Facing the white-haired Du Yu'er before him, Fang Shu nodded, wanting to speak yet hesitating.
It was Du Yu'er who extended a hand in invitation and said,
"Why stand there talking? Come into the hall and have some tea."
With that, Du Yu'er stepped forward and led the way deeper into Solitary Gu Hall.
Following behind her, Fang Shu found that the hall's furnishings and layout were exactly as they had been before he left Li Mountain.
When they reached the reception hall, he saw that even the tables and chairs within, dark and rich in color, were the very same ones from years ago.
After the two sat down, they exchanged a few pleasantries.
In the end, Fang Shu could not help asking, "Senior Sister had long since become a Refining Qi cultivator. Why did you come down the mountain and teach children in the hall now?" Du Yu'er seemed to smile without smiling when she heard this.
She took a sip of tea and said directly, "We are not strangers. Why be so polite?
"I think what Junior Brother Fang truly wants to ask is why I have become like this now."
Fang Shu pondered for a moment, then nodded.
Du Yu'er studied Fang Shu's face, her expression filled with emotion as she murmured,
"You, on the other hand, are no different from back then—still so young."
With a sigh, Du Yu'er briefly explained what had happened to her.
The reason she was now so aged and white-haired was not because of her years.
After all, she was only a few years older than Fang Shu and had not yet reached a hundred. And
after attaining Refining Qi, cultivators had a lifespan of three jiazi—one hundred and eighty years. If they practiced longevity-enhancing techniques or possessed the appropriate