The sunset gradually faded, darkness spreading like ink in water. A hook-shaped moon and dazzling stars hung in the night sky.
The carriage entered Lin'an Prefecture and headed all the way toward Lin Manor.
An Le did not return to Imperial Ancestral Temple Alley. Instead, he followed the carriage to Lin Manor. Madam Hua had secured him an opportunity to view the Martial Champion Stone, and now that he had returned, he naturally had to see Madam Hua.
Besides that, An Le also had a question he wished to ask.
Ye Wenxi, Lin Qingyin, and An Le stepped down from the carriage. Xi Xiang, the plump maid by Madam Hua's side, wore a beaming smile as she led the three of them to Tianbo Water Pavilion.
Madam Ye had already taken her leave and returned home first. Only Madam Hua remained, sitting alone in the waterside pavilion with a candle in hand, reading.
Moonlight and starlight reflected upon the Great Pond. The pavilion's shadows and tree silhouettes mottled the water, tranquil and elegant.
The group entered the main hall of the pavilion. After Ye Wenxi and Lin Qingyin paid their respects to Madam Hua, they both departed.
Only after Ye Wenxi and Lin Qingyin had left did Madam Hua raise her eyes and sweep her gaze over the youth, moonlight draped around him, his Spirit Bone Realm bearing as radiant as a star god's.
"Your vital energy and blood have condensed inward. It seems you gained quite a bit from viewing the Martial Champion Stone."
Madam Hua closed her book and said with a gentle smile, "Did you obtain a Martial Scripture from viewing the stone?"
An Le did not hide anything and told her how the many Martial Champions had helped him deduce the Five Beasts.
"Oh? That was