Two months later, Li Wei was back in action. His body had fully recovered, and now it was time to get out of this gorge. He stood at the base of the cliff he had so graciously plummeted from, looking up at the jagged rock face with a grin. "You threw me down once, but I'm coming back up," he declared, as if the cliff cared about his epic comeback.
Taking his sword, he began to carve handholds into the rock. Each strike sent small chunks of stone flying, and his muscles burned from the effort. Hours passed, and the fog continued to cling to him like that overly dramatic ex you can't shake. But Li Wei was focused—there was no way he was going to live out his days in the Misty Gorge of Misery.
About halfway up the cliff, he struck the rock with his sword, and instead of the usual clink, there was a soft crack. A hollow appeared where he had been hitting. "Oh great, a secret cave. How original," Li Wei muttered, half-jokingly. After all, wasn't this exactly how it happened in every over-the-top web novel? Fall off a cliff, find a hidden cave, discover a rare treasure herb... He sighed. "Guess I'm living in a cliché now."
But curiosity got the better of him. He widened the hole and crawled through, scraping his elbows as he squeezed into the dark tunnel. After some awkward wriggling, he found himself inside a natural cave formation. The air was thick with moisture, and the scent of damp stone filled the space. At the far end, a faint light shimmered.
"Oh boy, here we go," he said, unable to stop a grin from spreading across his face. He followed the light, mentally bracing himself for whatever mystical nonsense was waiting for him.
And there it was: a glowing herb. Nestled between two jagged rocks, the herb's stem glowed a deep violet, its cap shimmering with an ethereal azure hue. It was like something straight out of a fantasy novel. Li Wei knelt down, inspecting the herb with an amused smirk. "Azure Starlight Mushroom? The towns guard records are were not fantasy after all." he quipped, not caring if the fog was listening.
It was beautiful, of course, glowing like it had its own Instagram filter, and he couldn't help but think, Alright, where's the guardian beast? Isn't there supposed to be a dragon or something here to protect it? He scanned the cave, fully expecting a giant tiger or a fire-breathing chicken to leap out and ruin his day. But no. Nothing.
Li Wei waited. He set up camp inside the cave for two days, just in case. After all, any moment now, the beast should appear—maybe after a dramatic thunderstorm or a sudden earthquake.
But still, nothing.
"Am I even doing this right?" he asked the empty cave. "Did someone forget to tell the guardian beast to show up? Or is this just the budget version of a treasure hunt?"
After two days of absolutely nothing happening, he gave up and plucked the herb. It was strangely anticlimactic, but hey, he wasn't complaining. He popped the Azure Starlight Mushroom into his mouth, chewing slowly as its bitter taste spread over his tongue. "Could use some salt," he muttered. This wasn't the fast-track to immortality, but it would enhance his strength over time, and that was good enough for him.
"Guess I'm going to have to get strong the old-fashioned way—by training and not dying."
After another month of honing his skills and letting the effects of the herb work their magic, Li Wei began his ascent again. This time, the climb felt easier, his strength renewed by the mysterious mushroom. And after a few days of scaling the cliff, he emerged victorious at the top, the gorge far below.
Li Wei stood tall, grinning to himself as he looked out at the world beyond the mist. "Not bad, not bad at all," he said, dusting himself off. "Guess I'll stick to surviving cliffs and caves instead of relying on dragons and prophecies."
And with that, he made his way back toward civilization, stronger and more amused by the absurdity of his own adventure.