Lin Mu and the others watched as the hosts stood on tall stands.
"Everyone may we have your attention!" they called out. "As the banquet comes to a drawn, letters of appreciation will now be given to those that have been 'favored'."
~FLUTTER~
Lin Mu watched as the letters automatically flew out of the hands of the hosts. They flew around the palace and went to a different person.
"This is the part everyone has been waiting for." Lu Xu said.
~WHOOSH~
A letter flew towards them, making the eyes of everyone light up. But just as it was about to reach their table, the letter changed direction and went to another table that was near them. It fell into the lap of a cultivator that was sitting there.
He carefully picked it up and opened the letter, before reading its contents.
"Hahah! I've been picked by the Fourth Elder Secretary!" The man rejoiced.
To Lin Mu though, it was confusing.
"Fourth Elder Secretary? Is that a high position?" Lin Mu couldn't help but ask.
"Fourth Elder secretary is one of the ten secretaries that works for the emperor directly. He has access to a lot of information and holds sway in the court, of course it's a high position." Lu Xu explained in short.
They continued to watch as more and more letters flew around. Majority of the people had already gotten their letters after a couple of minutes.
"Some seem to have more than one letter." Lin Mu noticed.
"Ah, those are the ones that are truly favored. The nobles are willing to bet good on them. Thus it isn't unusual for them to receive multiple offers." Lu Xu answered.
Just as the two were talking though, a letter landed on their table.
"AH!" Ming Dandan let out a shriek watching her name on it.
"Junior sister, you finally got it!" Ming Aolian said with a smile.
~WHOOSH~
And just a moment after that, two more letters arrived. One fell in front of Ming Aolian while the second landed in front of Lu Xu.
"Looks like we are in good luck." Lu Xu said with a smile.
~WHOOSH~WHOOSH~WHOOSH~
More letters arrived and Luo Liqin and Qian Wen also get their letters. Now except Lin Mu, everyone else had gotten a letter each.
"Don't worry brother Mu Lin, you'll get a letter too." Lu Xu assured.
Lin Mu didn't really care about it though. Even if he did get it, he was going to reject them anyway.
Two more minutes passed by, as no letters arrived at their table. By now things had started to calm down and most of the people in the palace had already obtained their letters.
Ming Aolian and Ming Dandan had slightly anxious expression too, as they watched Lin Mu getting no letters. While Lin Mu was sitting calmly, to them it felt like he was actually upset.
"Brother Mu Lin—" but just as they were about to speak something, a man came to stand behind Lin Mu.
"Daoist Mu Lin." A voice spoke.
Lin Mu turned to find Dai he standing there.
"Official Dai He," Lin Mu greeted lightly.
"I apologize if you had to wait, but I had to keep you for the last." Dai He spoke.
"Huh?" Lin Mu looked on in doubt while the others were surprised.
"Is there an issue?" Lu Xu couldn't help but ask and a look of concern appeared on the faces of others.
"You could say that." Dai He replied. "We had to withdraw Daoist Mu Lin's letters." He stated.
"What?!" Ming Aolian was shocked.
"Is it due to the issue with Li Lao?" Ming Dandan asked with indignation.
Lin Mu wouldn't care about getting a letter, but he was certainly curious as to the change in their decision.
"May I know why?" He questioned.
"Someone has 'reserved' you." Dai He answered, not resolving Lin Mu's doubt.
"Reserved? What do you mean…" Lin Mu stopped mid way as he saw the astounded expressions of the others.
"Who can even reserve Daoist Mu Lin? That too over the other nobles?" Qian Wen said in shock.
"No one in the High Wind Alliance would do something like that." Luo Liqin said in confusion.
"Umm… it is not suitable to talk here. Why don't you come with me to the private hall?" Dai He asked. "Your friends came come along too, Daoist Mu Lin." He added.
"Okay…" Lin Mu decided to see what was happening.
The group got up from the table and followed Dai He to through the palace corridors. While most of the palace had open walls that gave a view of the lake, it didn't mean that it had no private rooms. In fact, it had several, but they were special rooms.
They weren't kept private by the use of physical walls, but rather the use of illusionary arrays!
That way, Little Glory Palace would still look open, but some people could still have privacy.
Lin Mu followed Dai He and soon arrived at the edge of the Palace. There was a railing in front of them beyond which there was just lake water.
"Where are we—" Lu Xu held he words as he saw the railing in front of them disappear.
Instead, a floating door appeared that soon opened up.
"Please, come in." Dai He gestured to them.
Lin Mu was the first to walk in before the others joined in. Dai He was the last and closed the door behind him, which soon faded into thin air.
The group found themselves into what looked like a floating pavilion. Just the lake could be seen outside it, but at the center of it sat a few people. More precisely, a regal looking man, a beautiful woman, a monk and a Daoist.
"Seems like fate brings us together again, Daoist Mu Lin." The regal looking man spoke.
"Indeed… Pleased to meet you again… Crown Prince Feng Shun." Lin Mu greeted, stunning the others that had come with him.
