After a fierce discussion, they finally settled on their next destination: the City Lord's Residence.
Before they knew it, the dead of night had arrived again.
Every so often, a fit of violent coughing broke the silence of the quiet room.
A young man sat draped in a heavy cloak, his right hand loosely clenched against his lips and his left gripping the edge of the table. He bent forward, his body shaking incessantly, as though he meant to cough up his lungs.
Just then, the familiar figure in red slowly appeared before him, like a phantom taking solid form. He had also brought a bowl of nearly black medicine.
The medicine gave off waves of a foul odor, making the young man's already sickly expression even uglier.
Still hunched over, he tilted his head slightly toward the red hem within arm's reach, a mocking smile curling his lips.
"You always arrive right on time."
The Red Maple Immortal Lord set the medicine on the table before him, then sat in a nearby chair.
"Drink it," he ordered, as though he could not hear the other man's biting sarcasm.
Finding him no fun when he refused to respond, the young man did not make a fuss. He simply picked up the bowl and drained it.
He roughly wiped the medicine that had spilled at the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, then sneered. "You can get lost now."
But the man seated across from him did not move.
The young man continued his mockery. "Don't worry. I won't die so easily. Even if I do, it won't affect the offerings at your Red Maple Temple. You don't need to come running here every day."
A soft sigh sounded through the room. Red Maple slowly stood and prepared to