"Good. We just need three more."
Moqi Xinsi announced the count in real time.
"I'll join too."
The crowd turned toward the speaker.
Moon Shadow stepped forward in a black dress.
Without a trace of makeup, she was still elegant and lovely, but her eyes held a sorrow no one could fathom.
If Moon Shadow had once been a magnificent peony, blooming brilliantly in everyone's heart...
Now she was a gardenia covered in morning dew, with a distinctive air of fragility.
Moon Shadow stepped onto the stage and stood beside Yin Chao.
She smiled, though she still looked a little sad. "I sent Midnight and the others away. Do you need me to call him over?"
Yin Chao shook his head. He didn't want Midnight to participate.
Of the final two places, Moqi Xinsi took one.
Ignoring the objections of the other Wanqi Guild members, he stepped onto the stage, looking excited and even a little proud.
"Lord Yin Chao, I will follow you to my dying breath."
His voice was quiet, but Moon Shadow and Bai Xu still heard every word.
Both looked horrified, but with everyone watching, they did their utmost to restrain themselves.
Moqi Xinsi called out for someone to take the last spot.
Suddenly, a hand rose from the crowd.
The people around him hurried aside, opening a narrow path to the stage for the person who had raised his hand.
He was a frail-looking young man, his back hunched in an utter lack of confidence.
Long bangs covered his forehead, and he wore a large pair of thick, black-framed glasses.
He crept forward timidly, looking as though someone had forced him into it.
Bai Xu frowned. "Lin Erba, aren't you a newcomer? This isn't the time for jokes."
His words were like a bomb's fuse,