The air was cold on the balcony as Li Feng stood once more beneath the withered wisteria, the petals long since fallen. The storm that had threatened earlier now roared across the sky, the distant thunder rolling like the drums of war.
But there was no battle here.
Not the kind of battle he was used to, at least.
It had been hours since Jin Yue's words, since that moment in the garden. The boy's determination, his unwavering faith in something Li Feng had tried to bury — it echoed in Li Feng's mind, louder than the thunder itself.
"I'm making a choice. To stand with you."
Foolish.
He could almost hear his old master's voice in the back of his mind, deep and mocking, as it had so many times before. "Power is a burden, Li Feng. A curse. And you will never outrun it."
But it wasn't the past he was struggling with now. It was Jin Yue.
He had never allowed anyone to get this close. To see him, to care. His life had been spent in shadows, in silence. And yet… Jin Yue had a way of breaking through those walls.
That softness, that sincerity in his eyes — it grated against everything Li Feng had trained himself to be. Cold. Detached.
No attachments.
It had been the first rule in the Voidborne Order, the very foundation of their power. Emotional bonds were weaknesses. They were vulnerabilities that could be exploited.
And yet Jin Yue…
Li Feng's grip tightened on the railing, the wood groaning beneath his hand. He tried to silence the thoughts, to force them back into the cage where they belonged, but they kept clawing their way to the surface.
Why does he insist on standing beside me? Why won't he leave me alone?
Li Feng's chest tightened, a familiar ache blooming inside him. The kind of ache that had been buried for years. Regret. The bitter taste of lost opportunities, lost time.
He had made choices — choices that had cut him off from everyone. From any connection, any form of warmth. And he had been fine with that. Fine with it.
Until now.
Until Jin Yue.
Li Feng exhaled sharply, turning away from the railing. His eyes closed, the weight of the past pressing down on him.
I cannot be this man again.
The man who cared. The man who loved. The man who had failed.
He had killed for power. He had broken bonds. And in the end, all that remained was emptiness — a void that could never be filled.
His fingers clenched into fists at his sides, the anger rising. He had sworn never to let anyone in again. But Jin Yue… Jin Yue was so damn persistent.
He doesn't understand.
No one understands.
Yet in the pit of his stomach, a small, dangerous part of him wanted him to.
Don't be a fool, he told himself again. You're not the man you were. You can't afford weakness now.
But the words fell flat.
Li Feng's mind flashed to the moment when Jin Yue had looked him in the eyes, his voice unshaken.
"I'm making a choice. To stand with you."
Li Feng's jaw tightened. He had never wanted anyone to stand with him, let alone stay. His hands trembled slightly at the thought of Jin Yue's trust — of what it meant. What it would mean if it were shattered.
And yet, the more Li Feng tried to push Jin Yue away, the more his presence clung to him, like an invisible thread that was slowly winding tighter and tighter around his heart.
Damn him.
His thoughts swirled, each one colder and darker than the last. He couldn't afford to let Jin Yue in.
But what if he wanted to?
No.
Li Feng opened his eyes, the coldness settling over him like a familiar cloak. This was who he was. The past had to stay buried. His heart had to stay locked away.
But when he closed his eyes again, the image of Jin Yue's determined face was still there — waiting. Always waiting.
And, for the first time in years, Li Feng wasn't sure he could keep pushing him away.