Early the next morning.
Lu Feng had dressed and prepared to leave well before the time Jiang Ruoyun had set in her letter.
When a beauty extended an invitation, naturally one could not keep her waiting.
He stepped out of the inn.
The breath of dawn rushed over him, carrying a touch of cold desolation.
The sky outside was gray and hazy, as though veiled by a layer of gauze. A faint mist drifted through the streets, leaving everything looking indistinct.
Lu Feng walked along the old stone-paved road, following the directions in Jiang Ruoyun's letter toward the ancient temple where they were to meet. The anticipation in his heart remained wholly untouched by the bleak, chilly surroundings.
The houses lining both sides of the street still had their doors and windows tightly shut. Only a scattered few breakfast stalls gave off clouds of steaming heat, driving away a patch of the morning chill.
Sparse pedestrians moved back and forth through the mist, their forms blurred and indistinct. Their footsteps echoed through the silent streets, carrying an ethereal quality.
Every now and then, one or two carriages rumbled past. The wheels crushing over the stone road shattered the silence, only for the sound to gradually vanish into the gray distance.
Several Willow Trees stood along the riverside street, their long slender branches drooping low. Droplets of water clung to the branches and swayed gently in the cold breeze, as though performing a silent dance.
Lu Feng normally paid little attention to such trivial scenery around him, yet today, for some reason, he noticed every detail. Perhaps the joy of knowing he was about to see Jiang Ruoyun was at work, making everything in the world seem so beautiful.
The place named in the letter was an ancient temple in the