The soft sound of the secret passage's stone slab sliding back into place faded into the morning breeze. The small courtyard of Rongrong Pavilion returned to silence, with only a gardenia that had fallen onto the bluestone paving slowly drifting in the cool wind.
From behind the carved screen in the side hall, two figures slowly emerged.
Li Pu swept his gaze over the lingering dark-red Asura Baleful Qi by the courtyard gate. A casual smile curled across his lips, as though he had just watched a rather entertaining play.
Beside him, Ning Fengzhi wore a complicated expression as he looked toward the secret passage leading to the back mountain and let out a soft sigh.
Every word spoken in the courtyard moments ago, from the instant Tang San pushed open the door to the moment the six of them entered the secret passage together, had reached the ears of the two men without omission.
"Clan Master Ning, you've raised a fine daughter." Li Pu spoke first, stopping beside the stone table. The mud-stained gardenia floated into the air and landed in his palm. "Your daughter has sacrificed a great deal for the sect. Perhaps one day, she'll bring you several grandsons and granddaughters. The Clear Sky Hammer, the Blue Silver Emperor, and the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda—heh, who knows which one they'll inherit?"
A bitter smile appeared on Ning Fengzhi's face. "Sir, there's no need to tease me."
He raised his eyes toward the secret passage, his tone carrying helplessness while concealing deep calculations. "Rongrong has been pampered in silk and satin since childhood. When has she ever suffered such displacement? But this concerns the safety of several thousand lives in the sect, as well as the thousand-year legacy of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. She has