Dongsheng Shenzhou, Wandering Cloud Bay.
Inside a dilapidated old house by the shore, a woman with a graceful figure gently drew aside a dust-covered curtain and looked outside.
A dense drizzle was falling, not hard, but thick. There was little wind, yet the sound of rain continually striking the ground could still be heard.
Perhaps because weather like this was not so bad, the woman said lightly:
"You've all received the news, haven't you?"
Though she was not facing into the room, her words were addressed to those inside.
Besides the woman, the dilapidated old house held a solemn-looking young man and a somewhat mature-looking boy.
After a moment of silence, the young man spoke. "My lord, do you mean the newly emerged Evil Cultivator hunting down other Evil Cultivators in great numbers and delaying our progress?"
A trace of disgust flashed through the woman's eyes, and her voice turned cold:
"What else would it be? Your gluttony, which left a whole group cleaning up your mess? What, didn't you eat your fill last time? Want to whet your appetite again?"
The young man trembled slightly and swiftly dropped to his knees. "Your subordinate..."
"Shut up. I never want to hear admissions of fault." The woman turned her gaze back, a faint murderous intent in her eyes.
If people capable of getting things done were not so pitifully scarce, trash like this should long since have been tossed back into the furnace and made into fertilizer.
The boy looked ordinary and dressed very plainly, the sort who would be utterly unremarkable in a crowd. Only his eyes were always calm, as calm as an old man's, though not so clouded.
He interjected, "There's no need to bring up the past. We need to deal with the matter before us first."