After the man's death in the Wine and Color Pavilion, Lan Yujin and his brothers knew the trail had not ended ...only curled into deeper shadow.
With little choice, the sect allowed them to stay longer in Yinshi Pavilion's city...a place known for merchants, courtesans, and secrets that clung to lacquered corridors like dust.
To find the hidden master behind the suicide, they began to visit more often, under the excuse of watching for suspicious movements.
For Yujin, it meant crossing paths with Xiao again.
Some nights, Xiao would pass by in red and silver robes, eyes painted in faint shadow, chin lifted in mocking pride.
And though his laughter still cut sharp, Yujin noticed the restless flicker in those dark eyes .... like a candle fighting wind.
At first, Yujin avoided him, head bowed in discipline. But Yinshi road was smaller than Gusu's or any other Lan Clan quiet halls. Silence here was not armor; it was invitation.
One rain-slick night, Yujin stepped out to the inner courtyard. The moon hid behind clouds, and the scent of wet plum blossoms tangled with wine.
Xiao was already there, balancing barefoot on the curved stone bridge around the Pavilion boundaries , sleeves brushing rain-sparkled railings.
"Lan- Hun Yujin ~ " Xiao drawled, not turning. "Come to watch me dance in the rain into Pavilion boundaries ?"
Yujin frowned. "It is dangerous to walk barefoot on wet stone."
"And yet," Xiao spun lightly, hair ribbon trailing, "here you are, watching."
The words struck truer than Yujin wanted to admit.
Why was he here, at this hour, instead of copying scripture with the other Lans?
Part of him told himself it was duty... keeping an eye on someone tied to the suspect.
Another part, softer and unwelcome, whispered it was the memory of Xiao's voice cracking in fear when the man had grabbed him.
Later, Xiao leaned against a carved pillar, wet hair clinging to his neck.
"You Lans have your rules, don't you?" he teased. "No desire, no night wanderings… no fun."
Yujin's silence only deepened the smirk on Xiao's lips.
"But even jade cracks," Xiao murmured, voice lowering. "And I wonder how yours will."
He didn't hide his aim: to win Yujin's heart... or at least to pull him into a borrowed night, a night that would prove he could break even a Lan's walls.
For Xiao, it was pride and fascination, mixed until they tasted like fire on his tongue.
Yet Yujin was not easy prey.
Though his gaze sometimes lingered ... on the droplet sliding down Xiao's collarbone, on the stubborn tilt of his chin m...he kept stepping back, always remembering the discipline burned into his bones.
But Yinshi Pavilion did not rest, and neither did secrets.
Some nights went like that..still yet too much usefull clues about the case..just yet.. but..days and nights were passing near to the same Wine and Color Pavilion..beside Xiao..
Xiao would pass Sujin's table, fingers trailing close but never touching. Yujin, in quiet frustration, would copy the Lan's Night Discipline at dawn, brush trembling slightly. The other Lans whispered, half-amused, half-worried, about Yujin's nightly disappearances.
And all the while:
The deeper enemy stayed hidden...then suddenly all the Yeyan lans found a path to follow...Clues pointed toward the Pavilion's oldest chamber...a forbidden wing no guest had entered for years .
[ End of Chapter 4 ]