"Who dares trespass into the Clear Sky Sect?!"
A sharp shout rang out as several figures shot forth from guard posts in every direction, blocking the two of them.
They were several young men clad in the uniforms of Clear Sky Sect core disciples, each with a steady aura and sharp eyes filled with suspicion.
Anyone who could so easily breach the outer perimeter was no ordinary visitor.
Yet when their gazes fell upon Wang Dong'er beside Xia Ming, every one of them instinctively frowned.
Clear rejection, awkwardness, and even a trace of concealed anger flashed across their faces.
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
The leading disciple pressed his lips into a straight line, his gaze shifting between Wang Dong'er and Xia Ming.
In the end, deeply ingrained sect rules and his lingering reverence for "that person" won out.
With obvious reluctance and somewhat stiff movements, he clasped his hands and gave a slight bow. His voice was dry and cold, deliberately distant:
"...Young Sect Master."
There was none of the former closeness or respect in that form of address, only perfunctory indifference.
Wang Dong'er's expression remained calm, as though she had not heard the chill steeped in his words at all.
Or perhaps she simply did not care.
She merely nodded lightly, looking past them toward the tallest and most oppressive residence deep within the sect.
"Where are Big Uncle and Second Uncle now?"
Her voice was clear, yet held little emotional fluctuation, as if she were asking about something utterly ordinary.
The leading disciple's gaze turned colder, and the corner of his mouth even curled into an almost mocking smile. His tone was as stiff as iron:
"In reply to the Young Sect Master, the two Sect Masters... have remained 'well-behaved' in the Sect Master