The Taoist acolyte kept talking. After considering it, Hui Dao nodded casually and said, "The princess consort is carrying a noble child. Naturally, it deserves great care."
He had barely finished speaking when he suddenly murmured, "Hm?" As though sensing something, he covered his chest with his hand. In that instant, it felt as if a stone were pressing against his heart, the tightness growing worse and worse.
Seeing this, the acolyte hurried to steady him. "Master, are you too tired? You don't look well. Let's go back so you can rest!"
Hui Dao did not think that was the reason, but his heart gave a sudden flutter. He nodded. "Very well. Our work here is done. Let's go back."
With that, he prepared to leave.
The master and disciple lived in a secluded part of the Prince's Residence, chosen for its peace and quiet, where few people would disturb them.
Ordinarily, they rarely encountered the residence's guest retainers or advisers when coming and going. But the final spot where they had set up the great array had been near the main gate. On their way back, they had to follow a corridor around a stretch of rockeries and ponds. From afar, they heard footsteps and voices.
Looking over, Hui Dao saw several people approaching in the distance, and his expression shifted slightly.
"Who is that?"
Apart from a few armored soldiers, the approaching party consisted only of a man in his thirties walking at the front, surrounded by the others.
Though he appeared to be in his thirties, the man strode forward with an impassive expression, restrained and grave, like a treasured sword that had weathered countless battlefields and learned to conceal its edge!
Perhaps he was older than he looked, and only appeared young because of his martial