Nighttime Conversation

Moonlight poured down like silk, its clear radiance spilling over the pale violet gauze curtains of the pavilion and casting mottled shadows across the stone table and benches. The night breeze carried the faint chill of mountain grass and trees, cool and refreshing.

Several people sat together in the pavilion, chatting idly. The atmosphere was unexpectedly harmonious and pleasant. With Ya Fei, a natural socialite, present, there was no fear of an awkward silence.

She smiled sweetly, effortlessly steering the conversation wherever she pleased with a shift of her eyes. At times, she spoke of amusing tales from Zhongzhou Continent's business world; at others, she discussed fresh anecdotes from the cultivation world. Her words were gentle yet witty, always precisely drawing everyone's interest.

Qing Lin listened with smiling eyes, while Xiao Yi Xian nodded with a faint smile. Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran occasionally joined in as well. Their laughter drifted away on the evening wind, lending a touch of leisure to the cool night.

"I truly never expected Yun Yun and Sister Yanran to have encountered such danger before, to actually be abducted by those sinister wretches from the Hall of Souls!" Ya Fei furrowed her delicate brows, genuine lingering fear in her voice as she gently shook her head. "Fortunately, Young Master Xiao Ling rescued you in time. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. You would surely have suffered greatly."

She paused, her eyes flickering as she covered her lips and let out a crisp, bell-like laugh tinged with self-mockery.

"But how strange. I've spent all these years out and about, navigating Zhongzhou Continent's business circles, yet those persistent pests have never set their sights on me. It seems that, in the Hall of Souls' eyes, lowly businesspeople like us simply aren't worth their attention."

Ya Fei's