It was late at night.

A courtyard in the Red Maple Valley.

The Immortal Maiden Zilan and Yue Tiance sat facing each other across a table. The Valley Master and several elders waited quietly off to one side.

The East Dragon Palace's people were not so grand that only a power's elders would do to run their errands. Right now, the Red Maple Valley's handful of strongest cultivators faced more danger than any disciple busy with the pills.

That was why the Immortal Maiden Zilan had called them over. She called it a chat, but really she just could not stop worrying.

"Didn't you go and let Dao Friend Shen know?"

A kind heart had its downside: it drew trouble. The good side was that she had been through so much of it that almost nothing could shake her.

The girl in the purple skirt was badly hurt, yet she still spoke gently, and not once had she lost her temper. Only her flawless face and her formidable cultivation gave her away. Otherwise, few would have taken her for a dragon maiden, the darling of a top power.

"Reporting to the Immortal Maiden — I already went to Senior Shen's lodgings to invite him, and he politely declined."

The Red Maple Valley Master hurried forward. Honestly, the senior in the ink-black robe looked like the weakest of the three. But in temperament he was prouder even than the young master from the Yue family and the young lady from the East Dragon Palace. Since entering the valley he had kept almost entirely to himself and rarely spoke to anyone.

"I see…"

The Immortal Maiden Zilan paused, as if the news gave her a small headache. "And the little girl?"

Dao Friend Shen was fairly strong. Anyone who dared to roam Xihong alone had to have some way of saving his own life, and not wanting anyone's protection was normal enough. And if he met that bear demon anywhere inside the Red Maple Valley, her group would feel it and still reach him in time.

But the little girl would be…