To call it a disturbance was indeed correct, but also incompatible at the same time.
When the sea of people thinned enough for An Fei to obtain a clearer view of her surroundings, the scene before her was enough to raise an eyebrow in interest.
Standing on one side of the street were two young women, whilst the other side was occupied by a pair of vigorous men dressed in scholarly robes. The two parties glared towards the other as though they had spotted a mortal foe, and the atmosphere was extraordinarily charged with the distinct hint of bloodthirst.
The young women seemed to be a sibling pair, whilst the men appeared to be a pair of colleagues…
“Xinyue, you should quickly give up, ah,” the taller man of the pair of scholars chuckled behind his sleeve, his eyes directing a scathing glare towards the young women’s clothes.
“No matter how you plead to the Headmaster, your brother will not be able to obtain a place at Han Lin Academy!”
“That’s right, ah – your little brother is far too incompetent, after all,” the other man chimed in with a malicious sneer.
“Even after the examiner gave everyone three months, he could only memorize a few sentences of the Analects. Just how shameful is that? Not even being able to recite a statement of the Great Saint, but daring to enter the Han Lin Academy, hmph!”
Faced with the malicious words, the countenances of the two women paled with anger.
The younger female clutched towards her partner’s sleeves, a vengeful expression plastered on her countenance.
The seemingly elder sister of the pair patted her partner’s arms to console her rampant emotions, and stepped forth towards the two men as a defiant aura seeped from her body.
“You may indeed be correct that my little brother is incompetent at memorizing the Analects,” the young woman spoke in a lilting voice.
“However… the same can be said for the two of you as well, for you took thirteen years to pass the test. My little brother took the test for the Han Lin Academy for the first time, thus how can you even compare?”
The mouths of the two scholars twitched at the scathing remark, but gradually rose into a sneer. When the taller man stepped forward to match the position that of the young woman, the voice escaping his throat was suffused with mockery.
“Indeed, indeed, we are indeed inferior to your… incompetent little brother in that regard,” his eyes crinkled into a horrendous crescent.
“However, the entrance examination has a peer review segment, and the two of use are in charge of that segment, ah. It would be a shame if your little brother wasn’t able to garner magnificent scores in his other areas of examinations, hm – but of course…”
A pair of licentious gazes were directed onto the two women’s bodies; there was nothing needed to be elaborated upon, and the countenances of the two women paled with anger and shame.
“There’s no need!”
The two scholars chuckled behind their sleeves as their figures as the elder of the two women snapped with a biting voice, a stern expression gracing her beautiful features.
Before they left, they took advantage of the great distance to direct a few more unsightly leers, prompting two countenances to streak scarlet with frustration.
“Elder Sister… what shall we do?”
The younger woman tugged at her elder sister’s sleeves, her voice trembling with anxiety. The other woman who had been referred by the name of ‘Xinyue’ frowned in thought, though her hands reached out to soothe her sibling’s worries.
“Hopefully, there are others that are present to restrain those two bastards,” she murmured in a quiet voice.
“However, we should return to Jiang’an to inform Chang Ming of this matter – he needs to know to be prepared in case of such dire circumstances.”
“Return to Jiang’an?”
The younger woman paled at the mention of the capital city of Great Yong, and her body began to visibly tremble in fright.
Without hesitation, she reached out to grab Xinyue’s sleeves with a greater intensity that it seemed that the clothes were in danger of tearing.
“Elder Sister, to return to Jiang’an – we must go through a transference array!” she complained with a tearful voice.
“However, the closest transference array is in Tianfeng City – that’s where Elder Sister… Elder Sister…”
“Enough, don’t get so overworked. We’ll be able to discover a solution soon enough.”
Xinyue coaxed her little sister by patting her on the back, but her countenance was undeniably warped with a visible shade of worry. The young woman frowned into the distant space with a burdened expression, as though she had suffered a traumatic experience.
Nonetheless, her words had managed to capture the young girl’s interest.
As she watched the pair of women depart in the opposite direction that of the two scholars, An Fei’s fingers rubbed at the base of her chin.
Tianfeng City… by the two women’s expressions upon mentioning the location, it seemed to be an establishment of a greater magnitude than that of Dong Lin City?
The young girl couldn’t help but wonder which powers of the Hundred Clan Coalition were the overseers of Tianfeng City, though her hands didn’t hesitate on their task of delivering yuebing to her small and dainty mouth.
Yuebing was delicious, after all.
Nice and crumbly, with the perfect balance of lotus seed paste and sweetness – good enough to be addicting.
–
“Reporting to the Lord Minister!”
A thin shadow appeared behind the stalwart, tall figure of a man dressed in an official’s robes with a belt designated with the symbol of ‘Yong’.
Upon announcing his arrival, the shadow rested his head upon the backs of both of his palms as a sign of respect.
The man standing with his back to the shadow took a light breath, his gaze angled towards the night sky.
“What have you found?”
Wei Xuan’s soft voice echoed throughout the Flowing Wind Residence’s courtyard, his eyes captivated by the myriad of stars flickering in the black backdrop that was the night sky. The minister rubbed at his eyebrows with his fingers, his heart heavily pounding with a deep-seated worry.
It was as though someone had taken a knife and pried off a sliver of his flesh; not enough to injure, but sufficient to inflict pain at the deepest root.
His Junior Brother Gao Yun Zhi was perfectly capable of roaming through the Shattered Star Continent without any troubles whatsoever, for nobody underneath the Mortal Tribulation Realm could harm a practitioner that had received the baptism of seven tribulations.
His two sons were equally capable of preserving their lives even with their inexperience and lack of strength.
Wei Chang Feng could rely on the environment to sabotage and steer the course of the battlefield towards his advantage, and he would never engage in conflicts that he was not able to secure a guaranteed path of escape.
Though he was forced to separate from the Taiyi Sect due to the mysterious and highly concerning matter regarding its Sect Master, the minister had great faith in his son’s abilities to survive and inflict harm where it hurt most.
So much faith that he was far too surprised when his son attempted to kill his younger sister for the preservation of the family…
As for Wei Chang Luo… who would dare harm someone of the Han Lin Academy?
Thus…
“Reporting to the Lord Minister, no traces of the Fourth Young Miss have been discovered since the abrupt and unusual separation from the rest of the group at the fringe of the Wu Ji Forest,” the shadow faithfully reported.
“From the analysis of the traces of the environment upon the time that this subordinate investigated, it was impossible to discern any signs of forced kidnapping or conflict.”
“Go on.”
The pair of hands hidden in the sleeves tightly clenched as a mixture of fury, worry, and desolation coursed through his veins.
Wei Xuan forced his body to take deep breaths of air to calm his agitated mind, waving his right hand for the shadow to continue its report.
“However, the amassed reports and our investigation leads to the conclusion that the Empress of Great Yong had met with the Grand Elder of the Heavenly Sword Sect. The details of the conversation were unknown.”
Heavenly Sword Sect?
What were they doing in the Wu Ji Forest – wasn’t their territory more towards the southeastern areas, rooted deep within Great Yan?
The minister’s brows furrowed into a pair of diagonal slashes, his austere eyes gleaming with a cold brilliance. Wei Xuan traced a pattern in the stars reflected in the night sky, before asking a final question.
“Have the Natural Domains begun moving?”
The shadow quivered at the mention of the forbidden title, his spine flooded with fear. With great difficulty, the subordinate lowered his head to deliver a deep bow of respect towards the stalwart figure of the minister.
“No…” he replied through chattering teeth.
“The Natural Domains have not displayed any outward signs of interference in the continent.”
“Then go. Do not hesitate in your search.”
Wei Xuan dismissed the thin shadow with a cursory sweep of his sleeve. As the subordinate lowered his head and departed from the Flowing Wind Residence, the minister of Great Yong lowered his glance towards the miniature pool at his feet, the distorted reflection of his figure piercing into his vision.
Fei’er, just where did you disappear towards?
Just what happened?
