"Staying over tonight? Sure… What did you say?! Staying over tonight?!!"
At the very beginning when she agreed, Yunli had not yet processed what kind of outrageous words Yun Fan had actually said, so she subconsciously agreed.
After about one or two seconds, the girl's thoughts finally caught up with the nerves controlling her voice. Only then did she realize what she had just agreed to. Instantly, Yunli's face turned explosively red, as thoroughly crimson as a boiled spicy crawfish.
Yunli was no longer a child. By human standards, she was already an adult and naturally understood the meaning behind those words.
This… this… wasn't this progressing a bit too fast?
'Thwack—!'
Just as a storm was raging in the girl's mind and she was lost in wild thoughts, a crisp sound rang out. The youth flicked his finger and delivered a "chestnut flick" straight to Yunli's little head.
"Wuu…!"
The sudden pain made our Miss Yunli reflexively cover her forehead. With teary eyes, she glared angrily at the culprit before her.
"What are you thinking about?"
Having observed all of Yunli's reactions, our Mr. Yun Fan naturally knew what was going through her mind. After all… his words had been somewhat ambiguous, so it was only natural for Yunli to misunderstand.
"I asked you to stay over, but not in the way you're imagining."
At this point, Yun Fan rubbed the girl's little head and continued.
"The reason I want you to stay is because of Qingque. I want the two of you to have a proper talk."
Yun Fan was naturally aware of the little moves Qingque had made behind the scenes.
Yes, he knew Yunli had feelings for him, and he also knew what Qingque had said to Yunli. Even so, he could only pretend to be unaware.
Sigh~ Sometimes having too good perception can be quite troublesome.
"Big Sister Qingque?"
Hearing Qingque's name, Yunli was slightly stunned. That's right—Fan didn't know that Qingque had already secretly talked to her. So, was he worried that she might have a conflict with Big Sister Qingque?
"Mhm… Then I'll stay. But just so we're clear, without my permission, you're not allowed to do anything weird to me!"
...
Seat of Divine Foresight…
The injured Yanqing sat at the conference table. Looking at the three important figures sitting around him, the youth felt cold sweat pouring down his back, as if sitting on pins and needles.
By any reasonable standard, according to Xianzhou etiquette, in such a formal setting, Yanqing as a disciple should not be seated alongside Jing Yuan. Normally, in formal occasions, Yanqing would respectfully stand behind Jing Yuan.
At first, Yanqing had thought the same. However, he was currently an injured patient. Out of affection for his disciple, after obtaining the consent of the other two, Jing Yuan had Yanqing sit together with the three of them.
Little did he know this had tormented Yanqing. At this moment, the youth's heart was extremely tense. After being "beaten" by his master and others, Yanqing's once sharp and aggressive personality had gradually become more reserved.
If it were the old him, he might not have felt stage fright in this situation. But now…
Sitting directly opposite Yanqing was…
Her might pierces the heavens, her spirit surpasses the firmament.
Skyfaring General—Feixiao.
Sitting to Yanqing's right was…
Vast and boundless illumination, tribulation flame bright light
Candle Dragon General—Huaiyan.
Sitting to Yanqing's left was…
Surpassing the jade realm, commanding the heavenly halberd.
Divine Strategy General—Jing Yuan.
Three of the Seven Reignbow Arbiter Generals, three Xianzhou Generals, three Emanators of The Hunt!
Surrounded by these three great figures, the pressure in Yanqing's heart was immense.
Thinking of this, Yanqing glanced at his master sitting to his left and revealed a bitter smile.
'Master, I have no grudge against you. Why are you harming your disciple like this?'
"Has the matter been confirmed, Jing Yuan?"
Huaiyan frowned tightly, one hand gently stroking his white beard as he asked the Divine Strategy General Jing Yuan with a serious expression.
"Mhm, I have already sent trusted subordinates to verify it. The matter is true. The Company has sent back surveillance footage."
Jing Yuan nodded slightly. His fingers manipulated the table, and an image appeared before everyone.
In the surveillance footage, a group of Company employees with Xianzhou faces suddenly launched an attack on those around them. After seizing control of the main bridge, they removed their disguises and reverted to their Steppe People appearance.
"Steppe People. After remaining silent for so long, they have become active again, and this time using Xianzhou identities."
At this point, Jing Yuan pulled up another file and pushed it toward Feixiao and Huaiyan.
"Rao Junying, male, 357 years old, Xianzhou Luofu native, Interastral Peace Corporation P13-level employee."
"Su Ci'en, male, 257 years old, Xianzhou Xuling native, 484 years old, Interastral Peace Corporation P19-level employee."
"...…"
Looking at the employee files before them, everyone present frowned in unison.
These Steppe People captured by the Company all had legal origins. Almost all of them were from the Xianzhou. This meant that the Steppe People had not disappeared or gone into hiding. After the Abundance War, they had still been active.
It was just that, compared to before, they now all had legal identities. Without exception, they all originated from the Xianzhou Alliance.
"It seems the Steppe People's infiltration of the Alliance is deeper than we thought."
"Jing Yuan, do you have any leads?"
Huaiyan raised his head and looked at Jing Yuan. The reason Jing Yuan was called the Divine Strategy General was precisely because of his intellect. Among the Seven Reignbow Arbiter Generals, Jing Yuan's strategy and wisdom were undoubtedly the strongest.
Hearing Huaiyan, Jing Yuan was silent for a moment before slowly speaking.
"If my guess is correct, the Steppe People's target is very likely the Steppe People warlord Hoolay —who was captured by Jingliu during the Abundance War and is currently imprisoned in the Shackling Prison."
Jing Yuan gave his conjecture. He believed the Steppe People's reappearance and their infiltration of the Xianzhou were probably to rescue their warlord Hoolay.
"Correct. This old man thinks the same." Huaiyan nodded. Just as he had said, he had already thought of Hoolay.
"Hoolay? The Steppe People warlord. I have some impression, but not much."
At this moment, Feixiao, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly spoke. She had heard the name Hoolay before, but her impression was not as deep as Jing Yuan and Huaiyan's.
After all, compared to these two Xianzhou natives, the foxian Feixiao was still young. Her memories of the Abundance War were not that profound. Unlike Jing Yuan, who had personally experienced it, her understanding of the Steppe People warlord still remained at the level of books.
"Hoolay. I wonder how strong this Steppe People warlord is. Can he give me a satisfying battle?"