The tension between them was a blade drawn to its last inch — when the night outside shattered.
A sound like tearing silk roared over the roof, followed by the crack of splintering wood. The lantern swayed violently, its flame guttering.
Xiyue's head snapped toward the window just as it exploded inward in a shower of glass and snow. Dark-clad figures dropped through the opening, their qi flaring — five, no, six of them, each carrying the mark of Frostpeak Sect.
Xiyue: "Tch."
Before Feng Lian could make a joke, Xiyue's sword was in his hand, intercepting the first attacker's blade in a spray of sparks.
Feng Lian (grinning): "Looks like you do need me after all."
He spun into the fray, his crimson qi flaring hot enough to melt the frost forming on the floorboards. Two Frostpeak disciples fell back instantly, ice dripping from their burned sleeves.
Ruo Han moved toward the wall — only for a whip of ice to lash toward him. Xiyue intercepted it, slicing clean through the frozen length, while Feng Lian struck the wielder with a blast of heat that turned their breath to steam.
Xiyue: "Stay behind me—"
Feng Lian: "Stay behind me—"
Ruo Han: "I can hear you both, you know!"
But even as he said it, his own qi stirred — the Heaven's Vein answering the chaos, a low, resonant hum in his bones. The nearest Frostpeak attacker hesitated, eyes flicking to him in recognition.
And in that moment, Ruo Han realized the ambush wasn't meant to kill.
They'd come to take him.