Talking to clever people saved trouble, and Shi Chun had saved himself plenty.
The three exchanged glances. None voiced any objections, and so the matter was settled.
The three returned to their respective groups and told their people to gather all their companions. They agreed on a place to meet again, dressing it up as a joint search for divine fire.
And so the ten elders could only watch as the group left.
This time, the ten elders saw who had the finest manners. By rights, people from the Land of Exile ought to have been the least versed in etiquette, yet the fellow bowing farewell from afar was rather special...
By the sea, the Life Lotus Lamps in the air began to fall.
An uproar rose among the watching crowd. One, two, three, four lamps-once extinguished, they dropped onto the sand.
The commotion quickly brought Mulan Qingqing to the inn window. She looked outside and, seeing Shi Chun's Life Lotus Lamp still floating safely in the air, let out a soft sigh of relief. As she turned back, her gaze paused on the Mother-Child Talisman on the table.
Strangely, whenever she saw that Mother-Child Talisman, those words praising her as the most beautiful-so blunt they were embarrassingly sentimental-seemed to rise before her eyes.
Up on the mountain, the people from the various artifact-refining sects also broke into discussion at the sight of the falling lamps.
Yu Xingdou, the sect master of the Four Cauldron Sect, stroked his beard. "They've only been inside for such a short time, yet lamps have already fallen several times. In a sense, that's a good thing. It means quite a few people have found divine fire."
An elder beside him nodded. "Indeed. They must have clashed over divine fire. Some laugh, while others weep."