My last syllable had barely faded when the sound of an excruciating cough echoed in the room behind me. My head snapped back instinctively, and when I realized what had happened, I cursed myself for saying such words so carelessly. Bai Ye wouldn't be able to tolerate me swearing on my life like this, of course, and his current condition was far from ideal for handling shock. I should have thought of it …
A frown formed on the Gatekeeper's face in the meantime. Fortunately, the cough stopped soon enough, and I somehow managed to pull myself back together quickly and explain, "Like I said earlier, my master has taken some injuries during his retreat. Our discussion … may have been too distracting for him at the moment."
