"All the more reason to get the imperial cultivators involved," Shen Luguang mutters between his teeth, but then he subsides with a cheerful smile when both men look at him again. "But don't worry, if our dear benefactor believes our best fate is found in Qishan then I shan't protest." For now, or out loud for that matter. Qishan was a wealthy province, and his parents were well-connected silk merchants. Surely there would be someone in that great city willing to carry a letter or two on credit, or even smuggle him out of the province altogether. Time alone would tell; he would simply have to keep his eyes open.

"Come on then, da-shixiong," he tells Liu Feiyu, taking a few further steps down the path and beckoning the other two to hurry. "Tell us how we should proceed."