"What a coincidence."
Jiang Ye stood on the steps, gazing down at the two familiar figures below. A deeply complicated emotion flickered through his aged eyes.
There was relief, sentiment, and a trace of... guilt he could hardly put into words.
Liu Qingshi seemed to sense something and looked up. His body gave a slight shudder, and a faint, inscrutable look flashed across his eyes.
On the steps above stood an elderly man in Azure Sky Sect robes, with graying hair and a tall, lean build.
Somehow, the man struck him as strangely familiar.
"Old Jiang... no..."
The hunched figure who was always sitting by the door flashed through his mind. Liu Qingshi gave a slight shake of his head, dismissing the fanciful thought.
The man before him was an Azure Sky Sect steward, his aura steady and his bearing extraordinary. He was nothing like the feeble, elderly Jiang Ye.
His appearance, build, and bearing bore not the slightest resemblance.
"Could it be that I miss Old Jiang so much I'm starting to see things...?"
He shook his head with an amused smile, thought no more of it, and continued climbing.
Following her father's gaze, Liu Yiyi looked up as well. When she saw the old man on the steps, the young woman's body gave a slight shudder.
She hadn't thought of Jiang Ye. Instead, she remembered the old man who had "fought" her and Su Yan that night.
The old man before her was tall and lean, much like him.
But their faces were still different. The one before her looked gentler, unlike that other man, who had a fierce, threatening look about him and seemed full of strength and aggression.
"What am I thinking...?"
A faint shimmer of moisture appeared in the young woman's cool eyes, and a