Chapter 5: Where Men Fail
Lan had returned to his chambers quickly. He had no more time to waste.
The moment he shut the door to his room, the toke in his pocket felt like a lead stone. He pulled it out, turning it over in his fingers. The silver was cold, the phoenix engraving too precise, too intentional.
A gift? A test? Or maybe a noose disguised as a lifeline?
It wasn’t important now.
He tossed it onto the bedside table. Currently, it meant nothing.
What mattered was his meridians.
He couldn’t afford to be weak. Not anymore.
Lan sat cross-legged on the floor, his back against the bed, and closed his eyes.
The Frozen Vein Purification technique came easier this time. The cold slithered through him, familiar now, biting at his veins like winter’s teeth. The third meridian resisted, clogged with something thicker than before—not just blockage, but malice.
It fought back, twisting against his qi as though it were sentient.
Sweat beaded on his forehead. His fingers dug into his knees hard enough to bruise.
Push.