LUO FAN
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The sound of rushing water filled the air as we carefully waded across a shallow river. I kept my eyes on the path ahead, guiding Lan Feng over the slick, uneven stones. Suddenly, a violent gust of wind tore through the trees, howling like a living thing. It struck without warning, nearly sweeping me off my feet. I stumbled and fell hard into the icy current. Cold water surged through my robes in an instant, stealing the breath from my lungs.
"Gege, are you alright?" Lan Feng rushed to my side, gripping my arm as he helped me up.
"I'm fine," I muttered through gritted teeth. But the words barely left my mouth before a familiar silhouette emerged from the swirling wind.
Dark robes billowed behind him like the wings of a storm. His boots barely rippled the water beneath him. His expression—cool, composed, and shadowed with thinly veiled disappointment—told me everything.
The Dark Wind Master.
My master.
My stomach dropped. I scrambled upright, then dropped to my knees at once. "Master," I said, bowing my head.
"So this is where my missing disciple has been hiding," he said coolly. His voice was calm, but each word struck like a blade. "Entangling yourself in affairs that were never yours to meddle in. Do you even realize the magnitude of what you've done?"
"Master, you gave me permission to protect Sect Leader Ruan," I said, forcing my voice to remain steady.
"I told you to protect him until he reached his destination," he snapped. "You fulfilled that duty. And instead of returning to me, you've gone rogue—wandering around with him like a lovesick disciple, knee-deep in his cursed business."
I opened my mouth to respond, but no explanation came. Shame welled up in my chest, heavy and suffocating.
He stepped forward, eyes sharp as obsidian. "If word spreads that the devil lives—and that you were the one who saved him—your name will be dragged through ash and blood. Have you considered that? Or has sentiment dulled your judgment?"
"Master…" I tried again, my voice barely audible.
"It's not too late," he said coldly. "Leave him. Come back with me. You still have a path to complete."
I stood frozen, torn between duty and instinct. I couldn't walk away from Lan Feng now—not after everything. But before I could speak, Lan Feng stepped forward and placed himself between us.
"Don't you dare take my gege away," he said.
I blinked in horror.
The Dark Wind Master raised an eyebrow. "What did you just say?"
"I said don't take him away," Lan Feng repeated, calm but firm.
"No, no…" My master squinted. "You called him something."
"My gege."
A pause followed. It was long, frigid, and deeply uncomfortable.
The Dark Wind Master turned slowly to me, one brow still arched. "Since when did Priest Luo become your brother?"
Lan Feng didn't hesitate. "He's not my brother. He's my lover."
Silence.
Unforgiving, blistering silence.
My face burned. I stared at the river and seriously considered submerging myself until I stopped existing.
My master stared at Lan Feng for a full beat, then turned to me with a look that screamed: Explain. Immediately.
Before I could utter a word, he burst into laughter—dry, incredulous, echoing off the riverbank like thunder. "Ruan Yanjun, did the grandmasters knock your brains loose? Is that why you're spouting love declarations to wayward priests?"
"My brain is fine," Lan Feng said earnestly. "And I'm not joking. It's the truth."
"Of course it is," the Dark Wind Master muttered, dragging a hand down his face as if warding off a migraine. "Naturally. Because why not? Ruan Yanjun returns from the dead and starts reciting poetry."
"I already told you," Lan Feng huffed. "I'm not Ruan Yanjun. And keep your hands off my gege. He's mine."
Heat surged through my face, blooming up my neck and into my ears like wildfire. I could practically hear the blood pounding in my skull. My master's booming laughter didn't help—if anything, it made the humiliation ten times worse. I wanted to evaporate on the spot, sink into the riverbed, get struck by lightning—anything but stand here while this madness unfolded around me.
"Of course he's yours," the Dark Wind Master crowed, grinning like a cat toying with a half-dead bird. "Why else would Priest Luo risk his reputation, his training, and his very life to drag you back from the jaws of death if not for true, undying passion? Am I right?"
"Master, it's not what you think!" I blurted out, but the words sounded pitiful—like a guilty man insisting he'd never seen the lipstick on his collar.
"Oh, but you don't even know what I think," he said silkily, his smile widening with dangerous delight. He swept his gaze between us, eyes gleaming with razor-edged amusement. "This poor thing clearly isn't in his right mind. And yet here you are, binding your fate to his. Do you truly believe he's worth all this trouble?"
I swallowed hard and drew a slow, steadying breath. "He must live," I said quietly, but firmly.
The grin on my master's face twitched—just slightly. "And what for?" he asked, his voice lower now, probing. "What use is he in this fragmented state? Can he fight? Can he lead? Can he even remember who he is? What is it, exactly, that you're protecting?"
"There's still a chance he'll recover," I replied, locking eyes with him. "And I won't abandon him before he has that chance."
My master was silent for a long beat. The amusement in his face didn't vanish entirely, but it gave way to something more contemplative. He folded his arms across his chest. "Where are you taking him?"
"Back to his home," I said.
He tilted his head, voice casual. "Fine. Dump him back into that mansion of his and be done with it. Then return to complete your training. And stay away from cities. Your wanted posters are everywhere. Taverns, temples, outhouses. I even saw one nailed to a goat."
"Yes, Master."
But before I could say anything else, Lan Feng stepped forward, jaw set, eyes blazing.
"He's not going back with you," he said boldly.
My stomach dropped.
"He's mine," Lan Feng declared, shoulders squared with all the authority of a sect leader invoking heaven's will. "After he brings me home, we're going to get married, and he'll become part of my family!"
Time stopped.
Birds scattered from the trees.
A squirrel dropped its acorn in open horror.
Even the wind seemed to freeze.
The Dark Wind Master stared at Lan Feng. Then at me. Then back at Lan Feng.
A long, stunned pause stretched between us—until suddenly, his face contorted.
And then he howled.
His laughter cracked across the river like thunder, echoing off the cliffs, bouncing through the branches, shaking every leaf within a hundred li. He doubled over, gripping his stomach like it hurt, tears springing to his eyes as he gasped for breath.
I was going to die. Of shame. Right here. Just collapse into the river and let the current carry me to my grave.
"Master, please…" I muttered, trying to shrink into my robes.
Still cackling, he wiped his eyes and flashed me the grin of a man thoroughly entertained by someone else's misfortune. "Don't forget to invite me to the wedding!" he called—and then with a dramatic sweep of his sleeves, he vanished in a swirl of dark wind.
"Master, wait—!" I started after him, but it was too late. He was gone. Only his laughter remained, echoing in the trees like an immortal curse.
I stood frozen, stunned and mortified. He hadn't even tried to help me.
The Dark Wind Master's laughter still echoed faintly in the air—but it was nothing compared to the silence now blooming between us. A silence heavy with questions I didn't want to answer. This couldn't go on. I had to draw a line, no matter how fragile that line might be. Lan Feng needed to hear the truth—or at least enough of it to know where we stood.
With every ounce of will I had left, I turned to face him, ready to speak.
But the words died in my throat the moment I met his eyes.
He looked... devastated. The mischief, the boldness—it was gone. All that remained was raw emotion, wide and trembling, like a child on the verge of being abandoned. I saw the sheen of tears in his eyes, the slight tremor in his lip, the way he was gripping his own sleeves like they were the only thing holding him together.
"Gege…" he whispered. "Are you really going to leave me for that old man?"
I froze.
That question—so wounded, so soft—hit deeper than I expected. I had braced myself for defiance. Maybe even an argument. But this—this was desperation. Grief. The kind that pleaded, not with anger, but with hope fraying at the edges.
And I didn't know how to answer.
Before I could say a word, he closed the distance between us and wrapped his arms around me in a sudden, fierce embrace. His grip was tight, almost trembling, his face buried against my neck as though he thought I might vanish if he let go.
"Gege…" he murmured. "Tell me you're not leaving me. I need you."
My breath caught.
It wasn't the right time. He was too vulnerable—his mind, his heart, everything about him was suspended in a delicate balance. If I told him the truth now—if I shattered the illusion he clung to—I didn't know if he'd survive the fall.
Slowly, I raised a hand and placed it against his back, feeling the curve of his spine beneath my palm. I patted him gently, anchoring myself with each breath.
"I won't leave you," I said.
The words slid out with surprising ease. But they burned.
"Promise me?" His voice was even softer now, a thread unraveling.
"I promise."
And with that, I felt the tension bleed from his limbs. He exhaled a shaky breath against my collar, arms still locked around me like I was the last solid thing in a crumbling world.
He rested his head on my shoulder, his weight settling against me with quiet finality. It was warm. Familiar. Achingly close.
And though I knew this closeness was built on a misunderstanding… I couldn't bring myself to break it. Not yet.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow I'd try again. Or maybe the day after.
Just… not now.