Chen Wei laid his hand over his belt and took hold of the Jade Pendant. It was scorching hot.
For some reason, he vaguely felt that its outline looked uncannily like Yang Chan's face.
Willow brows bristling, almond eyes wide with fury.
Refusing to believe anything strange was afoot, Chen Wei silently separated a strand of divine sense and sent it into the Jade Pendant.
His divine sense made a circuit inside it.
A formation? None.
A restraining seal? None.
Runes? Spotless.
It was just an ordinary piece of jade. Aside from its slightly finer texture, it did not even have the lowest-grade Spirit-Gathering Formation engraved on it.
After thinking it over, Chen Wei decided the Jade Pendant simply could not adjust to the local conditions. The Dragon Palace lay deep beneath the sea, aligned with water and intensely cold. One cold, one hot-that had to be it. It absolutely could not be Yang Chan casting spells from afar.
"Lord Chen?" Seeing Chen Wei looking down in silence, Ao Rui called to him again in a sweet, delicate voice. Her tone was soft, its trailing note carrying a hook. Paired with a face that mingled innocence and allure, it was devastating.
"Of course, of course."
Chen Wei did not take the bait, choosing only the safest reply. "My official duties keep me busy, and my painting skills have grown rather rusty. Once the work at Tongming Hall eases up and I have some free time, I will certainly exchange pointers with you, Princess."
The moment he opened his mouth, out came the art of a seasoned bureaucrat.
Free time?
Wasn't Chen Wei himself the one who decided when Tongming Hall had free time?
This was called agreeing verbally and shelving it indefinitely.
Ao Rui seemed not to hear the evasion