"They... just went in so openly?"
The courtyard was dark, surrounded by parasol trees, with snowflakes falling alongside the yellow leaves, and a few warm yellow lights from the hall adorned the rippling pond under the cold wind.
An embroidered phoenix screen divided the entrance hall where there were no doors, shrouding it in darkness, with only a few flickers of firelight casting the seductive silhouette of a woman holding scrolls. A lazy and enchanting female voice, like a serpent, slithered out to the man half-kneeling in the courtyard:
"With his cultivation level, spotting you shouldn't be difficult, so, he did this deliberately for my benefit?"
The man's face was hidden by his robe; dressed in black, all one could see were his eyes as he knelt upon the snowy ground, head bowed:
"... Your subordinate would not dare to speculate."
The woman's voice from behind the screen was light, tinged with laughter, yet cold:
"I didn't ask you..."
