Beacon Smoke Rises

"Xuanpin? What are you doing here?" Li Huowang stared at the shadow within the other man's red robe.

"With chaos engulfing the realm, we must join forces with the imperial Celestial Surveillance Division to weather this trial together. As a Celestial Overseer, am I not allowed to come to the palace?" Xuanpin's broad robe drifted as he floated a little closer to the two of them.

Li Huowang looked him up and down for a while, then turned back to Gao Zhijian. "The Dharma Sect will definitely make a move soon. I was worried, so I came to take a look."

"How about this? I'll live in the palace from now on and protect you personally."

Before Gao Zhijian could say anything, Xuanpin beside them spoke first. "No."

"I wasn't asking you."

"We have received your information. Put one hundred and twenty hearts at ease. The emperor's safety will be protected by the National Preceptor, the military strategists, and the Celestial Surveillance Division. You may return."

Li Huowang, who had been sitting on the steps, slapped both hands onto his knees and stood. Looking at Xuanpin, he said with a trace of anger in his voice, "What exactly are you worried about? I'm the Heart Pan of Ji Zai. Even your Illusion Art was learned from him. Who are you secretly guarding against?"

The stares when he had first entered the palace, the National Preceptor's gaze, and now this sudden visit from the Director of the Celestial Surveillance—if Li Huowang still could not tell these people did not trust him, then the double pupils in his eyes had been fitted for nothing.

"If it hadn't been for me, Dice would have seized the dragon vein long ago! If I had any ulterior motives, why would I have insisted on saving