"Mn." Lan Zhan is in no rush to return to the jingshi - half because he is exhausted and he needs all his spare strength to survive what it coming, half because he knows once he's on the otherside of this, he will never look at his family the same way again. For now he can delude himself that this will be survivable, that he will not be entirely changed by it.

He will be wrong, and he knows it. But he wants to believe that he will still be able to pursue justice without regret.

It's not the first lie he's told himself.