Lu Fang stood beside the shattered table, his chest rising and falling with restrained breaths. Splintered wood lay scattered across the floor around his boots, silent evidence of the anger he had barely managed to contain.
Lee Bie's fists remained tightly clenched.
The veins along the back of his hands stood out clearly beneath his skin. His eyes stayed fixed on the entrance flap through which Liu Tong's escorts had departed moments earlier. Every instinct urged him to chase after them.
Auntie Muo slowly closed her eyes.
She inhaled once.
Then exhaled just as slowly.
When she opened them again, the warmth that usually rested there had disappeared completely. For the first time since joining the sect, even her gentle smile had vanished.
Elder Hua quietly adjusted his sleeves.
The old elder's expression remained calm, yet the slight whitening of his knuckles around the jade ledger betrayed emotions far different from the composure on his face.
