Elonore lifted her head to look at him. The grievance and fear she had endured for three whole days finally burst through the dam at those words, great tears smashing down her cheeks.
Su Li made no extra move. He turned to look at Saina, then glanced up at the second floor.
Elena stood in the doorway in that red silk gown, her arms folded as she leaned against the frame.
"I'm heading out." Su Li made the arrangements. "Lock the door tight. You two keep an eye on her. Don't let her run."
Elena looked down at the commotion below with her usual arrogant expression, but the lift in her voice thoroughly exposed what she was really plotting.
"Go on, go on." Elena waved a hand imperiously. "Clean up this mess already. Remember to buy some vegetables on the way back—the freezer's been empty for ages."
The moment Saina heard that, she perked right up.
She grabbed Elonore and dragged her into the courtyard, then swung around and locked the heavy wooden gate with a sharp click.
Su Li strode through Ginkgo Alley, the gate behind him sealed shut.
He reached up and touched the Space Ring on his left hand.
That fiery-red, fourth-tier broadblade greatsword lay quietly inside. The aether of a fourth-tier knight surged madly through his meridians, erupting with astonishing pressure.
Today, he would speak to the council of elders in person.
Silver Crown City, Eastern District.
At the Elven Merchant Association headquarters, the heavy rosewood doors of the elders' council chamber on the second floor—a room ordinarily open only to the core upper echelon—were tightly shut.
Seven or eight elves in high-ranking robes sat around the long table, all of them influential figures whose word was law within their respective clans.
Grand Elder Elvin was