Pan Long and Lie Yukou came quietly and left just as quietly. Throughout it all, apart from the Divine Martial Bureau, not a single person in Cape City caught sight of them.
Before dawn, Ma Yi took the initiative to visit the inn where the Qionghua Pavilion party was staying.
He certainly did not bow and scrape like a lapdog, but he was noticeably more courteous. He even showed a hint of ingratiation, though it sat awkwardly on him.
This surprised both Wu Jixing and Sun Qiongyu.
But they were both clever enough not to show it. They exchanged a few polite words with him as though nothing were amiss, then escorted him all the way outside the inn. They even waited there for a long while, showing him every courtesy.
Watching Ma Yi disappear at the end of the street, Sun Qiongyu asked softly, "What do you make of that?"
"He must have run into trouble, and that trouble... has something to do with us," Wu Jixing answered without hesitation. "If I had to guess, my brother-in-law just went to have a 'talk' with him."
Sun Qiongyu smiled and nodded.
"Given his position and temperament, skill alone wouldn't make him yield. Someone would need both greater ability and a measure of standing at the Imperial Court. Pan Dingfeng is the strongest of the younger generation, a friend of Cang Yuan, and even has ties to Di Luonan. He rendered great service at the Mid-Autumn Moon-Viewing Gathering and protected many officials... That's why he could make Commander Ma lower his head. Anyone else, even someone with stronger martial arts, probably couldn't."
Wu Jixing was startled. "Even stronger martial arts wouldn't be enough?"
"Of course not," Sun Qiongyu said. "If these regional commanders bowed their heads whenever they met a powerful