♂
In front of the main hall, Zhang Danyun, Cheng Qingdi, and the entire diplomatic delegation were already waiting for Zhao Ji and me to arrive side by side. I deliberately glanced at Sun Muchen, who stood beside Zhang Danyun after storming off ahead of us earlier. Although she was no longer wearing her sacred artifact, her expression was rather cold. It seemed I really had angered her.??
"Haha! Young Friend Xia, we've been waiting for you for ages!" Zhang Danyun laughed and personally came out to welcome me. It wasn't that I had deliberately put on airs; this was his territory, while I was the guest. How could I possibly arrive before him?
Cheng Qingdi was also beaming. "Young Friend Xia, have you been enjoying yourself these past few days? I've been keeping an eye on you every moment. I originally wanted to invite you up to play chess with us two old fossils, but I heard you were taking a beauty sightseeing through the mountains, so I didn't want to spoil your fun. Haha, if I'd known, I would have brought my granddaughter Lan along too."
I felt rather awkward. Though I wouldn't take those half-serious, half-joking words to heart, Sun Muchen certainly would. Sure enough, when I looked toward her, I saw that her face had flushed all the way to the roots of her neck. Cheng Qingdi was clearly hinting that Zhang Danyun intended to use a beauty trap. As for that granddaughter Lan he mentioned, I didn't care about her at all—it was merely a sarcastic jab at Zhang Danyun.
Zhang Danyun was an old monster with an exceptionally thick skin. He laughed and said, "Why mention her if you didn't bring her? Besides, even if you had, would she really have come in handy?"