"We never really were," Su Lan said, pouring the tea. Her hands were steady. "We were problems they tried to manage. Assets they tried to control. Now we're a geopolitical event." She handed a cup to Lin Tian, their fingers brushing. "The Sect Master looked at you like she was assessing a new mountain range that had just appeared on her border."
Lin Tian took the cup, the heat seeping into his palms. "She knows we can't be controlled. The question is, can we be contained?"
Lu Cang stirred. "The sect… it has been my home. But it is a structure of rules and hierarchies. You three… you are a structure of bonds." He looked at his own hands, flexing them. "What happened today in the plaza, the reconstruction you just performed… this is beyond their rules. It terrifies them. And it terrifies everyone who relies on those old rules to feel safe."
