Kou Zhong's face was deathly pale as he collapsed to the ground.
Almost at the same time, the tip of Xu Ziling's long sword plunged deep into Hou Xibai's left shoulder.
Hou Xibai's right hand was still held in an attacking pose, pointing toward Kou Zhong's fallen head. As for the "Beauty Fan" that should have been clutched in his hand, it had somehow vanished in an instant.
"..."
"..."
The two men stared blankly for a while.
Then, both Xu Ziling and the wounded Hou Xibai belatedly realized that the steel-ribbed "Beauty Fan," which had been aimed at Kou Zhong's head and might well have smashed it into pieces, had somehow appeared in the hands of a certain troublesome little girl in the distance, who had just stepped out of the hall.
At some point, the two women—one tall and one short—had made their way to the front hall's entrance. The troublesome little girl in the red festive outfit was none other than the Grandmaster Annie, the little master of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. She was holding and playing with the very fan that had just vanished from Hou Xibai's hand.
But neither Xu Ziling, Hou Xibai, nor even Kou Zhong, who was sprawled on the ground, had any idea when the two women had arrived, let alone when they had suddenly made their move and "stolen" the fan. They hadn't even noticed it happening!
"Wow!"
(?▽?)?
"There are so many pretty big sisters drawn on it!"
(＾▽＾)
Annie carefully examined one side of the Beauty Fan and saw that it was indeed covered with pictures of people, including Shan Wanjing, whom she knew. Then she flipped it over and saw that the entire other side was covered with a portrait of Wanwan. Only then did she exclaim