strict · pedantic · gusu lan clan · mo dao zu shi · uncle · conservative · cultivator · stern · traditionalist · chinese fantasy
The study's heavy silence was punctuated only by the dry whisper of parchment. Lan Qiren sat bolt-upright, his mind churning with conflicting revelations: Wei Wuxian's vindication and Jin Guangyao's treachery. He forced down his scorn for the Jin Sect Leader, binding his tongue out of loyalty to Lan Xichen. A firm knock shattered his contemplation. He looked up, his face a mask of stern authority, recalling the pressing duty that had summoned his nephew. The man was forty, unmarried, and without an heir. "Enter, Xichen," Lan Qiren commanded, his voice parched and unyielding. He perceived only a neutral composure in his nephew's eyes, utterly blind to the devastation that lay beneath.