The bandit's body hit the dirt with a wet thud.
Jin Mu staggered, the broken haft of the hoe still clutched in his trembling hand. His chest burned like molten iron, veins bulging, blood dripping freely down his side. Every breath seared, but still he stood.
Around him, the village burned. Bandits shouted, steel clashed, children screamed. The smell of smoke and blood mingled thick in the air.
The boy he'd saved clung to his leg, sobbing. "Don't die, Brother Mu. Please… don't die."
Jin Mu's knees buckled. He dropped to the dirt, vision swimming. His heart thundered, qi surging wild and uncontrolled through his body. The energy that had burst free now raged like a beast in chains, tearing at his meridians.
Too much… it's too much…
His teeth sank into his lip, blood filling his mouth. He felt as if his body might rip apart at any moment. Yet through the agony, he felt something else: power. Real, undeniable power.
From the corner of his vision, movement—another bandit rushing toward the child, blade raised.
Jin Mu snarled. His body moved before thought. He flung out his hand—
A burst of qi exploded from his palm. Not light, not fire—something heavier, darker. The bandit's chest caved in as though struck by a hammer. He flew backward, smashing against a hut wall, his ribs snapping like dry twigs.
Silence followed, broken only by the roar of flames.
The boy gaped up at Jin Mu, eyes wide with awe and terror both. The villagers nearby—those who had jeered at him days before—froze where they stood. Their faces blanched.
"The… the cripple…?" one whispered.
"He… he released qi!"
But Jin Mu heard none of it. His body collapsed, the strength ripped from him. The dirt rushed up to meet him, the boy's cry fading in his ears.
Darkness swallowed him.
---
When he woke, it was to the sting of herbs and the dim flicker of firelight. He lay on a straw bed, his body bandaged, every muscle aching. His foster mother knelt beside him, her hands shaking as she pressed a wet cloth to his forehead.
"Mu…" her voice cracked, thick with relief and fear both. "You're alive. Thank the heavens, you're alive."
He blinked slowly, his throat raw. "The… village?"
"Saved," she whispered. "The bandits fled. Some say they saw a demon strike them down. Others say it was you." She hesitated, tears brimming. "Mu… tell me… was it you?"
Jin Mu's lips parted, but no words came. His chest burned, qi still pulsing faintly inside him. It was not gentle, not harmonious like the elders had once described. It was heavy. Violent. Alien.
He turned his gaze away, toward the cracked roof, the night sky beyond.
"…I don't know."
But in truth, he knew one thing.
The cage was broken.
For the first time in his life, qi flowed within him.
And it was his.