There truly was nowhere to hide and no way to avoid it.
Li Yun sighed inwardly. So be it. Since he could not avoid it, he might as well stop trying.
He would only be serving as a guest. As long as it did not threaten his safety, there was no harm in playing along. If he grew unhappy, he could simply teleport away.
He looked up at Green Paulownia and smiled. "All right. It seems you really have been waiting anxiously, Fellow Daoist Green Paulownia... Do you have time now? If so, sorry for the trouble, but could you take me to Man Yue Palace?"
Green Paulownia was delighted and nodded at once.
"I have time. Plenty of it! Are you planning to go right now, Fellow Daoist Li?"
"Yes. No day like today. Let's go now."
"Very well. I'll take you there."
Green Paulownia immediately turned and led the way.
Before long, they arrived before a vast palace, imposing yet elegant.
Though called a palace, it was actually a complex of buildings. Pavilions and towers stood everywhere, with palatial halls rising among them. It looked like an enormous city.
According to Green Paulownia, Saint Venerable Man Yue was indeed not the only resident of Man Yue Palace. The grounds were divided into various districts and streets, where many ordinary citizens lived.
Of course.
Those citizens had countless ties to Man Yue Palace. Nearly every household had someone working there.
Their duties ranged from keeping the streets orderly and clean to serving inside the palace itself.
In other words, the whole of Man Yue Palace and Man Yue City was Ninth Princess Man Yue's fiefdom, a kingdom belonging to her alone.
Green Paulownia led Li Yun to a spacious compound in Man Yue City and knocked on its gate.