Wangchuan drew his gaze back from the horizon and settled it on He Xiangu.
"He Xiangu."
"You didn't come here to deal with me."
"You Eight Immortals have returned to your positions, each with your own duties. Instead of staying in your cave, you came all the way to Loess Slope to wait for me."
"Whatever it is, say it."
He Xiangu looked at him, her fly whisk resting in the crook of her arm, her expression calm.
"You see things clearly enough."
"Obviously."
Wangchuan tilted his head.
"If you really wanted to deal with me, you should have sealed me in the void just now. Even the world's will was on your side. All you had to do was lift a hand."
He Xiangu did not deny it.
She took a step forward, and an invisible force flattened the loess beneath her feet.
"Tso Lan, after you and Basha left, the Kan Trigram and Dui Trigram had no masters."
Her voice was unhurried, as though she were stating something that had already happened.
"With pillars of the eight trigrams missing, the world's balancing mechanism is tilting. Dark Chi is exploiting the opening, ancient demon gods are awakening, and the scales of Good Chi and Evil Chi are swaying every day."
"Now that you're back, naturally, I had to come take a look."
She looked into Wangchuan's eyes.
"To see what you've come back for."
Wangchuan raised his eyebrows.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
He Xiangu spoke candidly.
She was not lying, at least not entirely.
She really had come to see what Wangchuan had returned for.
But there were several other things she had not mentioned.
One was to probe Wangchuan's current state. The Evil Chi on him had vanished, and there was no Good Chi either. He was in