"Because of the execution warrant?" Marshall questioned. "I'll be careful."
Wyn shook his head in disapproval. "It is not about being careful or not. The risk is too high. In case you are discovered, the situation can turn against you very fast. Between you and Rime Herald, who do you think the officials consider a greater enemy?"
Lai Rylan crossed his arms, his brows tightening. "Chioni Wyn's right. Your life is at stake. One wrong move and they won't hesitate to take you out."
"But if it succeeds, we'll have removed Rime Herald from Lord Chioni's side," Marshall pointed out with a clap. "We can prepare for the worst case, then it will be fine!"
He turned to the two disciples, "If anything goes wrong inside the tower, can I count on you to draw everyone's attention away from me and Wyn?"
Sun Hayden nodded vigorously. "Definitely!"
Lai Rylan gave a nod as well, though rather skeptical.
"Ah, I forgot," Marshall rubbed the back of his neck, wondering, "are the doors to the Chastity Tower still sealed?"
"Yes," Lai Rylan said.
Marshall chewed over it, looking at Wyn, "I'll need you to open the door for me, and wait outside when I'm done."
"I am coming with," the snow deity stated, his tone leaving no space for bargaining.
"Why? It's a bigger risk if both of us are inside," Marshall questioned, but seeing the stern look on Wyn's face, he relented. "Alright, we'll go in and leave together."
Either way, the snow deity knew the layout of the tower, so in case anything went wrong, they could run out in the most efficient way.
Marshall scanned his and Wyn's clothes, adding, "We're going to need some unsuspicious cloaks so we can blend in with the officials."
An urgent thought crossed his mind as he glanced at his friends. "And one last thing—if anything goes wrong, pretend you're against me. Under no circumstances should you take my side."
"Huh? Why?" Sun Hayden questioned, grimacing in aversion. "You want us to betray you?"
"It's not betrayal. If we're all caught, there would be nothing we can do to help," Lai Rylan responded, firm and clear.
Sun Hayden heavily sighed, lethargically nodding. "Fine... But I don't like the thought of that."
"You don't have to like it," Marshall leaned sideways, nudging him. "As long as it keeps you out of trouble, eh?"
"Ugh, let's stop talking about this! Even the hypothetical scenario unsettles me," Sun Hayden waved the imagined scene away. "Are we done?"
The disciple pondered a while longer. "I think so. If I think of anything else, I'll tell you when you bring the cloaks."
"What about Calla Akeya? Are you leaving her out?" Lai Rylan inquired.
Marshall gave a nod. "I don't want to involve her more than she already is." He stole a glance at Wyn. The snow deity was in a position that put him against the Chastity Tower. He didn't want to jeopardize anyone else's safety any more than he had to.
Lai Rylan seemed to agree, but didn't say anything. It looked like the plan still didn't sit quite right with him.
"Can we finally catch up?" Sun Hayden pulled the two friends close, yellow robes stirring. "Marsh, you have no idea how many times we tried to break into the cavern!" Lai Rylan was yanked off the bench, hitting the ground with a thump.
Marshall chuckled at his shocked expression, then paused, registering Sun Hayden's words. "You tried to break me out?"
"Did you not hear us banging outside?" Lai Rylan looked at him with a baffled expression.
"Huh?" Marshall stared at his friends, then at Wyn, who was exiting the castle to give them some privacy. "No, I didn't. What were you doing?"
Sun Hayden took a deep breath, then poured everything out in one go, "Chioni Wyn showed up while we were hunting and explained the situation to us. So all of us went to the cave to try to get through the rocks.
We tried everything—combining our spiritual energies, using pickaxes, trying some strange explosive potions—but nothing could break through spiritual terra. Chioni Wyn was practically living there, experimenting with different methods to break the wall.
Then he told us there was an opening over a mountain, so I tried climbing to it, but a wall came out of nowhere! Can you imagine? It threw me off the mountain!
Even when the owl came carrying a note, the wall stopped it. Even the bird! Just because of a note! I couldn't believe it. How could the wall know?" Sun Hayden finished with an angry huff.
As Marshall listened, his face morphed into a guilty grimace. He had snapped at Wyn, thinking the snow deity hadn't bothered to send any notes, yet it turned out it was the opposite. His brain shriveled up from shame. He had to do better from there on.
"Hey, was it very lonely?" Sun Hayden got in his face with a whine, tousling his hair. "I can't imagine being trapped in a cavern for two months. No cinnamon buns, no snacks... Augh!"
"Yeah, no buns, so horrible," Marshall lightly swatted his friend's hands away with a laugh.
The two fell silent at Marshall's sarcasm, their hearts heavy. Two months—no, it was more than two months in there. Trapped.
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Marshall hummed, looking for a better joke. "Did that count as living under a rock? Ha, haha."
Lai Rylan and Sun Hayden exchanged a glance, then the blond disciple burst out laughing, "I guess you could say you hit the rock bottom that time!"
Disagreeing, Lai Rylan shook his head. "Those jokes are not working, guys."
"Eh, they're not that bad," Marshall smirked.
"Very rocky, but good!" Sun Hayden added, poking Lai Rylan on the side.
Lai Rylan's body stiffened, a frown forming on his face as he sensed the approaching trouble. "No." He slapped away the irritating hand.
Marshall scooted closer, poking his other side, "Let's see your jokes then!"
Lai Rylan grumbled with annoyance, attempting to evade both of his friends' hands. "Stop it! I didn't agree to this," he insisted, all the while fighting a smile.
"Not made of stone, are we?" Marshall teased, grinning as he and Sun Hayden tickled him.
Lai Rylan squirmed, a snicker escaping his lips. "You'll regret this!"
Sun Hayden cackled, relishing in the game. "And what are you gonna do, pebble?"
Lai Rylan narrowed his eyes, his lips quivering from suppressing a smile. "I'll come up with something."
Marshall snorted, "Oh, how intimidating," he dragged.
Chuckles echoed through the castle, the three using up the remaining meeting time on buffoonery.