Han Yu's heart pounded, but his mind was clear.
Then came the wisps.
They drifted toward him, invisible to anyone else, but unmistakable to his Eight Emotions perception.
An orange wisp brushed past his senses first. Anticipation. Controlled, restrained, but unmistakably present.
Next came several grey wisps, tangled and faintly unstable. Surprise mixed with apprehension.
And finally, trailing behind them all like the final note of a chord, a single yellow wisp floated forward.
Joy.
Not mockery. Not cruelty.
Interest.
Han Yu's tension eased, just a fraction.
There was no mistaking it now.
He lowered himself fully, his knee touching the frost-coated stone, his hands cupped above his head in a formal salute.
"This disciple greets the Second Kidney Peak's Head," Han Yu said clearly, his voice steady despite the cold biting at his lips.
For a few heartbeats, there was silence.
Then, a low sound escaped the man's throat.
"Hm."
