The brazier's glow painted the walls in shades of amber and shadow. Snow still clung to Lan Xiyue's outer robes, melting slowly into dark patches as he stood in the doorway, studying Ruo Han.
The omega's breathing was uneven — not just from fear. Lan Xiyue could feel it now, that faint thread of warmth pulling between them, a current that had no right to exist between two people who had just met.
"Sit," Lan Xiyue said quietly.
Ruo Han hesitated but obeyed, lowering himself onto the floor cushion by the table. His gaze flicked to the band of frost still clinging to Lan Xiyue's sword before meeting the alpha's eyes again.
"They weren't random pursuers," Lan Xiyue began, sliding the blade into its sheath. "They knew exactly who they were looking for."
Ruo Han's lips tightened. He looked away.
"I told you before — my name doesn't matter."
Lan Xiyue took a step forward, his presence filling the small room.
"Your name matters to the people trying to kill you. Which means it matters to me."
A long silence stretched between them, broken only by the faint hiss of the brazier. Finally, Ruo Han spoke.
"I was born in the Southern Territories… in the Cloud-Drift Clan."
Lan Xiyue's brows drew together. The Cloud-Drift Clan had been destroyed two years ago — every elder slain, every disciple scattered. Rumors spoke of treachery within their own ranks.
"You survived," Lan Xiyue said. It was not a question.
Ruo Han's hands curled in his lap. "Barely. And not by chance. Someone in my clan… marked me before I fled. A spiritual brand — carved into my core. It makes my qi resonate with certain alphas, like a beacon. That's why they can find me. That's why I can feel you."
The words dropped heavy in the air.
Lan Xiyue's expression did not shift, but inside, his mind was already sifting through what he knew. A spiritual brand of that kind was nearly impossible to remove without killing the host. And the resonance — if what Ruo Han claimed was true — was dangerously close to the rare phenomenon known as Heaven's Vein Bonding.
It was said that such a bond, once awakened, could not be severed without destroying both lives.
"When did you first sense it?" Lan Xiyue asked.
Ruo Han's gaze lowered. "…When our hands touched under the plum tree."
Something in Lan Xiyue's chest tightened. That moment — brief as it had been — had felt like more than a brush of skin. Now he understood why.
The alpha knelt, bringing himself level with Ruo Han. His eyes were steady, but his voice was low, deliberate.
"If this is what I think it is, you cannot stay in Azure Cloud Sect. Not openly. The Elders will see your existence as a liability. And if the bond between us strengthens—"
"—They'll kill me," Ruo Han finished for him, with the faintest, bitter smile. "Yes, I'm aware."
The flicker of wryness in his voice did nothing to mask the fear in his scent — rain on dry earth, sharp and restless. Lan Xiyue could feel his own pheromones reacting, cedar and storm curling protectively around them both, as though drawn without command.
"I can hide you," Lan Xiyue said finally. "But it will come at a cost."
Ruo Han looked up. "What cost?"
"You will stay close to me at all times. You will follow my orders without question. And—" His gaze deepened, voice dropping almost to a growl. "You will not let anyone else touch you. Not even by accident."
Ruo Han's breath caught. "That sounds less like protection… and more like possession."
"Call it what you want," Lan Xiyue replied. "But if we are bonded — even halfway — letting another alpha near you could destroy us both."
For a moment, neither spoke. Outside, the wind stirred the bare plum branches, scattering a few late blossoms across the snow.
And in the quiet, Ruo Han realized something terrifying:
He was already starting to believe him.