The moment they stepped out of the Teleportation Array, dazzling sunlight poured down, and they instinctively narrowed their eyes. After so long in the sunless darkness of the Black Prison, even ordinary daylight felt especially welcoming. The wind blew in from outside the city, carrying the scent of grass, trees, and earth, nothing like the damp, rotten smell of the Underground Palace.
Nie Li brushed the dust off his clothes, turned back to give Du Ze and Lu Piao a few instructions, then headed toward the City Lord's Mansion. They had brought plenty of things out of the Ruins this time, and there was also the matter of the Silver Wing Family. He needed to report to Ye Zong immediately.
Xiao Ning'er went with them. Before leaving, she glanced back at Shen Fei and gave him a slight nod.
Xiao Ning'er paused, turned back to him, and said softly, "Be careful. As for the Sacred Family... think things through. Don't force your way through it."
Shen Fei murmured his assent and said nothing more. Xiao Ning'er turned to catch up with Nie Li's group, her plainly dressed figure soon disappearing into the crowd along the street.
Shen Fei did not go with them. He stood where he was for a moment to collect himself, checked his bearings, then turned toward the Sacred Family's estate.
Pedestrians came and went along the road, and street vendors called out one after another, filling the streets with the bustle of everyday life.
No one knew they had just escaped the Ruins by the skin of their teeth, nor did anyone know that a towering storm already hung over the city.
When he reached the estate's entrance, the guard looked up at him, lowered his head in a bow, and asked no questions.
The old