Night fell, and the entire Asking Dao City was shrouded beneath a lead-gray curtain of darkness.
Within the city, Lights Like Dragons shone as brightly as day.
Faint waves of bustling clamor drifted out from within the city.
Beyond the wall, however, lay a cold desolation as dark as night itself.
Facing the Gray Robe Man, who had cupped his hands in greeting, Su Yi merely smiled. "Shouldn't Your Excellency first tell me where you come from?"
After a brief thought, the Gray Robe Man said, "My alias is She Dou. I come from the Southern Earth Divine Continent and am but a Rogue Cultivator. Those two in the distance are my friends. The one carrying the sword case is known by the Dao name Qing Chong, while that sickly Old Guy is nicknamed Old Poison Insect."
As he spoke, the Gray Robe Man calling himself She Dou raised his eyes to look at Su Yi. "Is fellow Daoist satisfied now?"
Su Yi said, "They are all aliases?"
An inscrutable gleam flickered in She Dou's eyes as he nodded. "Indeed."
Su Yi said, "I understand. Still, I have no wish to invite trouble, nor do I wish to bear any grudge against you all. The great Dao lies open beneath the heavens; let each walk his own path. There is no need to mention names."
With that, he led Black Dog back the way they had come.
She Dou, who stood in their path, frowned.
The sickly black-clad old man called Old Poison Insect and the hemp-robed youth called Qing Chong both instinctively turned their gazes toward She Dou.
After a brief silence, She Dou ultimately shook his head slightly.
Only after Su Yi and Black Dog had gone far away did She Dou smile and say, "Meeting is fate.