He Xiangu stared at Wangchuan for a long time.
Her gaze seemed intent on turning him inside out, but however she searched, she found nothing.
Clean.
Far too clean.
Then her expression suddenly changed.
Her puzzlement faded, replaced by understanding.
"So that's it."
She spoke softly, as though she had solved some riddle.
"Tso Lan."
"You were born of the Kan Trigram. You are its incarnation."
"Before, the trigram governed you. You were strong because you followed the Kan Trigram's momentum, and weak because you went against its nature."
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
"But now..."
"You have mastered the Kan Trigram."
Wangchuan looked at her without speaking.
He Xiangu lightly tapped a finger against her fly whisk.
"No wonder I can't see through you."
"There is no Evil Chi in you because you are no longer purely a demon. There is no Good Chi in you because you haven't gone over to that side either."
"You are the Kan Trigram, and the Kan Trigram is you."
She let out a soft breath.
"Your appearance has changed completely, your aura is entirely different, and your very origin has been reshaped."
"Tso Lan, you really have changed."
Wangchuan's lips spread into a grin.
It was a broad, unrestrained grin, completely unlike his usual faint, ambiguous smile.
"Hahaha."
"Just what I'd expect from you, He Xiangu."
His voice carried an edge belonging to the Moon Demon that had not surfaced in a long time.
"Care to trade a few moves?"
The instant his words fell, light flared behind him.
A moon rose behind his back.
Silvery white and enormous, it was a gibbous moon, its swollen side facing outward, as though something had filled it to bursting from within.
The moon hung behind his head like a divine halo. Silver light spilled