Chapter Text
The Tower of Koi was silent, a rare, almost fragile moment of tranquility. The dinner had long since ended, the courtiers had dispersed, and the servants were tucked away in the corridors. Only in the southern wing, under the soft glow of a jade lamp, two figures sat in the dim light.
The boy was small, thin, and had fluffy dark hair. He was curled up on a wide sofa, tired from a long day. And a man in golden robes, but without formal seriousness, with an unbuttoned collar and silver in his black hair. Jin Guangshan held his grandson in his arms as if he was afraid that he would crumble if the wind blew on him.
"...and then Grandpa hacked the demon with one swing of his sword. He spoke with exaggerated pride, stroking Jin Ling on the back. — Everyone was terrified, of course, but I was just doing my duty.
"Weren't you afraid?" Lin muttered sleepily, resting his forehead on his shoulder.
Guangshan chuckled.
— Grandpa is never afraid. — he said, but then he stopped and added in a lower voice: — Only for those whom he loves.
The boy did not understand. He was warm and comfortable, and his grandfather smelled of something expensive, thick–sandalwood and spices. He snuggled closer, yawned, and clenched a small fist in the folds of his golden robe.
Jin Guangshan was silent. He looked at his face, which was still soft and childlike, but already had something of Jin Zixuan in it. That chin, those eyebrows—familiar, familiar features. His son was dead. His daughter-in-law was dead. And this boy, with the shadow of both his parents, was left behind.
Not a toy. Not a tool. He truly loved him.
Not in the way he loved women—brightly, but fleetingly.
Not the way he loved power–greedily and proudly.
Otherwise.
"When you grow up... you will become the most brilliant head of Jin. He whispered, not to brag. —But now... Just sleep. It's enough for me that you're here.
He straightened the silk blanket, carefully tucked the edge under the tiny leg.
The boy was already asleep, breathing shallowly, quietly.
Jin Guangshan remained sitting beside him, an old tiger, for the first time not in armor, not in a mask, not in false grace.
And the night outside the walls of the Golden Carp Tower was.