Page 193 of Cruel Devotion

“Mountain Master, why did you shut down the palace today?!”

“Was it for this woman?”

Where there weren't news cameras and reporters, there were tons and tons of onlookers crowding every inch of space.

“Mountain Master, do you have any answers to the Grand Mountain Master's sudden disappearance from the East?!”

It was flashing lights, constant loud yelling, and invasive gazes.

“Mountain Master, when will you open up the East to Paradise City?!”

And the air was thick with the sound of rapid-fire questions and the incessant clicking of cameras, providing relentless rhythm to the madness and punctuating the air with its mechanical chatter.

“Mountain Master, can we get the identity of this woman that is with you?”

Then, all the cameras pointed directly to me, and more flashing came. My skin prickled with the sensation of being watched, analyzed, judged.

“Is she with the Killer Crows?!”

I was horrified, feeling like prey trapped in the gaze of a hundred predators.

My knees almost buckled.

“Is she from the West?”

My whole body quivered as if I was caught in a violent earthquake.

“Is she a visitor or will she now be serving in an official position?”

My hands shook uncontrollably.

Oh my God. Oh my God.

Yet, I maintained a straight face, hiding my turmoil under a veneer of calm.

Lei squeezed my hand, reminding me that I wasn't alone.

“Who is she?!”

And then the crowd began to divide letting two large men in blue suits go by.

Guards accompanied them.

Lei leaned my way and kept his voice low. “The tall, skinny one is Fengge. The bulky, short one is Bolin.”

A woman snapped a camera near me.

I blinked. “Okay.”

“But areyoureally okay?”

“It doesn't matter. Let's just get through this.”

Fengge arrived first, towering over even Lei who was already freaking tall.

“Welcome back, Mountain Master.” Fengge bowed in front of Lei.

“Don't get too excited, Fengge.” Lei smirked. “I'm still on vacation and you're in charge.”

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