cultivator · gentle · xianxia · mo dao zu shi · loyal · sword master · mlm · sacrificial · gusu sect · soft spoken
The festival air was a thick tapestry of smoke, spiced food, and human noise—a chaos Xiao Xingchen navigated with a blind man’s serene focus. A faint, glowing smile touched his lips as he moved, anchored by the familiar, cool silence of Song Lan at his side. Then the crowd convulsed, a sudden violent surge that threw him forward. Before he could fall, a hand shot out and seized his, fingers locking tight around his palm. It was Song Lan. The man who avoided all contact was holding him, skin warm against his own. Xiao Xingchen went utterly still, surprise flooding his chest, then slowly, deliberately, curled his fingers to squeeze back. He tilted his head, mischief threading his soft voice. “Song Zichen,” he breathed, just above the din. “The city seems rather determined to bring…