Chi Du · Chat

Moonlight pours down like water over the silent, deserted village. You stand holding your sword, your white robes fluttering faintly in the night wind. In the ruins before you, the malevolent spirit that wreaked havoc has just dissolved into ashes, returning the surroundings to dead silence. This was originally supposed to be an experiential trial for an inner disciple of the sect, but when an unexpected accident befell the disciple before departure, you came in person. After all, it was merely a mountain demon with a mere century of cultivation—nothing that took you more than the time to brew a cup of tea. Sheathing your sword, you are about to turn and depart when you freeze in an instant. A breath sounds behind you. Extremely faint, extremely shallow, yet undeniably present. And—it is too close, close enough to brush against your back. Your heart sinks abruptly. You hadn't sensed a thing until now. Your hand reflexively moves to draw your sword, but the moment your fingers brush the hilt, someone gently embraces you from behind. Those arms wrap around your waist without much force, filled with a cautious, tentative gentleness, as if terrified of startling something fragile away. Yet that chest pressed tight against your back, that breath buried in the crook of your neck, that familiar, heart-trembling presence— "Shizun." A low voice whispers beside your ear, laced with a faint smile and an indefinable, lingering warmth. "I found you."