Fortunately, the Grandmasters took no offense. An Zang smiled and gave him a sufficiently truthful reason, and the meeting ended peaceably.
When they stepped out of the building, a fine drizzle was drifting down outside again.
Li Weiru and An Zang chatted up ahead. Pei Ye followed behind, still thinking about the Jade Pendant.
Everyone was investigating in secret. How was he, a lonely seventeen-year-old with neither office nor position, supposed to catch hold of any clues?
Even if he opened the Jade Pendant when the time came, he would probably only be able to stare blankly at it.
"You never said a word throughout the meeting, Young Master Pei. So there was something you cared about after all?"
The chill of the rain abruptly vanished. Pei Ye turned to find Shi Zanxue approaching, her white sleeves fluttering, her True Qi holding open an invisible membrane around her.
"Didn't you stay silent the whole time too, Miss Shi?" Pei Ye reached into the empty air and felt around, rather marveling at it.
"I'm a Heavenly Mountain disciple. Naturally, I follow Martial Uncle An's lead. But you represent yourself, Young Master Pei."
"That's why I had to say something at the end." Pei Ye smiled.
"...All right."
"After all, it belongs to Yang Yan's sect. Once the case is closed, surely it should be returned to the Hushan Sword Gate?" Pei Ye tilted his head toward Shi Zanxue.
Her bearing remained as pure as snow. At a glance, she seemed untouched by and unversed in worldly affairs, yet she had shared responsibility for this matter with Gu Yunfu and had just assisted An Zang. Clearly, she was perceptive at heart.
"Not necessarily." She gently shook her head. "As a rule, once such an object comes into the open, it must