At noon, the party boarded their carriages and mounted their horses, leaving the offices of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
As his landlady, Zhao Ling had originally intended to use her status to back Xie Jinhuan up on this trip, lest Lü Yan make things difficult for him on his home turf. In the end, she had played no part whatsoever from start to finish, and could only remark:
"Chen may not be particularly famous among the sect masters, but he handles things fairly. He lives up to his reputation as the leader of Northern Zhou's orthodox factions."
The fair-skinned, beautiful Duoduo sat beside Xie Jinhuan by the window, kneading his shoulders and pounding his back:
"The real credit goes to Young Master Xie's solid reputation. If anyone else dared claim Lü Yan had ties to the demon path, nobody would believe them. But when Young Master Xie says it, I reckon even Lü Yan himself would have to secretly wonder-"
"That's true."
Zhao Ling reclined sideways on the small couch with her legs bent, propping her cheek on one hand as she asked curiously:
"Does Lü Yan really have ties to the demon path?"
Xie Jinhuan was actually pondering that himself. He shook his head.
"With so many perfectly timed coincidences happening one after another on Li Mountain, it's ninety-nine percent certain someone was pulling strings in the shadows. But judging by how Lü Yan had nothing on his mind but his family heirloom, he doesn't seem connected to the demon path. I reckon the person behind this, someone whose reach extends to the heavens, tricked him into coming somehow."
Zhao Ling nodded slightly and sighed.
"Father sent me here to see what things were like at the top in Northern Zhou, and whether Empress Dowager Guo would send