The three composed themselves and bowed their heads together. "We would not dare," they answered in unison.
For Han Yan and the other two, this was their first audience with the Third Prince.
No vast power spilled from the young man, yet when those clear, cold eyes swept over Han Yan, even a Great Demon who had cultivated for centuries felt his heart tighten.
The feeling was strange. When meeting the First Prince in the past, Han Yan had always remained calm and unruffled, neither servile nor arrogant, without the slightest unease.
Yet this young lord before him, not yet thirty years into cultivation, left him unable to muster even a trace of contempt.
Zhang Chi felt the same. He had secretly attached himself to the Second Prince, Gu Rui, whose schemes ran deep, whose words concealed sharp edges, and whose thoughts were hard to fathom.
But the young man seated above them had a clear, piercing gaze that seemed able to see through every thought in their hearts. Neither dared move rashly.
Only the Black-Feathered Female General looked untroubled. After saluting respectfully, Sang Yu stood with her hands at her sides and said nothing.
From the seat of honor, the young man smiled. "Please, all three of you, sit."
"This is our first meeting. There's no need to be so distant."
Han Yan and Zhang Chi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. They were just about to sit when your next words made their expressions change sharply.
You spoke slowly. "Commander Han Yan, my uncle told me you threw in your lot with my eldest brother some years ago. Is that right?"
"And Commander Zhang Chi seems to have his eye on my second brother."
Their hearts jolted. Both wanted to protest at once, but the claim had come