Then Bibi Dong turned away, her back to Lu Mingfei and her hands clasped behind her.
Her back was ramrod straight, but Lu Mingfei noticed that the fingers behind it were trembling slightly.
"Report to Spirit Hall Academy tomorrow. I'll have someone arrange your enrollment. Everything will be taken care of for you."
Bibi Dong's tone left no room for discussion.
Lu Mingfei fell silent for a moment, then said nothing more.
He rose, straightened his clothes, and walked toward the stone door.
It slid open soundlessly as he approached.
Lu Mingfei glanced back.
Bibi Dong still stood with her back to him, her golden gown gleaming beneath the lamplight.
Her back remained perfectly straight, yet her shadow on the stone wall swayed faintly.
The stone door closed.
Bibi Dong stood alone in the Secret Chamber, motionless for a long time.
She raised a hand and gently pressed it to her lips.
A trace of warmth that was not her own still lingered there, warm and carrying a peculiar aura.
That aura was still flowing slowly through her meridians, suppressing even the last restless trace of Rakshasa Divine Power.
She could feel the Rakshasa Divine Sense deep within her soul sleeping... but it was only asleep, not destroyed.
Like a hibernating snake, it lay coiled in the deepest recesses, waiting for its next chance to awaken.
Bibi Dong closed her eyes and let out a long breath.
"Xue'er..."
She murmured a name, so softly that she could almost hear it only herself.
Then she shook her head and tucked that fragile part of herself back into her deepest recesses.
When Bibi Dong opened her eyes again, she was once more the lofty, untouchable Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall.
No emotion showed in her eyes, and the curve of her lips