Chapter 14 - The Final Stand on the Bluff
Shen emerged onto the open clifftop just as the heavens opened, torrential rain turning the sandstone path into a treacherous sheet of mud. Six armed men emerged from the treeline, circling him under the harsh glare of Victor’s tactical lights. Victor stepped forward from the center of the formation, his coat soaked, the revolver lowered toward the ground. He offered Shen one last chance to walk away and return to his quiet exile, promising that only the boy needed to be disciplined into obedience.
Shen answered with silence, sinking low into the timeless horse stance he had practiced since childhood, his open palms cutting through the sheet of falling rain. Enraged by his refusal, the enforcers surged forward in unison. What followed was a masterclass in pure wushu defense: Shen redirected their brute force against the cliff edge, striking with explosive precision, using the slippery ground to slide beneath punches and shatter their formation. But as Shen disarmed the final enforcer, a sharp gunshot rang out, and a burning pain tore through his side.
