After saying her piece, Chuntang left with small, quick steps.
Only Chen Mu remained in the hall.
Just then, his brows suddenly knitted as he remembered something.
Qin Xiangjun's expression had abruptly changed earlier, and she had left without another word.
Chen Mu had not had time to ask whether she knew about the situation in Cloud Province.
Still, the Demon Suppression Bureau's eyes and ears reached across the realm, and it kept an especially close watch on the Demon Sect.
He had learned as much during his earlier private conversation with Zhao Dong.
News of the Azure Sun Temple outside Cloud Prefecture City should have reached the higher authorities long ago.
Now that the fighting on the northern front had settled, both the Military Command and the Demon Suppression Bureau could free their hands.
He had already uncovered the Demon Sect's entire scheme back in Cloud Province.
Those fiends' plans had been disrupted, and Chen Yanzhao was personally keeping watch there.
Presumably, nothing too disastrous would happen around Cloud Prefecture City.
After running through all of this in his mind, Chen Mu took one last small sip of tea.
"It's time..."
"Once I've arranged everything in the city, I'll take A-Ning out to see the world."
"To the Capital? That wouldn't be a bad choice..."
With a sudden soft chuckle, Chen Mu set down his teacup, rose, and left.
He walked out of the council hall and through the academy.
It was afternoon.
After the battle, the wind had died and the snow had stopped. The chaos in the city had subsided, and the daylight was fairly clear.
Along the way, Chen Mu saw many wounded disciples supporting one another.
Everyone who saw him looked at him with awe.
"Ninth Senior Brother, may I ask why you've summoned us?"