While Ren Ye and the others sat arguing in the stone pavilion, a somewhat familiar voice rang out beyond the courtyard gate.
Chunniang set down her bowl of wine and answered softly, "Who is it?"
"Daoist Wu of the Immortal Wave Sect is here! Aren't you coming out to welcome him?!"
The slightly reprimanding voice outside made Chunniang pause. Why has a Daoist from the Immortal Wave Sect suddenly come to my home?
Puzzled but not daring to keep them waiting, she hurried to the gate and greeted them with a smile. "I am Chunniang. My respects, honored Dao Lords and officers. May I ask... what instructions you have?"
Four Daoists in white stood outside the threshold, each with a dull, whitish jade pendant hanging at his waist. According to what Ming Quan had said earlier, their standing in the Immortal Wave Sect should not have been high. Behind the four Daoists stood two Tide Dragon Guards in black armor.
Judging by their dress, these two officers were probably minor military commanders rather than ordinary soldiers.
"Senior Brother Wu has naturally come to read an official legal document." To the left of the gate, a young Daoist who did not look particularly capable carried himself with all the arrogance of a petty man newly in power. "Why does a woman like you have no manners? Stand aside when you answer."
The young Daoist's expression and tone had none of a cultivator's otherworldliness. Instead, he resembled those worldly officials who used their scraps of authority to make ordinary people's lives difficult. At a vehicle registration office, for example, you might ask, "Where do I get the lien on my car released?" He would say, "Can't you read the procedure board yourself?!" You would ask again, "But the board says I need