The tale of the fox and the dragon egg

Special 1 - Dusk

She was truly captivating. He missed her. He really did.

As soon as she realised who this strange invader was, Lan Jinxiang's eyes widened in recognition.

"Hello, princess", Wen Haoguang purred in the most seductive way and placed two fingers against the cold steel, "What a good welcome, I couldn't have thought of something better myself."

"What – What are you doing here?!", Lan Jinxiang whispered enraged while her eyes flew across the little clearing, but the blade was pulled away from his neck as fast as it came. Her gaze was almost spitting fire while the other relished under her attention. This side that was so rare to see, "I thought you were with your family!"

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He was truly enamoured. Infatuated. Smitten. Truly captivated.

It was so fascinating to watch the black, glistening hair-strands slip out of that neat bun and over the white ribbon. Especially when she tilted her head just so, when her nose scrunched up just the tiniest bit, when she looked at the wound on his stomach, just to smooth out when her blue eyes glistened in satisfaction.

Never did Wen Haoguang imagine that he would grow bashful under such a look – heavens, not even that he would think if his toned chest would be handsome to look at! It was these moments that he needed to remind himself that yes, he had caught many female and even male gazes at his body when he chopped wood or cleaned himself in the river. He had caught the whispers and the hushed glances, or the shy smiles shying into his direction.

But right now, when that gaze was not even really attached to his muscles but the scarred skin, the one where his wound had been – it made him question everything he had experienced.

Whenever that beautiful woman gazed at him, he felt his cheeks flush. Right after he would scoff, but not turn his eyes away. This would not be the thing to break him!

It didn't help that he knew more and more about her with each time she visited him. Apparently, she was one of the medics in Cloud Recess, one of skilled ones at that. She knew her stuff from the way she diligently cleaned and bandaged his wound and passed her energy onto him, to the way she encouraged and reprimanded him in the same breath.

Whenever she was able to, she brought him some of the books in her possession, in case he got bored – which he did very frequently. And whenever they lost themselves in idle chatter she spoke of the disciples under her, or the soft music she enjoyed, or how she loved to dance under the beams of moonlight, staying up longer than she was allowed to. And sometimes, he was lucky enough to hear her guqin play rest for him, something Wen Haoguang came to enjoy greatly.

It was only recently that he began to tell her of his family as well. How they moved from place to place, earning their fill with helping others. Through slaying resentful beings all the way to chopping wood for an old long-wedded pair. Or how he missed the feeling of flying through the air, how he loved the thrill of the hunt, or how he relished in the moments he tried to cook for his family – only to get thrown out by the granny travelling with them. Beyond harshly at that.

Lan Jinxiang followed his every word and he was almost desperate to watch her reaction. Whenever her gaze turned sad, he made a harsh turn to tickle that smile out of her and whenever she laughed, he would laugh with her. It was addicting.

This day, even though there were heavy clouds above their heads, the first sign of possible rain in the last days, there was a soft silence between them. He knew that her eyes followed every curve of his stomach as she assessed his scar. It was dark here, in between the trees. But she was so bright in the gloomy forest that he couldn't turn his eyes away. And if he moved a little closer to her in the coolness of the shadows, well, nobody could blame him. He was cold after all, even if his skin was burning from the blood of his heritage.