The seven clan elders held their silence.

The many Xu clansmen outside the wooden cabin were all the more at a loss.

Aqing and Xu Wanyun weren't enough for the man to pick from — he had to throw in the whole lot of them besides?

Under the scrutiny of so many eyes, Shen Yi acted as though he saw none of it, walking at a measured pace up before the old woman. "This Shen, in his capacity as Custodian, invites all of you to come with me to Great Qian, to build formations for the Nine Provinces."

At that, before anyone else could speak, the old woman laughed first. "Now that has a familiar ring to it. Xuanguang Cave wanted to do the same thing once, only they weren't so tactful about it as you. And this is what Lord Shen calls recompense?"

Seeing that fury had already begun to rise in the eyes of the many Xu clansmen —

Xu Hongde, as clan head, at last stepped forward. "If Lord Shen isn't deliberately trying to provoke us, then you'd best say the whole of it in one go. Having us do Great Qian's work can hardly count as recompense — what is it that we stand to gain?"

His tone seemed low and heavy, but in truth, out of regard for how Shen Yi had earlier walked straight into the grotto, he was extending the man a way out.

"You stand to gain my promise."

Shen Yi glanced sideways. "As I move through the world, I will do my utmost to keep all of you safe."

"Ho." The old woman laughed again — only this time it carried a trace of anger too faint to detect. "May I ask — who are you?"

A yellow-mouthed child, and insolent beyond bearing.

This was bad! Catching the note of displeasure in the old woman's voice, Xu Wanyun privately thought things had gone amiss.

The Fifth Ancestor might be a woman, but of the seven clan elders, hers was in fact the word that carried the most weight.

To offend her…