"I am planning not to starve while exploring a cave. It is a sensible precaution."
"Naturally."
"And if the cave is dusty, I will complain."
"I would expect nothing less."
Yan Cijin took Bai Li's hand. Together they stepped from the bedchamber and crossed the quiet courtyard toward the outer gate. An attendant waiting in the hall bowed and asked whether the Matriarchs needed anything before departing. Bai Li told her that they would be visiting the restricted summit and asked her to inform Lu Wenshu that the investigation had begun. Yan Cijin added that the elders should continue searching the archives and that no one was to enter the sanctuary alone until the cause of the bell's activity was better understood.
The attendant listened carefully, then bowed again. "I will tell First Elder Lu at once."
