Outside the hidden chamber at the garrison, Qin Tianxun waited at the nearby Training Ground with the eight hundred Star Brilliance Guards he had summoned.
From time to time, he looked toward the front hall, his brows slightly furrowed.
Steward Lin and Li Qing had been inside the hidden chamber for nearly the time it took an incense stick to burn, yet no sound had come from within. That only made him all the more worried.
He feared that Lin Yi might harm Li Qing.
At that moment, the stone door of the hidden chamber suddenly opened with a slow creak.
Qin Tianxun hurriedly looked up. Lin Yi emerged first, his robes stirring lightly in the wind, his expression as calm as ever, with no sign of anything amiss.
The young genius Li Qing, whom Qin Tianxun thought highly of, followed obediently behind him. His earlier tension and resistance had vanished completely, replaced by a hint of excitement and anticipation in his eyes, as though he had gained some tremendous benefit.
"My lord!" Qin Tianxun hurried forward and bowed. His gaze instinctively swept over Li Qing. Seeing that the youth was completely unharmed, the tension in his heart eased slightly.
Lin Yi nodded and said curtly, "It is about time. I'll be leaving first. Later, carry out the arrangements I gave you. Lead the Star Brilliance Guards to evacuate the crowd, but do not approach the battlefield. Otherwise, you may end up as cannon fodder."
"Yes! This subordinate obeys!" Qin Tianxun answered solemnly. Only after watching Lin Yi's figure flash and transform into a streak of dark light that vanished beyond the horizon did he turn to Li Qing and ask anxiously, "Are you all right? His Lordship didn't make things difficult for you in there, did he?"
Li Qing