Several figures flew out of the courtyard.
A slightly plump woman went straight to Chen Ling'er, her face full of worry. "Ling'er, where have you been all this time? You worried your Big Aunt to death!"
With that, she took hold of Chen Ling'er and examined her, then immediately added, "Look at you, you've lost weight! You must have suffered quite a bit. You mustn't be so naughty again."
Chen Ling'er grinned and let her fuss over her, then said sweetly, "Oh, Big Aunt, I wasn't being naughty. I went to take care of something important."
She had barely finished speaking when a woman in colorful robes flew over, pointed at her nose, and shouted, "Chen Ling'er, you've really grown bold! You ran off for over a month! I don't care who pleads for you this time. I'm locking you up until you come to your senses!"
Chen Ling'er, who had been looking thoroughly pleased with herself, immediately shrank back at the sound of that voice. She burrowed into the plump woman's arms and whined, "Big Aunt, Mother is yelling at me."
"It's all right." The plump woman smiled dotingly. "I'll plead for you, but you really mustn't be naughty again. Now, tell me where you've been all this time."
"Sister Lingyu, you can't keep spoiling her! She never does anything worthwhile, just goes around stirring up trouble. This time, she probably used Chen Bao's ability to sneak out of the Secret Realm! Elder Yuan already came to see me and told me to keep an eye on Lu Bao so he wouldn't undermine the Secret Realm's stability. If she brings powerful monsters in from outside, we'll be sinners against everyone in the Secret Realm, and the Elder Council won't tolerate us!"
The woman in colorful robes glared furiously at