The next day.
Dawn broke, and the first light of morning peeked over the horizon.
Dressed in a brand-new ink-colored robe, Jiang Yuechu asked where the old Daoist Wu Shisan was staying, then headed there alone.
As soon as she stepped through the gate, she caught the rich, fermented smell of wine lees.
The disheveled old Daoist was sprawled on a chair in the courtyard, one leg crossed over the other and swaying lazily.
Hearing footsteps, the old Daoist didn't open his eyes. He only grunted, "If you've come to thank me, there's no need."
Jiang Yuechu stopped three paces away and cupped her hands in greeting, her expression calm. "Senior, you've misunderstood. I didn't come here to see you."
"Oh?"
Wu Shisan's swinging leg stopped. At last, he deigned to open his old eyes and gave her a curious look.
If she wasn't looking for him... then what had she come for?
Could she be looking for his disciple?
"I'm looking for Wang Ziyu."
"..."
Wu Shisan's expression grew rather interesting.
He looked Jiang Yuechu up and down, doubts rising in his mind.
If she had questions about cultivation, why not ask him, her senior? Why go looking for that half-baked kid who'd only reached the second level of the Tower-Ascending Realm?
What kind of sense did that make?
Unless...
The old Daoist smacked his lips, his gaze turning strange.
His own disciple might look like a Young Disciple, but he was no longer a child.
Could those two have gone out together and struck up some kind of secret relationship?
"Ahem."
Wu Shisan cleared his throat, his expression a little peculiar. "Girl, I may not care for all those tedious formalities, but that boy is the direct heir of Xuanzhen Grotto-Heaven. Some things... ought to be a match