Chen Lingxi pushed open the door. Moonlight fell upon the old locust tree in the courtyard.
Liu Changle stood beneath the locust tree, his Daoist robe stirring gently in the night breeze.
He had grown somewhat taller than before, and his shoulders and back had broadened as well.
Those eyes remained deep, yet they held more calm than before and less savagery.
"I thought you were dead."
The moment Liu Changle saw Chen Lingxi, he grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
Chen Lingxi smiled as well.
The two were overjoyed to see each other.
Liu Changle spoke first. "Let's talk inside."
His voice was somewhat deeper than before, though it remained clear and bright.
The two entered the room and sat at the table. Chen Lingxi lit a lamp, and the candlelight cast their shadows upon the wall, where they swayed and wavered.
After several months apart, Liu Changle's aura had become far steadier.
He sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, his back straight and his breathing long and measured.
Chen Lingxi focused and examined him closely, only to find that he could no longer quite see through Liu Changle's cultivation.
His aura was restrained without spilling outward, like a deep pool—still and wave-less on the surface, while undercurrents churned below.
Chen Lingxi did not ask much. He merely brewed tea for him and poured him a cup.
Liu Changle raised the teacup and took a sip. Without waiting for Chen Lingxi to ask, he said, "Several months ago, I was saved by a Daoist priest and entered Mystic Wonder Abbey in Yuan River Prefecture as a disciple."
Mystic Wonder Abbey.
Those three words made Chen Lingxi's brows rise slightly.
When he had met Lin Suri through Sight-Roaming before, he had heard Lin Suri speaking with that cultivator surnamed