A memory of her secret kindness, a whispered encouragement when he was just the low-caste handyman. It was a faint, almost unbearable echo of a time he had forced himself to forget.
The two dark-robed figures dragged Lin Xier into a small, shadowed clearing not far from Jian's position. They shoved her roughly against a tree trunk. She cried out, a sharp, pained sound that cut through the night.
"Be quiet, little bird!" one of the attackers hissed, his voice rough and laced with menace. His Qi aura was crude, but powerful, reaching the Fourth Stage of Qi Refinement. His accomplice, slightly weaker but no less dangerous, pulled out a coil of glowing spiritual ropes.
"The Jade Serpent Sect sends its regards, Lin Xier!" the first attacker snarled, grabbing her chin, forcing her to look at
