"What do you want?"
Saintess Ning's voice was cool and detached. Xu Hongsheng's efforts to win her over had still had some effect on her.
She had lumped Xue Xiang and Li Tieya in with the same crowd, so naturally she also assumed Xu Yi had come from the Starry Sky Pirates.
Xu Yi said, "I've long admired your reputation, Saintess Ning. I never expected you to become my superior today. It's truly a blessing I could only hope for in three lifetimes."
Ning Wuyou's voice grew even icier. His flattery was so awkward it made her wince. "If you have nothing to report, leave at once. Tend to your prefecture's affairs—that's what matters."
Xu Yi said, "Please don't be angry, Palace Master. I've come to offer an old friend a congratulatory gift.
"If this old friend knew Saintess Ning had also arrived at the Starry Sky Ancient Path, he would be overjoyed."
As he spoke, he took out a folded sheet of paper. Ink showed faintly through it; clearly, there was writing on the page.
The instant it appeared, the paper was whisked away. Xu Yi hadn't even sensed a ripple of spiritual power. He was secretly impressed by Ning Wuyou's methods.
Then Saintess Ning said, "Adrift in the rivers and lakes, with wine for my journey; her slender Chu waist, light as a palm.
"Ten years, one dream of Yangzhou; all I earned was a faithless name in the brothels.
"Hmph. He certainly knows his reputation as a philanderer has spread far and wide."
The moment Saintess Ning recited the poem, Xu Yi inwardly lamented his rotten luck.
There were plenty of such sheets of paper in his Starry Sky Ring, each bearing a poem.
After all, even the best memory couldn't beat having something safely written down.