Even Though I Am Blind, I Am Invincible

Two days passed.

No one in the Xiao Clan spoke of Xiao Heng's disappearance. Servants who once mocked him now carried on as if he had never existed. His father, the ever-stern patriarch, merely scoffed. "There's no point keeping a waste like him alive. If he's dead, it's heaven's will."

His mother, however, wept in silence.

Yet none of them knew the truth—Xiao Heng was alive.

A Second Chance

Deep within a cavern at the mountain's base, Xiao Heng stirred. Pain pulsed through his body, his breath ragged. His last memory was of Xiao Feng's cruel smile as he was kicked off the cliff. He should have been dead.

A cold wind swept through the cave, and the river within shimmered with an eerie glow. Then—a figure emerged.

A Taoist in flowing robes, his presence vast and unfathomable.

"I am Taoist Yao Hai," the man intoned. "Tell me, child, what is it that you desire?"

Desire? Xiao Heng had never been allowed to desire. Approval, respect, fairness—none had been granted to him.

But now, a fire burned in his chest.

"I desire power. Unrivaled, invincible power."

Yao Hai studied him. "And why do you seek invincibility?"

Xiao Heng's fists clenched. "Because I have something worth protecting."

At last, the Taoist smiled. "Power comes at a price. Would you trade your eyes for invincibility?"

His eyes?

Memories surfaced. His father's cold gaze. The way the clan had looked through him, never at him. He had always been invisible. What did sight matter if no one truly saw him?

A slow, steady breath.

"I will."

With a flick of Yao Hai's sleeve, searing pain lanced through Xiao Heng's skull. Light shattered, then faded. Darkness consumed him.

For the first time in his life, Xiao Heng was blind.

And yet—

The world had never been clearer.

Rebirth

Xiao Heng exhaled. Though he could see nothing, he felt everything—the shift in air as Yao Hai moved, the pulse of water, the vibrations of stone beneath his fingertips.

Strength unlike anything he had known coursed through him.

Yao Hai's voice was calm. "Now, you see beyond sight."

Xiao Heng rose to his feet. His past self—the weak, abandoned son—had died on that cliff.

Now, he was reborn.

And the world would soon know his name.