( No. Soft, scratching, restless. He looks away first, and in matters of dominance, this would name him inferior. He finds, not for the first time, Mo Ran is a young man who would navigate his path to one's jugular even in the face of the sternest, frankest opposition. )

It is kind there are children who would entrust their care to the likes of me. ( Rigid, insipid, pale, uninspiring. He knows his reputation: a balm in the records of elders and a killing strike in the humour of any congregation he has ever attended. Hanguang-Jun does not invite prospects of welfare, of laughter.

Children would know nothing of such things, as first, but they would learn: when the parents of their friends come smiling and jest-bearing, their manner soft and easy. When they read in books of beautiful mothers and charismatic fathers. When they encounter men who bloom in them a sense of strength and interest.

Lan Wangji is — dour. Insignificant. Reduced. Even now, a mere accessory or distraction. The assistant in another hero's journey. )

Flattery is unnecessary, when disdain is apparent. Do not exert yourself.