CHAPTER TWELVE: THE BREAKING
Shen Chen woke to the sound of rain.
He lay on the bed of straw, his body aching with every movent. The cuts on his back had been bandaged, the wounds treated with herbs that slled sharp and dicinal.
Where am I? What happened?
He tried to sit up, but the pain forced him back down. His body was broken, his spirit shattered.
I failed. I failed, and now I'm hiding in a cabin in the middle of nowhere.
"Careful," a voice said. "You're in no condition to move."
Lian Xue erged from the shadows, a bowl of steaming liquid in her hands. Her face was pale, her eyes tired, but her expression was kind.
"How long was I out?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
"Three days. You were in bad shape. The wounds on your back were deep, and you had lost a lot of blood. I did what I could, but you need proper treatnt."
Shen Chen looked away, his jaw tight. "Thank you."
"Don't thank yet. The Li Clan is still hunting for you. They've sent scouts across the entire empire. It's only a matter of ti before they find us."
His heart sank. "Then what do we do?"
Lian Xue was silent for a mont. Then she spoke, her voice careful.
"I've sent word to my sect. The Blazing Phoenix Sect will co to retrieve . I'll be safe once they arrive. But you..." She trailed off, her expression pained.
"I'm on my own," he finished. "I know."
"It's not that I don't want to help you. But the sect won't protect soone they don't know. Especially soone who's being hunted by the Li Clan."
Shen Chen nodded slowly. He understood. He wasn't part of a powerful sect. He wasn't anyone important. He was just a wastrel, a second son, a nobody.
"I'll find my own way," he said, his voice hollow.
Lian Xue studied him, her eyes filled with sothing that might have been pity. "Your family. The Shen Clan. Could they help you?"
Shen Chen's heart clenched. My family. My father. My clan.
He thought of his father's cold eyes, his cousins' mocking smiles, the servants' pitying glances. He had been a disappointnt his entire life, a waste of space, a failure.
They gave up on . They gave up on before I was even born.
"They won't help ," he said, his voice barely a whisper.
"You don't know that. They're your family."
"I know." He t her eyes, his gaze steady despite the pain. "I know them. They'll see as a liability. A danger to the clan. They'll hand over to the Li Clan to save themselves."
Lian Xue was silent for a long mont. Then she nodded slowly.
"I understand. But you have to try. It's your only hope."
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