The fight began with steel.
Fang Ziyue moved like a shadow unbound—blades hidden in his sleeves, darts laced with poison. But Lin and Shen moved as one, no longer boys from the past, but men forged in fire and loss.
Shen parried a strike aimed at Lin's heart. Lin ducked under Shen's elbow, twisting midair to deflect a dagger with the flat of his blade. Their breath synced. Their footwork echoed.
It was like dancing—with death as their partner.
"You've improved," Fang spat, blood blooming at the edge of his mouth.
"No thanks to you," Lin said coldly.
But even as they fought, Shen's gaze never left Lin's back—not with fear, but with awe.
He had grown. Into strength. Into grace. Into someone Shen no longer had the right to protect—but still desperately wanted to.
Fang launched a final strike—a feint, low to high. Lin saw through it instantly.
"Now!" Shen shouted.
Their blades crossed mid-air, forming a perfect arc—catching Fang's attack between them. With a shout, Shen twisted, disarming Fang with one brutal movement. Lin followed with a palm strike that sent him crashing into the wall.
Silence fell.
The wind returned, gentle now, stirring the fallen leaves on the floor.
Lin stood still, chest rising and falling.
Shen dropped his sword and turned toward him. "You saved me."
"You would've done the same."
Shen shook his head. "You still don't understand."
He stepped closer, slowly, like approaching a wounded bird.
"I didn't leave because I doubted you. I left because I couldn't bear the thought of you dying because of me."
Lin's fingers curled.
"And yet I almost did," he whispered.
Shen flinched. "I know."
Another silence.
Then—Lin looked up, his eyes shimmering, not with tears, but with all the years they'd lost.
"I wanted to hate you. I tried. But whenever I closed my eyes, I remembered the way you held my hand under the plum tree. The way you shielded me, even from your own pain."
His voice softened, aching.
"I don't need you to protect me anymore, Shen. I just want you to stand beside me. Not behind. Not ahead. Beside."
Shen's breath caught.
He reached forward, gently brushing his fingers against Lin's cheek. "I will. From now on, I walk where you walk."
Lin closed his eyes and leaned into the touch.
It wasn't a kiss.
It was quieter, deeper.
Forgiveness without words.
Outside, the snow began to fall again. A single plum blossom drifted through the broken roof, landing between their feet.
A beginning.
Not an end.