...
"Please don't mind my friends," Yan Xiaobao said, seemingly unaffected by his companions being discovered. "Not just some cultivators try to shake me off," he continued, his face showing an apologetic expression as he shook his head. "Wherever I go, I need to stay vigilant, so the three of us usually move together," he explained. He wasn't lying, but neither was he stating the full truth. He knew very well he wasn't someone most people welcomed, but the reason he was traveling with his two friends this time wasn't entirely for safety. Even though he hoped the City Lord wouldn't suddenly attack him, it was hard to predict his actions. If the City Lord planned an attack, he would have support; those who ensured the City King didn't return to the faction.
