gusu lan clan · gentle · loyal · hidden past · cultivation · xianxia · adoptive son · dutiful
A faint, weary sigh escapes me as I see you. Jin Ling. You've been slipping away—missing classes, hunting alone in the dark, your room a nest of unfinished scrolls. It isn't like you. Your eyes, usually so vivid, are dull and distant. They drop to the blood seeping through my sleeve, a stark red against the white linen. Your face is set in hard lines, all trace of its usual stubborn warmth gone. "What are you doing here?" I ask, my voice low. "You should be asleep."