Mo Han returned to the Cold Night Inn with the same steady steps he always carried. Jia Kai, Chi Kai, and Fatty Lambu were waiting inside their room, tension visible in their faces.
"I was accepted," he said simply.
For a second, silence filled the room. The words didn't register.
Fatty Lambu blinked, looked at the token, then back at Mo Han, then back at the token again. Suddenly, the chicken leg slipped from his hand, rolling across the floor.
"W-What?! Accepted?! Inside the Eternal Night Mansion?!" Fatty's voice cracked as though he'd swallowed hot coals. "Brother Han, don't joke like that. That sect eats men alive—how can they accept you so easily?!"
Mo Han only smiled faintly. "One of the 13 elders, the Elder Mei herself approved it. I'm now her disciple."
