Inside the mountain cave, Lu Ye sat across from Ma Bin as they talked. Most of the time, Lu Ye spoke while Ma Bin listened intently. As the conversation grew lively, Ma Bin took out wine and drank deeply, looking thoroughly delighted.
Several days passed in a flash.
Ma Bin drained the last jug of wine and wiped his mouth. "All right. Since Nine Provinces is still relatively peaceful, an old worry of mine has been lifted. It is getting late. This old man should be on his way."
As he spoke, he rose to his full height.
While seated cross-legged, Lu Ye had already felt that he was a powerfully built man. Once he stood, he seemed even more towering.
Lu Ye did not know where he was going or what he intended to do, but he could not help asking, "Is there anything this junior can help with?"
Ma Bin smiled. "What I intend to do is beyond your ability to interfere with, nor do I need you to interfere."
Looking at the young, vigorous face before him, Ma Bin's expression turned solemn as he warned, "Remember this. From this day onward, you do not know me, and I do not know you. This meeting between you and me never happened."
They were both intelligent people, and some things did not need to be spelled out too clearly. If Ma Bin had not been desperate to learn Nine Provinces' current situation, he would never have had Zhu Yuan find a way to lure Lu Ye here. For someone like him, even a meeting as secretive as this carried a certain degree of risk.
Now that his wish had been fulfilled, Ma Bin naturally did not want Nine Provinces to have anything more to do with him.
The span