The further he walked toward the main part of the camp, the older the people around him became, many of them with silver hair and walking sticks to keep themselves upright.
A blue tent with plants sprouting at its front stood quietly apart from all the other tents with their bright colors, drawing the eye more through its shape than through any color.
This was the Mistress of Currents' tent, and beside it, a smaller but also blue tent—that was the maidservant's. After asking around, he found out that this maidservant was the Mistress of Currents' personal attendant.
Xue Yanluo quickly stepped away from in front of the main tent and went straight toward the maidservant's. He found a young servant wandering outside, holding dried leaves in her hands, clearly rushing to get somewhere.
Xue Yanluo stopped her to ask about the personal maidservant's whereabouts, and her only answer was, "If she's not in her tent, she'll be wasting time somewhere," and off she ran.
That answer left Xue Yanluo at a loss—how was that supposed to help him? He had already confirmed she wasn't in her tent, and if she wasn't there, she was wasting time — where?
Xue Yanluo wandered the area, asking people occasionally if they had seen her anywhere, and at least someone had spotted her somewhere in the southwest part of the camp.
That area bordered the dead forest, where even the earth had met its end at the edge — all the leaves withered, the trunks hollow and weak, and the ground dry and hard.
Even so, it was a fairly busy area, being common ground for first-realm beasts, with even two second realm ones having appeared there.
Xue Yanluo headed toward the area and, searching around the outskirts, found her surrounded by enormous corpses—and looking at them, he realized both were second realms.
"I see you've done quite well in the forest," remarked Xue Yanluo as he approached.
The maidservant raised her head and looked at him. "Liang Bi. My name is Liang Bi," she said coldly.
Xue Yanluo's cordial smile froze on his face, and the corners of his lips trembled, though he regulated himself immediately and carried on with the conversation. "It's a good name. I've come to ask you a couple of things."
"Very well, but first I hope you don't mind waiting a little while I finish processing these corpses. They'll make a good keepsake from the time spent on this side."
Xue Yanluo nodded and let Liang Bi finish her business before returning to her personal tent and sitting down over some tea.
"I wanted to ask what we are going to do now. After that event in the sky, I don't see the people in this camp having much motivation to go and destroy the cores in the pillars."
Liang Bi smiled as she shook her head slightly. "We are resting now, and between tomorrow and the day after, we will set out. Though the exact day still needs to be discussed with your empire."
"That's good news—I wouldn't want to spend more days in this world." Xue Yanluo straightened his back and leaned forward. "Do you know anything about the event in the sky that we don't?"
Liang Bi smiled and picked up her cup, brought it to her lips, and took a sip of tea. Then she set the cup back on the table unhurriedly and turned her attention back to Xue Yanluo. "We don't know anything."
"Then I won't bother you any further." Xue Yanluo smiled and stood from the table. With each step he took toward the exit, the smile on his face lost its strength, finally going flat from the effort of holding itself up.
Outside the tent, Xue Yanluo looked with narrowed eyes at the Mistress of Currents' main tent and left, heading back toward his own.
Minutes later, the loose flap of the tent swayed as an arm pushed it aside. A person entered and looked at the one seated at the table. "Please, my lady, stop pretending to be me by taking my appearance. The other masters are already starting to suspect something strange happens to you sometimes, and I don't think it will take them long to find the reason."
Liang Bi laughed at the table and waved her hand. "Stop worrying so much about things like that. They enjoy doing the same; you just haven't noticed yet."
In her pupils was reflected the woman standing before her—a woman with two braids, white hair, and a blue dress, her brow creased, mouth open and about to speak, which she then closed without letting a sound escape.
"Liang Bi," said the woman seated at the table to the woman before her. "You need to relax—this isn't the first time we've done this."
"But, my lady…"
"No, say no more. It's something we had to do—this is no time to think about anything else."
Those words left the tent in deep silence, both women looking at each other. Finally, the seated woman stood and brought her hand to her face. She placed it there, pressed gently, and pulled it away—in her hand now was a red and yellow mask.
The hair gathered in the maidservant's bun came to life, sliding free and falling down loosely, until it separated into four groups and wove itself into two braids.
Her brown hair lost all its color, drying out and turning whitish to the very tips.
Liang Bi, standing, did the same as the woman before her and removed the mask from her face, her hair brightening back to life, coloring itself brown, and finding its way back into a bun.
"That Fourth Prince," said the Mistress of Currents. "There is something special in him. Let's see whether he'll be an ally or a deadly trap." With that, the Mistress of Currents left the tent with a laugh and made her way toward her personal tent.
Liang Bi followed her out; she sighed and shook her head as she looked at her mistress, wondering when that erratic personality of hers would ever change.