And so, both sides fell into a brief, heavy silence. After a long while...
Xiao Jinghong could no longer contain his impatience. He looked at the assembled elders and urged, "Enough, everyone. Stop standing there letting your imaginations run wild."
"Get Luo Yi out here. I have a great gift to tell him about!"
With that, Xiao Jinghong strode up to Chen Tai'an, who stood at the front, and lowered his voice so only the two of them could hear. "I'm no outsider. Back in Cloud Prefecture, I even treated that kid to a meal!"
Chen Tai'an nodded, but remained rooted to the spot.
"Seniors, please wait patiently. Until Lord Luo summons you, we don't dare make that decision ourselves."
"You..."
Looking at the unmoved old fellows before him, Xiao Jinghong felt a surge of anger he could barely suppress.
In the past, when these people saw him, they might not have immediately dropped to their knees, kowtowed, and licked the dust from his shoes, but they had come close enough.
Yet in less than a few years, they could stand before him with such composure.
Luo Yi really is something. He's even got these old ghosts of the Great Qi Dynasty, who used to be so accustomed to kneeling, to straighten their backs again.
As Xiao Jinghong thought this, Xue Bingxuan, who had been standing behind him, stepped forward.
"Senior Chen, Master Fan, could I trouble you both to pass on a message? Tell him an old friend, Xue Bingxuan, requests an audience."
When the three of them had arrived, Xue Bingxuan had noticed that quite a few people recognized her. Besides, her two companions had witnessed Luo Yi help her complete her trial. There was no longer any need to conceal that she came from the Great Qi