A long sword as clear as autumn water descended and hovered gently beside Gu Qingshan. Its hilt tapped his shoulder, as if comforting him.
"Young master, that was only a spell. I saw you hadn't given the signal, so I didn't think to make a move," Mountain Girl said.
"I know." Gu Qingshan didn't look up.
Mountain Girl hesitated, then added, "That spell was left behind many years ago. It's about to dissipate."
"I know," Gu Qingshan said in a low voice.
Luo Bingli's voice suddenly piped up. "Your parents might still be alive. That's something worth being happy about."
The Earth Sword buzzed in agreement. "That's right, Old Gu. If you're really that unhappy, I'll send a couple of girls to keep you company over drinks tonight."
The Tide Sound Sword obligingly buzzed in agreement.
But the Heaven Sword and the Six Realms God Mountain Sword gave the Earth Sword a couple of hard smacks, making it ring out with a sharp clang, clang, clang.
The Tide Sound Sword hurriedly retreated into the void.
Gu Qingshan shook his head, walked to the window, and stood beside his younger self, gazing out at the murky gray sky.
The four swords fell silent and quietly followed behind him.
Mountain Girl's voice softened, and she said gently, "Young master, cheer up. The spell is about to be completely undone. We'll soon return to the Holy Spirit World we were in before."
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Just like Luo Bingli said, I'm a little worried about them. I don't even know if they're still alive." Gu Qingshan sighed, then continued, "It'd be great if they were."
His gaze fell on his younger self nearby, and he murmured to himself:
"They went to the trouble of setting up Meteorite Returns for me. They probably