The noon glare pierced through the transparent defensive array, casting down brilliance that, together with the shadows of the pillars, split the long corridor and blurred their gazes. With barely two feet between them, neither could easily gauge the other's attitude and could only speak by instinct.
"You're still alive..."
"By sheer luck of the heavens. Since our parting in Chen Kingdom, how many years has it been?"
"Twenty? A bit more than that..."
With just these few short sentences, the two could hardly keep the conversation going. For Sun Jie, this felt somewhat ungraceful. She could not remember how many years it had been since she experienced a similar feeling. The companion who had once played the golden boy to her jade maiden, whose face in her memory was delicate and cute, had grown handsome, yet his looks also bore the weathered marks of the dusty world.
She had experienced a great deal after all, and she cracked a smile, just about to restart the topic when that temporary, casually picked-up pampered young master by her side had already lifted his chin, pressing close to her flank and reaching out to rest a hand on her shoulder:
"Ah, the young lady has encountered an old acquaintance? I am Fu Liang of Wujian Tower, and this is..."
He was contending in jealousy and proclaiming his ownership. The concealment was so slight as to be nonexistent, yet his attitude was clear enough to leave no room for misunderstanding.
Opposite them, Li Shan lowered his gaze. The excitement of finding an old acquaintance quickly receded, reverting to a slick smile: "This humble person is Li Shan, a mere traveling merchant from the Northern Wastes, heading south to do a bit of trade. Meeting the young master is truly a supreme fortune."
"So