In the haze, amid utter darkness, his consciousness was muddled.
His head hurt.
As though he had crashed into something.
He couldn't remember where this was, nor had he remembered who he was or what had happened. He was only sleepy, exhausted, wanting to sleep forever and never wake up.
He seemed to hear voices, intermittent and disjointed.
They gradually became clearer.
"...Mm, this one can barely be considered my junior brother. Though his Talent and aptitude are less than one ten-thousandth of mine, he's passable enough. Just leave the swordsmithing to him. I'll have to rely on you to look after him in the future."
"No wonder!"
The other voice exclaimed in realization. "I was wondering—several centuries had passed, my Eternal Empire was already gone, so why was there still a Mohist dropping from the sky to assassinate the emperor?
"So after only a few centuries, the two schools had merged?
"How impressive!"
"Ah, it's actually rather complicated, but let's just say that's how it is... Still, you won't blame me?"
"Why would I? Knowing how to recognize and employ talent is an even rarer virtue. I haven't even had time to praise you yet."
"You think too highly of me again."
Ye Chun sighed. "I just like running away."
At that, the voice burst into laughter, slapping the armrest in delight. "If you wanted to run away, why did you return to stand before me?"
Ye Chun remained silent, offering no answer. After a long while, she sighed.
Ji Jue suddenly felt a hand grab his hair and yank him up. Panting heavily, someone slung him over their back.
Unfortunately, he was upside down, his head dangling below. It hurt a little.
And he bumped into something.
Twice!
Dragging and carrying the overly heavy burden as though hauling