Another 3 weeks were left for the wedding and since the emperor of Yue had left Luo He had no business in the capital. So he was happily living in the Jin mansion.
Luo He had planned to make the Jin family strong and the first target of his was Jin Su. This is because she has the most brains to back up her power. One day Luo He asked his mother to visit his room late at night without anyone noticing. But she didn't comply for some reason.
Luo He did not send a servant the second time. When Jin Su hesitated to answer his late night summons he understood immediately what she must have thought and chose not to force the matter in a way that would worsen it.
So instead he went himself. The mansion was quiet wrapped in that deep stillness that only came after midnight. Lanterns burned low along the corridors their light soft and fading casting long shadows across carved wooden pillars and polished floors.
Jin Su had just dismissed her attendants when she heard it. That night Jin Quan and Jin Sang had goen to visit the dock so she was alone in her room. A soft knock. Measured. Deliberate. Her brows furrowed slightly. "Who is it?"
"Me," came Luo He's calm voice from the other side. She froze for half a heartbeat.
Then slowly opened the door. He stepped in without hesitation and gently closed it behind him. Click. He locked it.
The sound of the latch settling into place echoed louder than it should have. Jin Su's eyes sharpened instantly.
"Luo He?" There was something in her tone now. Not fear. But caution. Suspicion.
Luo He noticed it immediately and sighed internally. Without a word he reached into his sleeve and brought out a small object. A seashell. Smooth. Pale. Almost ordinary if not for the faint almost imperceptible glow pulsing along its ridges.
He placed it gently on the table between them. "This," he said calmly, "is an enchanted relic." Jin Su didn't move.
"A relic?" she repeated slowly. Luo He nodded.
"Ancient. Functional. And very useful."
He tapped it lightly. A faint ripple spread through the air. Like water disturbed by a single drop. The room shifted. Not visibly but perceptibly. The outside world felt distant. Muted.
"As of now," Luo He continued. "Now no sound leaves this room." Jin Su's expression changed. Not calmer. Worse.
Her posture stiffened and she took a small step back.
"Why," she asked carefully. "Would you need something like that at this hour?"
There it was. The misunderstanding.
Clear. Sharp. Luo He blinked once.
Then twice. And then "You're kidding." Luo He asked if suprised. She didn't answer.
Her silence was answer enough. Luo He immediately stepped back hands raised slightly in surrender. "Mother," he said flatly. "If I intended anything inappropriate I wouldn't go through this much effort to make it suspicious." Her eyes narrowed.
"That doesn't make it better." She said. Luo He let out a breath. "You really think I came here for something inappropriate?"
A pause.
Then almost offended he said "You're like a second mother to me." That made her hesitate. Just slightly. Luo He seized the moment. "I came here," he continued more seriously. "Because what I'm about to do cannot be interrupted and cannot be overheard."
He reached into his medical kit. Then he pulled out a small vial. The liquid inside shimmered faintly its purple color difficult to define exactly as it was shifting subtly between hues of purple and blue as if it couldn't decide what it was.
Jin Su's gaze locked onto it. "What is that?" Luo He stepped closer but slower this time. Measured. Deliberate. "A gift," he said confidently. She didn't take it.
"Then why the secrecy?" She asked.
"Because," Luo He replied calmly. "You wouldn't believe me otherwise." That landed. Jin Su studied him carefully now.
Not with suspicion alone but with thought.
He sat down beside her placing the vial between them. "This," he said quietly. "Is a potion." "A catalyst that can evolve your bloodline."
Silence.
Then Jin Su laughed once. Short.
Disbelieving. "That's impossible." she said confidently. "Correct," Luo He replied immediately. "It should be."
Her eyes flickered again. "But it isn't any more." He added.
She stared at him now. Searching for deception. For exaggeration. For madness. "You're serious," she said slowly. "When have I lied to you."
A long pause.
Her voice lowered. "Why me?" That question carried more weight than anything before. Luo He didn't answer immediately. Instead he leaned back slightly. "Because your bloodline is Blue." He continued.
She stiffened slightly. "And since you've already reached the limits of what it can give you." Her silence confirmed it. "You have plateaued." He said plainly. "Strength. Growth. Lifespan. You are stagnant."
Her jaw tightened. "But this changes that?" Luo He said. "At least theoretically It can. I won't lie to you," Luo He said calmly. "It will hurt. I mean lot's."
A pause.
"More than anything you have ever experienced." She didn't flinch. But her fingers tightened slightly against her robe.
"And if I refuse?" She asked "Then I leave," he said simply. "And you will never hear of this again." That answer surprised her. No pressure. No force.
Just a choice. He stood up slowly.
"Think about it," he added. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunities it won't wait forever." He turned slightly. Then paused.
"And for the record," he added dryly. "If this was something inappropriate I wouldn't be explaining bloodline theory for half an hour." That finally broke the tension. Jin Su exhaled.
"You're insufferable." She said. "Wow Jin Mulan is really moddled after you. Even she says so all the time." Luo He said laughing. Another brief silence. But Jin Su didn't laugh.
"Stay." Jin Su's voice came quieter this time but firm. Luo He paused mid-step and turned back. For a moment neither of them spoke. Her gaze lingered on the vial resting between them. The hesitation that had filled her earlier was gone. No suspicion. No fear. Only decision.
"If you're lying," she said at last her voice low and steady. "I promise I will kill you."
Luo He studied her for a heartbeat then gave a faint almost amused smile.
"You could try," he replied calmly. "But you know as well as I do you wouldn't succeed." He folded his arms loosely.
"Even without my status I'm already far beyond what you can handle."
A small pause.
"But," he added his tone softening just slightly. "Your warning is fair." That was enough. What followed was not immediate. Not gentle. And not something that could be undone.
The moment she agreed Luo He moved with quiet efficiency. From his medical kit he produced another vial this one clear almost unremarkable. "A sedative," he said simply. "It will dull the worst of it."
She didn't question him again. She drank.
Darkness came quickly. When Jin Su regained consciousness the world returned in fragments. First weight.
Then restriction. Her wrists. Her ankles.
Her body secured firmly against the bed with reinforced bindings.
Her breath caught. Confusion flared. Then memory followed. Before she could speak the room changed. Not in sound.
But in presence. The air grew thick. Heavy. Like something unseen had filled the space.
The faint glow of the seashell pulsed unevenly now its soft light flickering as if strained by forces far beyond its design.
Luo He stood beside the bed. Watching.
Waiting. Then it began. At first it was subtle. A warmth beneath her skin. A pressure inside her veins.
Then Pain. Not sharp. Not sudden.
But rising. Spreading. Consuming. Her body tensed violently against the restraints as the sensation intensified.
Until it was no longer bearable.
Her breath shattered into broken gasps.
Her muscles convulsed. Her pulse hammered wildly. It felt wrong. Not like injury. Not like strain. But like something fundamental was being rewritten. From the inside out.
Her blood surged burning, boiling through her veins as if it no longer belonged to her. Her bones. Gods her bones. It felt as though they were being broken down and reforged at the same time. Structure collapsing and reforming. Stronger. Denser. Unfamiliar. Her body arched violently.