The sun beat down on the main hall of the Xuan'an Bureau, warming the floor tiles. Pi Yanlin’s hemp shoes crunched over the moss between the blue bricks, and the talisman in his sleeve burned so hot it felt as though it might sear through the fabric.
Gu Qinghuan followed two paces behind him. The rhythmic scraping of her scabbard against her skirt sounded exactly like the tempo the young lady used to maintain while practicing her swordcraft at the Northern Suppression General's Estate all those years ago—he remembered that the woman in the portrait had carried her brows with the same sharp, rakish tilt.
"What are you doing?" Gu Qinghuan asked as he came to a halt. Her voice was deeper than usual. "Su Wan'er just woke up, the Karmic Record is acting up again, and the Holy Monarch Cult people might already be..."
Chapter 112