The smile at Xiao Yao's lips faded slightly as he nodded. "Yun Yun, you... haven't left? You specifically waited here for me. Could it be that you need something from me?"
Yun Yun straightened up from beside the wall, her slender hand gently brushing the dust from her clothes. Her voice was lower than when she had called out to him earlier. "The Xiao Clan is currently at a stage where everything needs rebuilding. You must be severely short on both management and manpower, right?"
She lifted her eyes to Xiao Yao, the complicated emotions in her beautiful gaze rippling like water. "Although I am no longer the sect leader of the Misty Cloud Sect, I still have the connections and experience I accumulated over the years. I may be able to help with the trivial matters of managing and developing the Xiao Clan."
"Xiao Yao, let me ask you one thing. Do you still trust me, even now?"
Xiao Yao looked into Yun Yun's clear eyes, which concealed countless thoughts. He did not move, while his fingers curled slightly within his sleeve.
Sunlight happened to sweep across his profile, making the line of his jaw even more distinct as the fleeting surprise in his eyes gradually settled.
He had thought she would leave the Jia Ma Empire after the Misty Cloud Sect was disbanded. He had never expected to hear such surprising words from her today.
"Yun Yun." Xiao Yao's voice was calm and unruffled, yet Xiao Ding and Xiao Li instinctively held their breath. "Between you and me, it was never a matter of trust or distrust."
He stepped forward half a pace, his foot producing a faint sound against the bluestone pavement. "Back at the Misty Cloud Sect, the grievances between our Xiao Clan and the Misty