As soon as the words left his mouth, his body softened and blurred.
In the blink of an eye, he was gone.
Zhan Ri Fei watched the spot where Huo Xiao Di had disappeared, his smile fading.
His face remained calm, but his hand had tightened around the hilt of his sword.
Had he already known, even before grabbing Huo Xiao Di’s arm, that an intense battle awaited him?
Unconsciously, a fine drizzle began to seep from the overcast clouds above.
Could it be that even the heavens had foreseen the outcome of this battle?
The jade bowl in the boy’s thin, withered hands trembled faintly.
The emerald liquid inside continued to ripple and stir.
The woman in green grew impatient, waiting.
The boy glanced at her, then back at the bowl in his hands.
The setting sun, pale and bluish, cast shadows over the freckles on the boy’s face, making them appear darker.
At last, he gritted his teeth, raised the jade bowl, and prepared to drink it all in one go.
Suddenly, it was as if a gentle force pushed the boy aside.
A calm and composed voice said, “It’s not such a big deal if you don’t drink that bowl.”
A hand reached out, and with an effortless motion, the jade bowl somehow ended up in that hand.
The boy stumbled from the push, his battered arm caught by another hand.
The pupils of the man in green clothes contracted sharply.
Never before had anyone acted in his presence without him detecting the slightest hint of their intent. Yet now, someone had done so without a trace of warning.
A sharp gleam appeared in his eyes, and the round blade at his waist emitted a faint, piercing whistle.
Through the light drizzle and mist, a figure emerged—a man in black.
At his waist hung a long sword. His arrival was as subtle as the rain and mist itself, impossible to discern where he had come from.
The boy’s arm was held in his hand.
The boy had never seen this man before, but he felt an inexplicable familiarity with him. Surrounded by the green-clad man and the woman, he didn’t know how this man had entered the circle.
The pervasive misty rain blurred everything, yet the three standing close by could still make out his refined, jade-like demeanor and unhurried elegance.
The green-clad woman’s eyes lit up suddenly.
She smiled enchantingly, as if not overly displeased by the black-clad young man’s intervention.
“And who might you be, my lord? Why would you meddle with the affairs of Han Shui Palace?”
The young man in black didn’t answer her question.
“Are you, by chance, the Moon Envoy of Han Shui Palace, one of the Sun, Moon, Wind, and Cloud quartet?”
The green-clad woman chuckled softly.
Her laughter, like her demeanor, carried an air of primal provocation and wickedness.
“It seems, my lord, that you are quite well-versed in the ways of Han Shui Palace.”
Her eyes softened, brimming with a liquid charm, as if they might overflow.
“Using such methods, Han Shui Palace, to deal with an unarmed, defenseless child—are you not afraid of tarnishing its illustrious reputation?”
The green-clad woman continued to laugh coquettishly, her smile exuding an almost overwhelming allure.
“Is it fitting for my lord to greet someone for the first time with such harsh words of reproach?”
She spoke as she strolled forward, her movements leisurely and unhurried.
“He is the apple of the Grandmother’s eye, the one she treasures day and night. How could I possibly bear to harm him? As for this medicine—he has been accustomed to drinking it since he was a child. Without it, how could he have survived until now?”
Her gaze, filled with a syrupy sweetness beneath her coquettish smile, finally swept toward the boy. “Am I wrong?”
Even while hiding behind the black-clad young man, the boy couldn’t help but shrink back instinctively.
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