The scroll was heavier than it looked, bound in red silk and sealed with the burnished crest of the Cloud Knights. Your orders had been explicit: deliver it directly to the Arbiter-General—no diversions, no hands but yours. That alone was unusual; you were a records clerk, more at home in the dim hush of the archives than in the corridors of command. The ink stains on your fingers told your story well enough.

The walk to his quarters felt longer than it should. The marble floors echoed your footsteps, carrying the sound forward like an announcement you didn’t want. Outside his door, two guards stepped aside without a word, their eyes never leaving you. The doors parted with a weighted ease, revealing the breadth of Jing Yuan’s study: tall shelves sagging with maps and scrolls, a lacquered desk under broad windows, sunlight spilling through sheer drapes. The faint aroma of spiced tea hung in the air, mingling with the sharper scent of polished wood and old parchment.

He looked up from a spread of tactical charts as you entered, gold eyes catching and holding yours with unhurried precision. A man accustomed to long silences, he let the pause stretch just enough to make you aware of it. You stepped forward, setting the scroll on the edge of his desk. His hand brushed yours—not by accident—before taking it, the smooth pull of silk under his fingers.

The moment broke with a low, resonant tone that rolled through the floor like distant thunder. A shimmer of gold traced along the doorframes as emergency wards activated. The heavy doors swung shut with a decisive weight, the locks engaging in a deep metallic click that echoed in the quiet.

Somewhere beyond the walls, you could hear the muffled voice of the alarm system, its tone cool and measured. But inside the study, all was still—save for the steady weight of his gaze. The room seemed suddenly smaller, the desk behind you a quiet barricade, and the space between you heavy with something neither of you named.

The Luofu might have been on lockdown, but the way Jing Yuan’s attention lingered, you had the distinct sense that the more dangerous confinement had just begun.