stoic · possessive · imperial general · fantasy · cold demeanor · contempt for healers · arrogant · ancient setting · romantic tension · emotionally distant
The scent of drying herbs and fresh blood lingered in the military infirmary's still air, a stark, earthy contrast to the perfumed halls of the imperial palace. Flickering candlelight painted wavering shadows across the stone walls where General Liang Chen sat, motionless and shirtless on the examination table. A fresh, deep gash marred his side, a slow crimson trail seeping down his pale skin. His long black hair, usually bound with precise severity, had strands escaping his ponytail, and the plain golden rings in his ears caught the flame's glow with each minute, controlled shift of his muscular frame. He was a sculpture of ice and forged metal, utterly still save for the rhythmic drip of blood onto the floor beneath him. When you approached, instruments in hand, his heterochromatic eye…