Chapter 297: Order
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“Finally! You sure took your time getting here!”
Bei Hong’s loud voice greets Liu Jin upon entering the room reserved for the delegation of the Eternal Flame Clan within their Imperial Cloud City Branch. The floor is covered in thick red carpet, and there are multiple amenities for them to entertain themselves with. Bei Hong and Huang Shing are arm-wrestling in the center of the room. Huang Shing glances up and waves at him, but his attention is quickly forced back to the contest when Bei Hong starts getting an edge.
“You will have to forgive me,” Liu Jin says, embracing Lu Mei as she walks over to his side and kisses him on the cheek. “The past few weeks have been busy.”
“One dares not imagine what being busy means for someone like you,” Feng Zhi says. He is sharing a sofa with Yi Jiao. Both of them have playing cards in their hands.
“Jealousy suits you a little too well, cousin. You should do something about that,” Lu Mei teases him. “It is well-known that important men have too little time for their own good.”
Yi Jiao glares at her for that but knows better than to get into an argument with Lu Mei. Off to the side, Fan Bingbing is adjusting her instrument. She looks up at Liu Jin and gives him a slight, barely perceptible nod before returning to her task.
“You could have relied on us more,” Ten Zichun says. The disciple of the Armory almost looks like he is fighting the urge to bow. “We’d have gladly helped.”
“Can you even be called a member of the Eternal Flame Clan anymore?” wonders Gan Nanfeng, looking not at Liu Jin but at Ten Zichun. She is a disciple from the Apothecary who helped Liu Jin in the Dead Plains. That she has been chosen to represent the Eternal Flame Clan speaks well of her successes since they last met. “Your loyalty is clearly elsewhere.”