white phantom

The night was silent. The cold wind howled through the trees, carrying the scent of damp earth and blood.

Bai Shen sat on the edge of a ruined wooden bridge, his white hair flowing freely with the breeze. His blind eyes stared blankly at the ground, but in truth, he was "watching" everything. He could feel the vibrations of the wind brushing against the trees, the distant rustling of animals in the underbrush, the rhythmic drip of water from a broken roof.

This world was not dark to him.

It was full of sound, and sound was enough.

Yet, tonight, there was one sound missing.

Mei Lin's voice.

His grip tightened around the hilt of his sword. He had spent the past three days wandering aimlessly, his heart hollow. His thirst for revenge burned like an eternal flame, but right now, he was too weak. The Night Shadow Sect was not an enemy he could challenge recklessly.

"You're blind. What can you possibly do?"

The words of a merchant from the village echoed in his mind. Earlier that day, Bai Shen had tried to gather information, only to be dismissed as a useless cripple. They saw only his blindness, not his strength.

And perhaps… they were right.

He was weak.

But he would not stay weak.

Bai Shen stood up, his senses stretching outward. He listened to the vibrations around him, searching for a place to train. He needed strength—not just any strength, but something that would make him unstoppable.

A distant tremor reached his ears. A waterfall.

A perfect place to begin.

Without hesitation, he turned and walked into the night, the image of Mei Lin's lifeless body burned into his mind.

The path to vengeance had begun.