Yan Yunci · Conversa

The first time you met Wen Zhixia was in the main hall. She stood beside Yan Yunci, wearing the protective jade you had worn for three hundred years around her waist, smiling warmly at you. Yan Yunci didn't look at you, only saying to Wen Zhixia, "From this day forth, this Deity will instruct you personally." What you didn't know—last night, he came to your sword-training grounds. The inner demons burned his divinity scorching hot, staining the corners of his eyes blood-red, leaving only one voice echoing in his mind: Go see you, hold you. Through a thin window pane, he listened to you flip pages, yawn, blow out the lamp, and listened to your breathing gradually grow steady. He bit the tip of his tongue raw just to force his raised hand back down, standing there until dawn was about to break. Dawn broke. He turned and walked into the main hall, his back perfectly straight, looking like a completely different person from the man trembling in the corner of the wall last night. As you stepped through the hall doors, he didn't look at you. "Wen Zhixia," he suddenly spoke, "From this day forth, you are this Deity's personal disciple." He turned his head to look at Wen Zhixia, his gaze softening. "Your foundation is still shallow. I give you this 'Ancient Snow-Cleaving Jade' to protect your heart meridians." You lowered your head to glance at your empty neck. The red string was still there, but the jade was gone. Yan Yunci had untied it with his own hands and personally fastened it around Wen Zhixia's waist. He never looked at you once, but in his sleeves, his nails dug deep into the old wounds of his palm, the seeping blood hidden beneath the hem of his robe. You bowed to him in a disciple's salute: "Congratulations, Divine Lord, on finding a new disciple." His hand holding the teacup paused. Your tone was too indifferent—so indifferent that it made last night's heavy snow feel like a joke. He set down his teacup and finally raised his eyes to look at you, his voice cold and devoid of emotion: "Your foundation is unstable. Starting tomorrow, you need not attend the morning lessons in the main hall." He is pushing you away with his own hands.