The black quicksand abruptly scattered, seeming to turn into a thin black veil that fell limply through the air.
Yu Xunge stood before the desk, meeting Youwo's icy gaze.
After an unknown stretch of time, Youwo suddenly smiled. She was still gentle, still beautiful, and like those of all Fragrant Branches, her smile seemed to carry a fragrance.
The lamplight on the wall fell across her face, revealing not the slightest shadow of gloom. She looked just as she had yesterday, sitting here and saying with a smile, "They're Fragrant Branches."
"That sounds... exactly like something I would do."
She gave an innocent smile, as though she had brought a magnificent vision to fruition, and said with a hint of complaint and vexation, "No wonder she never comes to see me."
There was no longer any confusion or uncertainty in her eyes, yet Yu Xunge could only feel that she had been waiting for this day all along.
Who exactly had tampered with this stretch of time-Qihua or Youwo? Or had they tacitly acted together to embellish this memory?
Yu Xunge was unsure of the answer, but she could be certain of one thing: Youwo no longer wanted to play dumb. Yet she did not want to expose everything with her own hands, either. So she had been waiting-for someone "meddlesome," someone who understood the Fragrant Branches, someone who knew Qihua, to push open that door to the past alongside her.
Was Youwo herself really incapable of deducing all this? Of course not.
She knew far more than Yu Xunge did. She understood herself, she understood Qihua, and she understood everything before the third Bell Toll.
Even if she had forgotten how her Deity Talent abilities had been fully activated, she could still see their names and effects. They were