Guan Lu led Luo Jiangyan and Yue Quan through several courtyards to a secluded pavilion in the rear garden of the residence.
Flowers and trees flourished outside the pavilion, several red maples burning like flames in the evening glow. Tea and pastries had already been laid out on the stone table inside, faint spiritual energy rising from the tea—the fragrance of the Alliance's finest Azure Sea Green Tea.
Luo Jiangyan and Yue Quan had not drunk it in a long time, so they could not help sniffing it in.
"Sit. It's quiet here!" Guan Lu gestured for them to take their seats before sitting down on a stone bench herself.
The three women sat around the table, and for a moment, an awkward silence settled over them.
Yue Quan had always been the most easygoing, and she spoke first. "Lulu, I heard the Mechanical Empire has been hunting you all this time... Are you all right?"
"I'm fine!" Guan Lu poured herself a cup of tea. Amid the curling mist, her features seemed gentle. "Old Zhong arranged for us to hide on an abandoned Alliance mining planet. Every day, apart from cultivating, I sometimes thought of home, thought of you all, wondered how you were doing now."
Luo Jiangyan pressed her lips together and asked softly, "Lulu, you saw Fang Mo..."
She did not finish, but her meaning was already clear.
The hand holding Guan Lu's teacup paused. Then she gently set it down, raised her eyes, and swept her gaze across Luo Jiangyan and Yue Quan's faces. Her eyes were clear and resolute.
"I know what you want to ask." Guan Lu's voice was calm, without evasion. "Yes, you know I like Fang Mo. I've liked him for a very long time. I liked him when he was learning