I gave you?"
Wang Tao's heart skipped a beat.
His mind raced through memories until it hit him: Body Refinement!
The realization came like a physical blow—breathing, pain, breaking, reconstruction.
"Refining the body is like the birth of a phoenix," Sai said, turning fully now. "You shatter yourself and are reborn from the ashes."
Wang Tao's chest tightened. "Then I can still..."
"You can," Sai cut him off. "But the resources will not come from me."
Silence.
"From here on, the price is yours to pay." Sai took a few steps toward the exit. "Good luck, disciple."
He began to leave, the echo of his words lingering in the air. Before exiting, he added without looking back:
"You survived this time. Do not waste it."
The cave returned to silence.
As soon as his master left the chambers, Wang Tao closed his eyes.
Resources. Pills, herbs, materials. None of that comes from the sect for a newly injured disciple. Not to mention the suspicion surrounding my situation.
But... he thought. The Invisible Hand pays. They have always paid. For missions, for blood, for silence.
A bitter smile played on his lips.
So that's it. Neither a full slave nor truly free. Just useful.
His hands clenched into fists—rage rose, hot and suffocating. But what could he do? Flee? Impossible. Refuse? Certain death. Resist? With what strength?
He took a deep breath, forcing the anger down.
If this is how it must be, I will do what I have always done: I will use whoever needs to be used until I can cut every chain.
One day. When I am strong enough. When I no longer need anyone.
On that day...
---
Outside, Yan Li paced back and forth.
"Will he be okay?" she asked for the third time.
Wei Lian remained seated on a rock, watching the cave entrance. "The Master said so."
"But he didn't say how long it would take."
"When he wakes up..." Yan Li hesitated. "Do you think he'll tell us what happened?"
Wei Lian didn't answer immediately. His eyes remained fixed on the entrance—though innocent, they seemed to see right through the door.
"Maybe not."
Yan Li looked at him. "Why?"
Wei Lian took a moment before speaking. "Because he is probably the one who killed the Elder."
Yan Li froze. "WHAT?!" she shouted, startled, standing up abruptly.
Wei Lian took a deep breath. "Calm down. It's just an assumption, but it's likely not far from the truth," he said, as if his words carried no weight. "He was acting strange all week. On the day the Elder dies, he returns wounded. If it isn't that, I don't know what else it could be."
Yan Li's brow furrowed. "And you're okay with that?!" She was sounding a bit hysterical.
Wei Lian shook his head slowly. "Of course not, but... we are fellow disciples, aren't we?" He paused, his voice carrying a hint of doubt. "So we should talk first. Understand. And only then make decisions."
Yan Li went into shock. Her brain couldn't decide what to feel.
Wang Tao was an assassin. He killed an Elder. An Elder!
But he was also the fellow disciple who helped her on the first day. Who trained by her side. Who nearly died.
Her hands trembled. What should she feel? Fear? Anger? Worry? Everything at once. Nothing made sense.
Silence fell.
---
"What are you two talking about?" Sai asked, stepping out of the cave.
Wei Lian closed his eyes for an instant. Yan Li jumped, her hands clasping together, thumbs nervously twiddling.
"That Wang Tao might have killed the Elder," Wei Lian said bluntly. "And thinking about what that means."
Sai walked up to them, pulled a ruler from his sleeve, and gave each of them a light rap on the head.
"Your eldest brother is awake."
He continued without pausing, "Instead of gossiping, go talk to him."
With that, he walked away.
Yan Li felt a shiver run down her spine. "Wei, do you think he..."
He didn't answer, but he didn't deny it either.
---
Inside the cave, Wang Tao opened his eyes.
The pain was no longer enough to distract him—there were only thoughts.
Paths that ceased to exist. Consequences. Responsibility.
Fate, what do you hold for me?