The man didn't wait for Chu Qingyun to say anything, stepping directly into the courtyard. With a gentle wave of the hand he held behind his back, a surge of Soft Power swung the gate shut again.
Chu Qingyun, meanwhile, quietly took two steps back, his guard raised completely.
"May I ask, sir, what business brings you here so late at night?"
Chu Qingyun watched the man warily, his voice low as he asked.
He was already prepared to flee and cry for help at the first sign of trouble.
'Surely,' he thought, 'deep within the Celestial Wind Army's encampment, a powerful expert would quickly come to my aid.'
"You're Chu Qingyun, right?" the man said with a small smile. "No need to be so tense. I'm a Grand Commander of the Beishuang Army, and my name is Xu Baolin."
"Grand Commander Xu," Chu Qingyun asked again, "what do you want with me?"
Xu Baolin glanced at Chu Qingyun and said slowly, "Three days ago, the Illusion Array at the Merit Assessment Office failed completely."
