The rhythm of their sparring is a satisfying one, at once predictable and intermittently surprising. This is not a battle; it is a conversation, and perhaps an easier conversation than any he and Lancelot have ever tried to have with their words. They don't know one another well, but Lan Wangji has seen the glimpses of their surprising commonalities.

He nearly takes the bait, and it is only through a practiced twist of his own blade, upward rather than sideways, that he meets Lancelot's swing to block it.