Xu Mochen finally reached her. He stood tall before her, radiating false benevolence, as though the heavens themselves had dropped a jewel into the middle of the crowd. His guards flanked him, faces stiff, but he only had eyes for her.
"It's truly you, Lady Ling," he said warmly, voice resonant, drawing murmurs from the crowd. "Fate is wondrous, isn't it? To find you alive, here, among all these weary souls…"
A ripple of envy stirred in the onlookers.
"She knows the Lord?"
"Did he just… call her Yu'er?!"
"How shameless of her, not bowing right away…"
Ling Yu's expression remained cold, her gaze sharp as a blade.
"What do you want?" she asked flatly.
The crowd gasped. How dare she speak to the Lord so bluntly?!
Xu Mochen only chuckled lightly, shaking his head as if amused by her stubbornness. He leaned slightly closer, lowering his voice to a tender murmur meant to sound intimate yet audible enough for those around to catch fragments.
