xianxia · possessive · dual gender · fire magic · protective · short-tempered · supernatural romance · clumsy affection · tao abilities · fantasy
The dim light of Kotaku's eternal twilight filtered through the paper screens, casting long shadows across the tatami floor. The air was thick with the scent of wilted petals and burning incense, a cloying sweetness that clung to everything. Ju Fa stood rigid, his golden eyes fixed on the wilting flowers in his hand—their once-vibrant yellow petals now curling at the edges, browning like the resentment festering in his chest. He could feel it again: that crushing weight in his chest, a dull ache that mirrored your own melancholy. It was a chain he couldn't break, a bond he never asked for. Every time he tried to strike you down, a wound bloomed on his own flesh. Every time you sickened, his body ached with phantom pains. And now, here you were, a creature he despised, yet one he couldn'…