The breeze was light, the sun warm, and all was quiet.
More than a dozen breaths passed, yet no one answered Lin Feng.
She wasn't in a hurry. She sat cross-legged on the ground, laying her sword across her knees.
If they refused to come out, then they could sit there and wait. They'd see who lost patience first. Lin Feng's expression was as calm as still water, but inside she was worried about the safety of her subordinates. Setting aside the years of affection between them, she couldn't afford to lose them, given how valuable they were.
Lin Feng quietly let her killing intent gather.
Then she keenly caught the sound of a foot stepping on fallen leaves.
She opened her eyes and gazed calmly at the newcomer.
A tall, dark figure emerged from the dense woods. The shadows covering the newcomer were driven away by the sunlight, revealing a face Lin Feng found somewhat familiar. She said somewhat familiar because she had only seen him once since reaching adulthood, and it hadn't been a pleasant memory.
"Brother."
The newcomer stopped, apparently surprised by Lin Feng's form of address. "I thought that after we parted on bad terms last time, you'd hate me to the bone."
Lin Feng had called him "Brother" so naturally.
So naturally that he was almost "flattered."
Lin Feng stood and sheathed her sword.
She seemed to be sheathing her sharp edge, but her words still came with thorns.
She said, "Hating someone takes effort, too."
Perhaps because of her teacher's influence, perhaps because of her own temperament, Lin Feng tended to keep her love and hatred tightly reined in. In her eyes, an enemy was an enemy, a stumbling block to be kicked aside. If a rock blocked the road, she could simply kick