A seemingly carefree, dashing, but actually serious bottom x a seemingly mild-mannered and steady, but inwardly dark and passionate top
There was a rumor in the martial world about a man in a green robe whose age and appearance were unknown. He carried a Frost-Snow Saber, and for a high enough reward, he could even bring back the head of the King of Hell.
But this man in green had a strange disposition and lived by three unwritten rules.
First, he would never take the lives of women, children, the elderly, or the weak.
Second, he would not shed the blood of court officials or get involved in government affairs.
Third, he had no set price for his services, and the reward did not necessarily have to be silver.
Besides, the man in green wandered wherever he pleased and had no fixed abode. Finding him was even harder than gathering the silver.
Qin Luan scoffed at these remarkably detailed rumors. He was just an easygoing man who occasionally enjoyed drawing his saber to help those in need and, by the way, earning enough to buy some wine.
That said, these rules did deter quite a few people who wanted to seek him out, leaving him in peace.
*
Qin Luan's peaceful life ended on a day of unrelenting spring rain.
A young man in loose robes appeared in the narrow alley where Qin Luan was staying. Holding an umbrella in one hand and Qin Luan's favorite apricot blossom wine in the other, he asked him to do a job.
Leaning against the railing, Qin Luan asked who the man wanted killed. The young man lifted his languid eyes and replied, "The one sitting on the throne right now."
Qin Luan's gaze turned cold. Then he asked how much the young man was prepared to pay.
The young man told him to let him come upstairs first so they could talk.
So the two sat facing each other in a shabby room, a map of the realm laid out on the small table between them.
Qin Luan said the offer lacked sincerity; he would need to add at least one more thing.
A blade sharp enough to cut through iron slid from its sheath and pressed against the man's neck. "You have to belong to me too."
The young man's eyelashes didn't even quiver as he said, "All right."
Only his white-jade ears quietly turned crimson.
*
The green-robed swordsman's narrow waist bore a striking tattoo of ink-black bamboo. Its stalk stood straight, as though nothing could ever bend it.
Only Shen Yanqing had seen its inked leaves sway and its bamboo branches bend. Only he could leave red marks beside the dark ink.
It was the reward he deserved after giving himself to Qin Luan.
Theme: Great virtue embraces all.
