She glanced around the courtyard. It was nowhere near as grand or heavily arrayed as the Vermilion Flame Peak inner circles she now walked, but it possessed a quiet, clean serenity that she had not expected from a declining outer peak.
"I did not know you had joined an outer peak," she said, calmly handling the awkwardness of the encounter. "How are you?"
"Master was kind and took me as a disciple," Wang Tian replied politely. He picked up the box she had set down, checked the seal on the manifest, and looked at her. "Is the manifest complete, or does it need a signature?"
"It needs a signature." She handed him the paper without stepping closer. He signed it and handed it back, remaining where he stood.
Zhang Yuexin looked at him, trying to assess his situation. Their marriage was already annulled, finalized a couple of months ago. There was no bond left between them, only the lingering shadow of the past.
