Outside Chang'an City, on the banks of the Wei River.
Xu Xiao and Xu Chi had chosen this place as a precaution.
The water stretched wide, its current gentle. Reeds crowded the bank, their plumes drifting like snow in the autumn wind.
If anything went wrong, they could escape into the water. The Wei River flowed straight into the Yellow River; once there, they would be like fish entering the sea, all but impossible to track.
Xu Xiao stood beside the water with his hands behind his back, gazing toward Chang'an City. His expression was calm, betraying neither joy nor anger.
Xu Chi sat on a large rock, idly skipping stones.
A stone bounced three times across the surface before sinking, sending ripples spreading outward.
Night fell, without light from stars or moon.
When darkness had fully settled and Lu Changfeng still had not appeared, Xu Chi grew irritated. He hurled the stone in his hand into the river and rose. "Brother, he's gone back on his word!"
Xu Xiao did not move, his gaze still fixed on the distance.
"Be patient." His voice remained calm. "Going back on his word now would accomplish nothing but create more complications. If he truly killed our resolve to rescue them, they'd have even more trouble sleeping."
Xu Chi thought about it and conceded the point.
Just then, four figures appeared in the distance.
Lu Changfeng led the way, with Zhao Lanjun and Mu Qinghong behind him-the two sea-steadying pillars of the Princess's Residence, both fifth-realm great grandmasters. The three approached in a triangular formation, neither hurried nor slow, yet carrying an invisible pressure.
Lu Changfeng was also dragging someone in his hand.
Liu Xuance.
Like a dead dog.
Xu Xiao and Xu Chi looked at the figure being dragged along, bitterness rising