Shadow Love (Yu Jin Chang An)

It was almost dawn when Qin Lan and Wu Yin returned from the mountains, their clothes damp with cold dew.

When Qin Lan entered the small hut, he saw Li Shuang crouched beside the bed, one hand chained to the bedframe while the other hugged her knees. She had fallen asleep like this, her head resting on her arm, looking exhausted and pitiful.

She hadn’t woken, so Qin Lan took the chance to study her. Her clothes had been put back on, but her belt was torn and hastily knotted together, and the collar of her robe was ripped. Her hair was disheveled, and on her neck and collarbone were fresh red marks—different from her previous wounds...

Qin Lan knew what those were, but he had never imagined that one day, he would see such marks on Li Shuang’s neck. And combined with her torn clothes and the way she now slept curled up beneath the bed, it wasn’t hard to guess what the man lying there had done to her in his absence.

Qin Lan’s throat tightened. He clenched his jaw for a moment before finally unable to hold back, softly calling, "General."

Li Shuang, worn out from the day’s ordeal, was sleeping more deeply than usual and only stirred at his voice. Her eyes were hazy with sleep, but the moment she recognized Qin Lan, the drowsiness vanished. "Qin Lan," she rasped, pushing herself up from her knees. But having crouched for so long, her legs were unsteady, and she stumbled forward. Qin Lan barely managed to catch her.

The two had fought side by side for years, and such small acts of support were nothing unusual. Li Shuang rubbed her temples to shake off the lingering fatigue and murmured a thanks—only for Qin Lan to suddenly yank her aside, draw his sword, and swing it straight at Jin An’s neck, as if intending to behead him on the spot!

In an instant, the last traces of sleepiness fled Li Shuang’s body. She threw up a hand to block Qin Lan’s elbow, barely stopping the strike in time. "Qin Lan?" she gasped, stunned. "What are you doing?"

Wu Yin, who had been sorting herbs outside, rushed in at the commotion. Seeing the scene, he hurried forward to grab Qin Lan and pull him away. "General Qin, what’s gotten into you? Possessed all of a sudden?"

He wasn’t possessed—he was just burning with rage. Rage that this man had dared to do something so shameless and disrespectful to Li Shuang. And rage at himself...

All night, he had been outside gathering herbs with Wu Yin, who had claimed it was for treating Li Shuang and Jin An’s injuries. But Qin Lan knew what the man was really scheming. He could tell Wu Yin had been trying to push Li Shuang and that mysterious man together. He should have returned sooner, should have stayed by Li Shuang’s side as he always had.

But Wu Yin’s offhand remark while picking herbs had stopped him: "Let’s look for more herbs. If we go back too early and interrupt something... well, that’d be awkward."

Li Shuang would never do something so absurd. In the past, Qin Lan would have dismissed such a suggestion as laughable. But now, the words had rooted him in place.

What if?

After all, Li Shuang had already done the unthinkable—returning from the northern frontier to the capital just to chase after this man, borrowing troops from the emperor at who knew what cost to save him. She had already done so many things that, in his eyes, defied all reason.And now, with the night so deep, capable of concealing so many secrets... Compared to what had happened before, Wu Yin's words didn't seem so absurd anymore.

Qin Lan thus spent the entire night walking with him through the forest, not daring to return to the Five Spirits Sect until dawn was about to break. Yet, he never expected to see Li Shuang in such a state.

Had she been willing, Qin Lan would have obeyed without question, suppressing any emotions within himself. But now, her disheveled appearance and the struggles of the previous night were laid bare before his eyes, and his anger became uncontrollable.

"This man poses too great a threat to the General. I cannot let him live."

He made as if to break free from Wu Yin, but Wu Yin was no easy opponent. His folding fan slipped down from his sleeve, and with a few deft movements, he skillfully pushed Qin Lan to the other side of the room, positioning himself between Li Shuang, Jin An, and Qin Lan.

Wu Yin glanced back, his sharp eyes quickly discerning the thoughts of those present. Without voicing them, he merely smiled and fanned himself twice. "This man is a treasure of our Five Spirits Sect. Even if your General forbids it, I certainly won’t let you lay a hand on him. If you're angry, just bear with it—there’s no way you can accomplish this today."

"This man has repeatedly disrespected the General! Today, even if it costs me my life, I won’t let him leave this room alive." His face darkened, his gaze icy as he stared at Jin An with the same intensity as facing the fiercest enemy on the battlefield, murderous intent surging.

Li Shuang knew Qin Lan was truly enraged, but the situation was awkward no matter how she explained it. She could only tug at her collar to cover her neck and sigh. "He’s just... like this for now. Whether it’s hurting me or last night’s incident, none of it was his true intention."

"Regardless, he is a danger," Qin Lan said sternly. "General, forgive my insolence, but today, he cannot be spared."

Li Shuang fell silent. Having worked with Qin Lan for years, she knew that even if she issued a military order today... he likely wouldn’t obey.

"Ah."

Amid the standoff, Wu Yin suddenly exclaimed, "It’s dawn."

Li Shuang turned her gaze and saw the morning glow filling the sky outside the window, the sun slowly rising over the distant mountains, its light spilling across the land.

Almost instinctively, she looked back—only to find Jin An on the bed had not turned into a child. His chest bore only the same red flame mark as the night before. Unexpectedly, Jin An was... awake.

He stared straight at Li Shuang, his gaze clear and bright, just as he had looked at her every night beyond the frontier. But unlike the moonlight of those nights, his eyes now reflected the morning glow.

This was the first time Li Shuang had seen Jin An as an adult during the day.

She was momentarily stunned. She had assumed his transformation was delayed because she was still near him, but... aside from the iron chain, no part of her was touching Jin An now.

Her surprise was mirrored by Wu Yin. "Hmm, now this finally resembles what the elders described of a Gu person."

A mark on the chest, but otherwise no different from an ordinary person. It seemed that after yesterday’s ordeal, he had finally... become a complete Gu person.

But Jin An paid no attention to the changes in his body. He simply looked at Li Shuang and asked hoarsely, "I hurt you again, didn’t I?"The tone carried a hint of pain, and Li Shuang found herself inexplicably feeling sorry for him. She opened her mouth to speak, but before any words could come out, a surge of killing intent stirred in the air. Li Shuang turned her head to see Qin Lan charging forward with a deadly stance, his gaze sharp as a blade. True to his word, he was determined to take Jin An's life today...