The dappled sunlight filters through green maple leaves, painting the forest floor in shifting patterns of gold and shadow.
HAN LI hides behind the thick, gnarled trunk of a millennium-old tree. His breathing is silent, a testament to his cultivation base. He peers into a small clearing.
GUO ZHONG (handsome, with a cruel twist to his mouth) looms over CHEN MING (beautiful, her spirit broken). Her yellow dress is torn at the shoulder. Silent tears carve paths through the dust on her cheeks. Her eyes hold a universe of shame and betrayal.
CLOSE ON Chen Ming's trembling lips.
(voice a broken whisper)
Senior Brother Guo...why? I even gave you my Foundation Pill... My family has funded your cultivation with endless resources...
Guo Zhong throws his head back and laughs, a sound devoid of warmth, echoing unnaturally in the sacred quiet of the valley.
And now I've seen a better opportunity.The direct disciple of the Valley Grandmaster! Wouldn't it be a good thing for you, Junior Sister? To be tied to me, a future direct disciple grandmaster? So why don't you... cooperate?
He laughs again, long and mocking.
( chen ming Summoning her last dignity)
You are shameless.
Guo zong laughed and said,,,..
Thank you!
Still chuckling, he produces a lurid, pink pill from his spatial pouch. His movements are swift, clinical. He pinches Chen Ming's jaw, forces the pill into her mouth, and seals it with a pulse of spiritual energy. She gags, collapsing weakly against the trunk of a maple tree.
Behind the tree Han Li's brows draw together, his expression darkenin ,a low internal growl)
How could a jackal like him end up in the Green Maple Valley?
A leaf crunches under his shifting foot.
(Guo zhongs's head snaps up,eyes sharp as daggers)
Who's there?!
His spiritual sense sweeps the area like a icy tide. Han Li steps out from the shadows, his face a mask of calm contempt.
Guo Zhong's eyes widen, then crinkle with malicious delight.
Han Li came out from behind the tree !Hahahaha! It's you again,,.
Fortune truly smiles on me today! First, I'll erase your insignificant existence. Then, I'll properly... play with our dear Junior Sister Chen.
Han Li's hands blur. A dozen silver needles, glinting with poison and spiritual energy, fly through the air like a swarm of deadly silver hornets.
Guo Zhong's sneer doesn't fade. His hands become a whirlwind, catching and deflecting every needle with impossible speed. They clatter to the forest floor, harmless.
CLOSE ON Han Li's eyes. A flicker of shock, quickly iceed over by steely resolve.
Guo Zhong attacks. A blue dagger, humming with cold energy, flies from his sleeve. He makes a quick hand seal. The dagger accelerates, aimed at Han Li's heart.
Han Li raises his arm. A greenish bracer on his forearm glows, activating a translucent, hexagonal defensive barrier.
THOOOM! The dagger impacts the barrier, sending out ripples of light. The barrier holds.
Guo Zhong's expression changes—first surprise, then fury. Han Li seizes the spiritual connection, reverses the energy flow, and with a grunt, sends the dagger screaming back at its owner!
Guo Zhong barely dodges, a lock of his hair severed.
Enraged, Guo Zhong summons a gourd artifact, medium-sized and pulsing with violent energy. He points it.
VOILET SPIRITUAL BALLS of corrosive, explosive energy pour out in a torrential hail.
HAN LI
(V.O.)
Oh no!
Han Li becomes a phantom, using the Cloud-Stepping Stance to its limit. He zig-zags between trees. Behind him, the violet balls detonate, obliterating ancient roots and carving craters in the earth, filling the air with smoke and the smell of ozone.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
After a desperate series of evasions, Han Li skids to a stop. His eyes narrow. No more running.
He summons his trump card. With a flash of light, nine swords materialize around him—eight smaller, gleaming "child" swords orbiting a larger, formidable "mother" sword.
HAN LI
(Commanding)
Go!
The nine swords shoot forward, not at Guo Zhong, but forming a spinning, bladed wall. They intercept the torrent of violet balls, slicing through them mid-air, causing them to detonate harmlessly ahead of him.
Guo Zhong, now desperate, produces his final treasure: a twin-flag spear. One flag burns with red (Yang/Fire) aura, the other glistens with blue (Yin/Ice) aura. He spins it in a complex, ancient pattern—the Marionette Dragon Art.
The air freezes and burns simultaneously. From the spear, two colossal, spectral dragons materialize—one of roaring flame, one of glacial ice. Their combined aura peaks, oppressive and deadly.
( Guo zhong,. Screaming,veins bulging)
DIE FOR ME!
The Yin-Yang Dragons roar and surge forward, devouring the space between them.
CLOSE ON Han Li. Shock, then glacial calculation.
HAN LI sighed ,,,.
(V.O.)
I underestimated him he is loaded with artifacts.I have only one chance.
SLOW MOTION. Han Li points. The eight child swords shoot forth, to stop dragon attack comming forth.
( hanli slowly Yells)
FAST MOVEMENT ART!
His body vanishes. It's not teleportation, but pure, blinding speed. In the space of a single blink, he is past the dragons, past the spear's reach.
EXTREME CLOSE UP: The tip of the Mother Sword, gleaming with deadly intent.
HAN LI
(Whisper)
Speed matters.
SHHHH-CRUNCH!
The Mother Sword pierces clean through Guo Zhong's abdomen, erupting from his back in a spray of crimson. The spiritual light in his eyes flickers, dies.
(Gurgling,disbelief in his eyes)
This...is impossible...
The twin dragons disintegrate into mist. The spear clatters to the ground. Han Li retrieves his swords, collects Guo Zhong's artifacts, his own needles, and stores them all. With a flick of his wrist, a spiritual flame consumes Guo Zhong's body.
(hanli burnt it To the ashes and said,..
Be a better human in your next life.
He turns, but before he can take a step—
Suddenly . Arms, soft yet desperate, wrap around him from behind. It's Chen Ming. Her face is flushed, her eyes clouded with the potent drug and raw emotion.
She them murdered against his back
Junior brother...
HAN Li stiffening,,,.
Chen Senior Sister!You're drugged! Come to your senses!
But she doesn't hear. She turns him, her lips finding his in a desperate, clumsy kiss. Han Li tries to push her away gently, tries to retreat.
A blur of movement. Chen Ming's hand strikes like a viper, two fingers jamming into a nerve point on Han Li's neck.
Han Li's eyes widen. A paralyzing numbness seizes his body. He cannot move.
She kisses him again, and this time, he cannot resist. The world dissolves into a haze of intimacy and confused sensation. Han li was not some gentlemen but was thinking he couldn't take advantage of her in this condition but now he had no choice.
FADE TO BLACK.
SCENE - EXT. FOREST CLEARING - DAWN
The first rays of sun pierce the smoke-cleared sky.
Han Li and Chen Ming are asleep on a bed of scattered maple leaves. Han Li is bare-chested, wearing only his pants. Chen Ming is in her ripped inner garments, her torn yellow dress beside her.
CLOSE ON Chen Ming's eyes fluttering open.
Recognition returns. Then memory—the betrayal, the pill, her own actions, her forcing herself on junior han . A wave of profound, scorching embarrassment washes over her. She dresses swiftly, her movements frantic.
( Chen ming said,,,in Voice tight with shame)
Han...Junior Brother?
Han Li wakes with a start. He sees her, sees their state, and his own face floods with mirroring regret and panic. He scrambles up, pulling on his robes with hurried, awkward motions.
He opens his mouth to speak, to apologize, to explain—anything.
( Chen ming,,. Raises a hand,cutting him off. She cannot meet his eyes.)
I know.It was not your fault. Yesterday... let's bury it here, in this clearing. Never speak of it again. To anyone.
(A beat.She forces the words out.)
And...thank you. For saving me.
Han Li stares. A tumult of emotions wars in his chest—relief, guilt, confusion. He simply gives one sharp, stiff nod.
Without another word, he turns and runs, his figure disappearing into the deep green of the valley like a ghost.
Alone, Chen Ming watches him go. The ghost of a complex, pained, and grateful smile touches her lips—. Then she, too, turns and walks away, leaving the clearing to the whispering maples.
FADE OUT.