Feng Xi laughed heartily. "The one who played with fire ended up getting burned. How amusing."
A nobody was not worth discussing further. He immediately brushed the matter aside after his laugh and extended a hand in invitation. "Brother Situ, this is no place to talk. Come, please join me inside."
With host and guests reunited, the party entered the Mountain Gate, then flew straight to the Divine Palace atop the Divine Mountain and took their seats.
As an attending disciple, Shi Chun had no seat. He obediently stood a little behind Situ Gu, to one side.
An assortment of spirit fruits and tea was served as well, but Shi Chun could only look.
After inviting his guests to partake, Feng Xi formally asked, "Brother Situ, you are hardly a man of leisure. Surely you haven't come to wander the mountains and admire the scenery?"
Situ Gu fell silent for a moment, then answered simply, "I happened to gain some insight and would like to study the Northern Dipper Spirit-Repelling Formation again. Would you permit it, Clan Leader?"
Hearing this, Shi Chun, who had been listening with his ears pricked, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Situ Gu had not given him a definite answer earlier, and he had worried that the old fellow would refuse.
He had originally intended to ask the Golden-Haired Rat Clan about it later. Now that an opportunity had presented itself along the way, he naturally wanted to spare himself some trouble.
Besides, the Golden-Haired Rat Clan had not controlled the grand formation for a very, very long time. Who knew how much they still understood? Better to follow Situ Gu and investigate openly.
Of course, that still depended on whether their host agreed.
He turned his attention to the reaction from the seat of