"You have come uninvited, young lady." Master Chunwei said, his voice echoing in the small hallway.
Yu Qi's eyes shifted from him to Sang Yuling, lingering on the woman for a brief but meaningful moment before returning her attention to Master Chunwei.
"Oh... Really? Am I truly uninvited?" Yu Qi asked, tilting her head slightly with a hint of curiosity that did not quite reach her eyes.
"You... Did you follow me here?" Sang Yuling asked with a shaking, high-pitched voice.
Yu Qi did not deign to answer Sang Yuling's question directly. Instead, she lifted her hand, the one currently shrouded in a pulsating, dark red aura. Then, she made a slow, fluid gesture with that hand, as if she were gently releasing a captive bird into the open sky.
The faint trace of the white aura reappeared instantly, swirling gently around her slender fingers like a living, breathing entity. It pulsed once with a soft glow, then pointed, unmistakably and purposefully, toward the inner ritual room.
