Indeed, at first, Lan Wangji only wants to ask what more he needs. Claudius was hurt. Luo Binghe is unrepentant. But he directs himself through another painstaking breath. He recalls cautioning Claudius about blaming Aornis' nightmares on Luo Binghe. He likes to believe that Magnus would trust him and Galahad, and that he would be unlikely to attribute their hatred to mere rumor, but he will endeavor to answer to the best of his abilities. Galahad and Magnus are so close; he has often presumed that Galahad will have told Magnus every relevant detail. Even so, he will begin at the beginning.
"Claudius and Luo Binghe shared a flirtation. During their encounter, Luo Binghe slipped Claudius his blood in the soup they were preparing together." His voice remains soft and even, recitative. He could merely be telling a story of the cultivation world, recounting some well-known history. "When another person ingests Luo Binghe's blood, it grants him the ability to control that person's body. He may puppet his target, or he may cause intense pleasure or pain." Needless to say, he chose the latter for Claudius. "He may also kill the infected at will. When next they met, Luo Binghe was angry. He accused Claudius of attempting to undermine his empire by way of that flirtation. Claudius mounted a defense with words, some of them lies, the only weapon available to him. Luo Binghe was not appeased. He began the torture then.
"In Claudius' world, such things are not possible. I have heard of nothing like this in mine, either. Claudius and I were not this close yet, but we were friends. He came to me." His jaw tightens a little, and he withdraws his hand from Magnus' hair so that he will not curl his fingers so forcefully that it hurts him. "I have seen gruesome things in my time, but I had not previously seen a man pale and desperately painful at the whim of his own blood. I could stop it temporarily, but I could not cure his ailment. We knew its origin only by asking Peak Lord Shen." Magnus already knows this part of the story: Shen Yuan's flippancy, his apparent disinterest in whether Claudius lived or die.
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"Claudius and Luo Binghe shared a flirtation. During their encounter, Luo Binghe slipped Claudius his blood in the soup they were preparing together." His voice remains soft and even, recitative. He could merely be telling a story of the cultivation world, recounting some well-known history. "When another person ingests Luo Binghe's blood, it grants him the ability to control that person's body. He may puppet his target, or he may cause intense pleasure or pain." Needless to say, he chose the latter for Claudius. "He may also kill the infected at will. When next they met, Luo Binghe was angry. He accused Claudius of attempting to undermine his empire by way of that flirtation. Claudius mounted a defense with words, some of them lies, the only weapon available to him. Luo Binghe was not appeased. He began the torture then.
"In Claudius' world, such things are not possible. I have heard of nothing like this in mine, either. Claudius and I were not this close yet, but we were friends. He came to me." His jaw tightens a little, and he withdraws his hand from Magnus' hair so that he will not curl his fingers so forcefully that it hurts him. "I have seen gruesome things in my time, but I had not previously seen a man pale and desperately painful at the whim of his own blood. I could stop it temporarily, but I could not cure his ailment. We knew its origin only by asking Peak Lord Shen." Magnus already knows this part of the story: Shen Yuan's flippancy, his apparent disinterest in whether Claudius lived or die.