Hun Yu was becoming dangerously close to her heart. She couldn't let that happen.
She had seen what attachment could do, how it could break even the strongest cultivators when they lost someone they loved.
If Hun Yu became too attached to her, he might be unable to cope when she was gone.
She couldn't allow that. He was too important, too full of potential, to be dragged down by her inevitable fate.
He needed to continue his journey, to live on, not be tethered to someone who was already marked by death.
But pushing him away would require subtlety. She couldn't do it all at once—it would only raise questions, and Hun Yu was perceptive enough to see through a sudden change.
No, she needed to create distance gradually, to ensure that when the time came, he wouldn't be so close that her loss would shatter him.
"Go back to your room, Hun Yu," she said, her voice firm, almost cold. "We both have our duties to attend to."
