Chapter 18
The Nether Sky's Secret
Chen Yunfei · 5.2K words · ~21 min read
# Chapter 18: The Nether Sky's Secret
Dawn hadn't finished bleeding when they stopped.
The herb path narrowed where mountain folded over itself like a seam pressed too hard. Lichen-dark stone on one side, a shelf of roots on the other. Between them, a hollow that smelled of crushed mint and old smoke. Chen Yunfei set his rebuilt hand against the rock and felt the cold enter through pale skin that had never held a broom, never blistered on a kettle handle, never learned the small honest languages of labor. The arm was correct in shape and wrong in history. It took weight the way a new hinge took weight: without complaint, without memory.