When Jiang Ling returned to the pavilion, everyone inside was chatting animatedly.
Xie Changsheng leaned by the window, chiming in now and then.
Zhou Yan waved his fan, smiling like a fox.
Song Chi stood with his hands behind his back, striking some inexplicable pose.
Murong Li and Luo Hongyi sat close together, talking and laughing too.
Black Mountain and Red Wind squatted in a corner, while the donkey lay dozing on the floor.
Si Chen sat in the seat of honor, listening to Si Shuo and occasionally nodding.
They were a chaotic bunch, but somehow there was something about them... something Jiang Ling could not put into words.
She stood in the doorway, hesitating for a moment.
In over a hundred thousand years, she had never spent time with a group of people.
She was accustomed to coming and going alone. She was not used to this, nor did she like it.
But their earlier conversation still echoed in her ears. [Keep them safe.]
She drew a deep breath and stepped inside.
Si Chen looked up, saw her, and broke into an "I knew it" smile.
Jiang Ling's eyelid twitched.
What was this man... thinking now?
Si Shuo saw Jiang Ling too. His relaxed posture stiffened slightly, and he instinctively edged half an inch toward his nephew.
Jiang Ling caught that little movement, and the corner of her mouth twitched.
How impressive.
She ignored him and went straight to the corner, finding a place to sit beside Gray Gray.
Si Shuo stole a glance at her, and his heart finally settled back into place.
While she had been outside, seven or eight possibilities had already run through his mind.
If this woman really insisted on taking him away by force, what was he supposed to do?
*Fight? He could