On the lake, a dozen or so li from the entrance to Green Water Grotto Heaven.
A young woman in a yellow dress rode a small white waterbird, flying slowly forward at low altitude.
She had delicate features, fair skin, and a scholarly air, but she seemed distracted, worry clouding her face.
Suddenly, a whistle of rushing air came from behind her, as though something were hurtling toward her at tremendous speed.
Startled, the woman in yellow hurriedly turned on the bird to look back.
High in the sky behind her, a Green Wooden Boat over ten feet long had appeared from nowhere.
Two people stood aboard it: a young man in his thirties and a baby-faced girl of fifteen or sixteen.
Spirit inscriptions flickered across the boat's surface as it sped through the air. In just a few flashes, it crossed several hundred meters, reached the space above the woman in yellow, and stopped abruptly.
"Cousin, why didn't you travel with us to the Sect Grand Competition? Auntie told us to look after you here in the palace." The baby-faced girl waved down from the boat, smiling brightly.
The man in his thirties beside her stood with his arms folded, a trace of impatience on his face.
"No need. I'm only going through the motions in the outer sect competition this time. There's no way I'll place among the top hundred outer disciples. I feel more at ease traveling alone," the woman in yellow replied calmly.
"What is it, cousin? Do you still resent me for persuading Auntie to agree to your marriage to Senior Brother Mi?" the young man asked with a snort.
Had Wang Yu been there, he would naturally have recognized the young man as Gao Hu of Origin Transformation Peak, whom he had met before.