Shen San glanced at the woman and her child. Her legs might as well have been only an accessory to give her height for all the use they were. She’d need to install wheels to have a prayer of outrunning the mounted troops and their hounds. They couldn’t run forever.
He came to a sudden stop. “Please forgive me, ma’am.”
With those words, he bundled mother and son into a hidden cave. Taking the cloth the baby was swaddled in, he stuffed the woman’s outer robe into it and shaped it into a human form. Looking back at the duo, he set down all the dried food he had on him, as well as his wine jug. “The dock is just twenty li to the south on the other side of this mountain. My friend should be waiting for you there with his boat. You can trust him. Once you cross the river, you’ll be able to shake the hunters. Do you have somewhere to go in the south?”
Very quietly, the woman answered, “I have family from my mother’s side I can go to.”
“Mnh. I won’t stick my rough, unrefined nose where it doesn’t belong, then.” Shen San nodded.
At that moment, he accidentally met the infant’s gaze. Somehow, despite being on the run for half the night, the baby hadn’t let out a single wail or made a fuss. He simply stared with black-bean eyes at the world in which he had only just arrived. He almost seemed a bit divine.
Intrigued, Shen San smiled at the little thing. It was then that the woman realized Shen San’s own eyes were like stars.
Shen San removed the wooden plaque around his neck. The words “Soul-Guarding” were carved into the front, and on the back were four lines of mysterious text. The writing looked like something you’d find from a scam artist telling fortunes on the roadside.
He hung the plaque around the child’s neck. “My mother said I was born with this and that it can turn calamities into blessings. She probably made it up, but I’ve lived this long with no major illness or injury. I’ll give it to your little one for peace of mind.”
The woman quickly stopped him. “Master San, what about you?”
“Those legless dumbasses can’t catch me.” Shen San gave a careless wave. “Stay hidden. I have my ways of escaping.”
Alarmed, she called out, “Master San!”
But Master Shen San, carrying the fake swaddle, clasped his hands and gave mother and child a sloppy bow before disappearing into the night like a swallow. The thousand-li trackers gave chase at once, following the scent in his hands.
From all different directions, the bright flames of countless torches headed to the top of the mountain in pursuit. Armed soldiers blocked off all roads leading down from the peak, trapping Shen San. Surrounded by the howling wind, Shen San’s gaze swept across the thousands of soldiers and horses that had chased him all the way to the mountaintop. With a light smile, in front of the gathered crowd, he jumped off the cliff.
2
HIS RIGHT ARM FELT as though it had been twisted off. A cracking sensation and pain woke him. Shen San’s first instinct was to struggle. As he opened his eyes, his dark, blurry vision was brightened by a person: someone wearing black robes, with water-smooth hair so long that it touched the ground. Man or woman, he couldn’t tell; he only saw that their lashes, as dark as crow’s feathers, were lowered.
An immortal, Shen San thought in a daze.
Feeling him move, the “immortal” spoke comfortingly beside his ear. “Your shoulder is dislocated. I have to put it back in place. Please bear with it.”
Tch—a male immortal. Disappointed, Shen San sank back into unconsciousness.
Now, Master Shen San was in his prime. There was no way he would’ve let anyone force him into jumping off a cliff. Even as he’d leaped, he had an escape planned. The moment he was in the air, he shook out a bundle of string he had hidden in his sleeve. The string was as fine as a spider’s web, and with it, he managed—just barely—to dangle from an old tree on the cliff. Hidden under the tree, he tossed his outer robe down. He’d filled it with a frame of branches, approximating a human shape well enough from a distance. It drew the pursuers’ attention away from him.
His initial plan was to simply climb back up once the hunters had all left, but it was like they’d become part of the mountain. They kept on searching, and even set up cooking fires. They just wouldn’t leave.
As a result, Master Shen San had hung from the cliff for an entire day and night. His right arm had gone completely numb, and the wind had nearly turned him into cured meat. It was unsustainable. Finally, he had no choice but to try to climb down with only one working arm. He periodically bumped into the side of the cliff, which would make him slide down a dozen meters. After a perilous journey, he reached the bottom, only to fall into a turbulent river. The water stole his last warm breath away and carried him off…somewhere.
It appeared someone had managed to fish him out of the river.
In his daze, Shen San felt as if someone was always staring at him. From time to time, an ice-cold hand would trace his face, from his hairline to his cheek and back again, and a fragrance as cold and clean as fresh snow would fill his nostrils. After a while, the sky grew dark, and the air grew heavy with humidity. Dew started to form. Nocturnal beasts began prowling in the valley.
A far-off roar startled him awake.
He realized he was in a small, thatched hut. He lay on a straw bed, soft and clean and very comfortable. All his joints were back where they should be, and his broken left leg was in a wooden splint. Ointment had been applied to all his wounds. He felt refreshed.
As soon as he stirred, a voice spoke from behind him. “You’re awake. Drink some water.”
Startled, Shen San pushed himself up from the bed with one hand, whipping around to see who’d spoken. He had been traveling around alone since the age of thirteen or fourteen, and his qinggong was unparalleled—how else would he have had the guts to leap from such a tall cliff?—but he hadn’t detected the other person’s approach at all.
Finally getting a good look at him, Shen San saw a young man with a pale complexion. His eyes and brows were works of art, and with his lowered lashes, he seemed to carry a quiet serenity, as if sculpted from snow.
Shen San was immediately distracted. “You… Are you human, or…”
The young man looked up. “Mn?”