"That isn't true, by the way," Ye Hongyan said to Haoran, her voice dropping into a soft, fragile whisper that was almost entirely swallowed by the gentle rustle of the leaves above them.
At this moment, the two of them were sitting under a massive, ancient willow tree, watching the vast, velvet night sky.
The canopy of trailing branches wept down around them like a curtain of living emerald, swaying lazily in the cool midnight breeze.
The stars above shone with an intense, almost mocking brilliance, casting a silver glow over the hidden sanctuary.
After they had left a broken Elder Mu kneeling in the ruined classroom, Ye Hongyan had immediately brought him here.
She had grabbed his hand and traveled through the academy's spatial pathways, bypassing the crowded main thoroughfares entirely.
