Here for the Investiture of the Gods?
When he heard Qi Zhengyan's question, Zhao Heng's mind buzzed. Looking at Meng Qi before him, he felt that he was both achingly familiar and utterly strange.
When he had turned his back on Gao Lan and embarked on this path, he had understood that his relationship with Meng Qi could never return to what it had been. Their differing positions and pursuits would only drive them farther and farther apart.
But the conflict was mainly between him and Gao Lan. Though he and Meng Qi stood in different camps, they had never clashed directly. A rotten ship still had three pounds of nails, after all. And what of the bond forged by fighting side by side, staring death in the face together? Surely, no matter what, a little of it would remain!
Yet at this very moment, Little Meng had taken Gao Lan's side completely, putting pressure on him and Qi Zhengyan of his own accord. Were they to go from friends to enemies?
Faced with Qi Zhengyan's question, Meng Qi's heart churned with countless emotions. Memories flooded back, each one calling out, "Do you still remember?" From their first meeting to familiarity, from familiarity to friendship, from friendship to intimacy, from intimacy to risking their lives for each other—all the scenes and conversations came surging back. The names they had called one another—Senior Brother Qi, Cousin, Zhao Laowu—echoed at the tip of his tongue. Then everything froze on Qi Zhengyan's words: "Our paths are different; we cannot work together."
Back then, he had thought those words were only for the moment. Who could have known they would slowly become reality...
After a brief pause, Meng Qi set aside his feelings, examined every thought, and calmly said:
"This is a matter that