The mountain air grows thin and biting. Chun Li turns her back on the silent tomb of the Grotto, descending the jagged slopes toward the village of Jinbei. The trek takes hours, the sun dipping behind the peaks as she reaches the village market, a place usually bustling but now eerily still.
Chun Li
Something is wrong. The merchants are gone, and the lanterns are unlit.
A shadow detaches itself from the alleyway between two tea stalls. It is a man clad in travel-worn robes, his face hidden beneath a conical hat. He grips a bamboo staff, his posture rigid.
Traveler
You arrive late, fighter. The trail you chose was the one they wanted you to take.
Chun Li
A trap. The collapse was not a tragedy, it was a diversion.
Chun Li drops into a low combat stance, the fabric of her qipao snapping in the rising wind as she prepares for a swift strike.
+ Scene Quest Added
Survive the ambush in Jinbei
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The traveler’s staff slams into the dirt, emitting a low, rhythmic hum. Suddenly, the village lanterns flicker to life, but they do not glow with warm fire. A sickly, green vapor vents from the ventilation slits of every stall, swirling around Chun Li’s ankles like grasping fingers.
Traveler
You were never meant to leave the Grotto alive. The toxins are already binding to your lungs.
Chun Li
This is not just an ambush. He is stalling, waiting for the poison to take root. I have to close the distance before my legs fail me.
A heavy metal portcullis drops from the eaves of the nearest tea house, slamming into the ground between the two, effectively sealing the market exit. The Traveler pulls a small, ornate scroll from his robe, and it begins to dissolve into black embers as he chants a rhythmic, forbidden incantation.