But she said nothing.
She followed the stone path up to the door where someone was already waiting.
"Jin'er," Mr. Gu greeted her with a small smile. "You made it."
Gu Jin nodded. "Of course. You said it was important."
Mr. Gu gestured toward the door. "Come on. I'll introduce you."
They entered the mansion together.
The inside was just as white and clean as the outside—so white it almost hurt her eyes.
The walls, the floor, even the ceiling glowed with pale light. It felt like a hospital pretending to be a home.
In the living room, a middle-aged man sat on a cream-colored armchair, reading a thick book.
He looked to be in his fifties, with neatly combed gray-streaked hair and sharp eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses.
His posture was relaxed, but something about him felt... alert. Watchful.
Gu Jin glanced at the book in his hands. The title was in an old dialect—one she recognized immediately.
Her brow furrowed, but she said nothing.
