"Do you know everything?" Liu Ruyan looked at Xiao Yan, pondered for a moment, then asked.
"Yeah, Brother Mo told me everything..." Xiao Yan nodded in reply, but soon fell silent.
Their eyes met, yet neither spoke. For a time, the scene was quiet, with only the rustling of the breeze through the leaves echoing among the mountains.
Xiao Yan had much he wanted to say at that moment, but he had no idea how to begin...
"Could you sit with me for a while?" In the end, Liu Ruyan was the first to speak, breaking the silence.
"Alright..."
Xiao Yan answered and sat down beside Liu Ruyan.
The two simply sat there, neither of them speaking, and the atmosphere fell quiet once more.
In a daze, Xiao Yan recalled their first meeting. They had sat together in much the same silence then as well...
"I'm sorry. Perhaps I shouldn't have used that method to provoke you..." Liu Ruyan drew back her distant gaze and looked at Xiao Yan as she spoke.
"You don't need to apologize. If anything, I should be thanking you. If the three-year pact hadn't pushed me forward, perhaps I wouldn't have made it this far..." Xiao Yan shook his head with a smile.
Over those three years of trials, Xiao Yan had made it through many hardships by clinging to his obsession with the three-year pact.
During those three years, he had grown considerably as well. The hot-blooded youth he had once been now possessed a touch more steadiness.
The resentment he had held toward Liu Ruyan for breaking off the engagement had long since faded away. To Xiao Yan, the three-year pact was now more of a test of what he had achieved through three years of cultivation.
Once the three-year pact had ended,