When Chen Xuan saw Liu Shuyue in person, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you. Prefect Shen, you can go now." He turned to Shen Fang.
"Ah, yes—yes—I'll take my leave." Despite his words, Shen Fang's eyes roved everywhere. He seemed determined to memorize the inside of the divine beast in a single glance. It took him four or five minutes just to dawdle from the entry cabin to the ramp outside.
"Please take good care of the immortal master," the prefect said, cupping his hands in farewell.
Only after closing the cabin door did Chen Xuan frown and stride over to Liu Shuyue. She sat in a wooden wheelchair, gazing up at him with an innocent expression.
Looking pitiful won't work!
"What were you thinking?" Chen Xuan demanded. "Charging out of the city alone to fight the enemy? You got yourself covered in wounds. If I hadn't arrived, you might have died! Couldn't you have retreated to Mala Village and come to the shop for help?"
Liu Shuyue spoke softly, sounding a little guilty. "It happened so suddenly. I didn't expect them to arrive so quickly, or to target Zhangwei City. I really couldn't leave. The moment I did, Lan Qin wouldn't even need to set up her formation. She'd send people straight in, and the Hunting Squad couldn't stop them alone."
"Lan Qin was leading that army?" Chen Xuan paused. "Your fellow disciple?"
She nodded, a trace of loneliness crossing her eyes. "I knew disciples of the Lotus Cloud Sect might someday fight one another, but I never expected her to come right after Song Wei. She specializes in formations and pills. If she'd stayed hidden among the troops, I couldn't have done anything to her. So I had to take a gamble."
The so-called Burning