Xie Mei exhaled through her nose and crossed her arms, already preparing the lecture she likely practiced on every overeager young hunter. "I told you earlier. No special ranks are given in this trial. Everyone leaves with a basic C. To obtain a proper rank, you need retesting at the Association."
"No way," Nianxi argued, stepping closer to him as if shielding her belief from her aunt's cynicism. "Fang-Ge is different! He was even purposely summoned by Master Feng..."
Two gazes turned to Lin Fang—one hopeful, one assessing like a scalpel ready to cut through excuses.
For a fleeting moment, he considered telling the truth.
A-rank.
Privately bestowed.
But then he thought, why bother...
He raised a hand in a modest, almost sheepish gesture.
"Your aunt is right," he said with a smile. "They only called me to report on the hostage situation. Nothing more."
Nianxi blinked, confused, but then nodded. "I see..."
Xie Mei's shoulders loosened by a hair's breadth.
