Under the moonlight stood a graceful man, his long hair flowing, his silky black robe flowing just as freely. His face looked as though it had been carved with knives and axes, sharply defined, and his eye sockets were tinged red.
He had already circled a certain patch of grassland many times, his nostrils twitching now and then as he sniffed.
He was the Lord A-Xun everyone spoke of.
The attendants who had come with him from Dazhi City had been left uncertain whether to follow his endless circling or not, and had scattered around the area to wait.
Only Bai Qiru, dressed in a white skirt, stayed at Lord A-Xun's side, a barely perceptible anxiety in her eyes.
Another white-robed scholar appeared in the shade of the trees a short distance away. It was Inner Court Supervisor Lou Xiu, who floated through the grove of heart-wrapping grass and landed before two men from Dazhi City.
Seeing him, the two hurried to salute with cupped hands, but Lou Xiu raised a hand to stop them.
Lou Xiu tipped his chin toward the figures drifting over the grass tops. "One of you, go tell that Bai woman the City Lord needs her urgently."
"Yes." One man accepted the order and was about to go deliver the message.
Lou Xiu suddenly stopped him again. "Wait. Don't say it came from me. She isn't worthy of having me run an errand especially for her."
The two exchanged a furtive glance, inwardly amused. He had already come especially to run the errand, so what did worthiness have to do with it?
Of course, neither would point that out. Who didn't want to preserve a little dignity?
"Yes, understood." The man accepted the order again, then darted off, springing across the grass tops toward Lord