Lin Estate, Coldwind City.
In a dimly lit chamber within the heart of the estate, shadows clung to the high walls like watching spirits.
Around a polished obsidian table, a group of elders had gathered, faces tense, voices rising in sharp, overlapping waves.
"You tampered with the main branch's mission, Lin Xi!" one elder barked, his fist slamming onto the table with a crack that echoed like a warning bell. "What were you thinking? Interfering with a sanctioned escort?"
"You've endangered everything we've built," another snapped, his voice tight with fury. "The main clan will not let this stand. This… this isn't just bold, it's suicidal!"
"Our name will be ashes," a third hissed, face pale beneath her painted forehead. "You've doomed the entire family!"
Matriarch Lin Xi sat at the head of the table, her posture regal and unmoving, hands folded with surgical precision.
