Shrouding the Heavens: The Years as the Female Emperor's Strictest Master

Her gaze was calm and profound, carrying a trace of scrutiny, as though she wished to see through Shao Hanyun's bewitching exterior and discern her true thoughts.

The fleeting glimpse she had caught when the Dao patterns inside the pavilion fluctuated still lingered in her mind, impossible to dispel, leaving her with an inexplicable chill toward this Big Dipper Holy Maiden.

"Sorry to have kept you two younger sisters waiting. I'm fine."

Tan Lin smiled warmly at Chi Xuan, then gave Chi Yao a slight nod, his tone natural.

Before he could finish speaking, Shao Hanyun stepped forward as well, standing beside Tan Lin with barely an arm's length between them.

Her eyes swept over the Chi sisters, and a perfectly measured, faint smile of polite distance curved her red lips.

"Thank you to our two 'hosts' for waiting here.

Hanyun and Young Master Tan had a most pleasant discussion. We briefly explored the Dao resonance of the Human Emperor Remnant Stele and gained much from it. We became so absorbed that we lost track of time and delayed you both. I hope you will not take offense."

As she spoke, her voice returned to its usual cool, magnetic quality. Her bearing was graceful and proper, as if she had once more become that lofty, inviolable Big Dipper Holy Maiden.

Yet the faint suggestion of spring lingering at the corners of her eyes and brows, deliberately revealed though seemingly absent,

as well as the fleeting, subtle light in her eyes whenever she looked at Tan Lin—a look entirely different from the one she gave others—could not escape the eyes of those nearby who were paying attention.

Seeing this, Chi Yao's eyes flickered slightly, though her attitude toward Shao Hanyun remained indifferent.

"Fairy Shao is too polite. It is naturally a