Watching Ningyan sleep, sprawled like a starfish, claiming the center of the bed the way he always did, Wuhen sat quietly beside him, his fingers threading through soft white hair peacefully.
Slowly, he placed Haoxuan's sigil near Ningyan's head, the light in his eyes was calm as he did so. His nine tails swayed lazily, unhurried, as though the world itself had slowed.
After a while, he rose.
He dressed silently in robes, boots, then left the chamber, the manor, and vanished into the night.
The Dragon Manor loomed ahead, vast and quiet. Wuhen leapt effortlessly onto the roof, settling there as though he belonged. He tilted his head back, staring at the half-moon hanging in the sky, then raised his hand, aligning it so the moon rested perfectly beneath his palm.
A greedy grin spread across his lips. But it vanished at once.
"What are you doing here, Yan Wuhen?" Jun Haoxuan's voice cut cleanly through the night.
