Yao Li sat in meditation for a while and tried to recall what had happened before, but no matter how she tried, she could not remember.
Then she felt something soft brush against her feet. Reaching down, she scooped up the kitten-like ball of fur. She rubbed it twice, and it gave a soft meow. "You're still here," she said quietly.
She tried to look into the cat's memories, but to her surprise, those too seemed to have been skipped over, with nothing left behind at all.
Just then, the bell outside the door rang. Xie Lan pushed the door open and entered, saying happily, "Xiao Li, you really are back. I saw your shoes outside the door."
Yao Li looked at her. "Xiao Lan, do you remember how we came back that day...?"
Xie Lan asked, "Which day?"
Yao Li said, "The day we went to Anzhou for fun."
Xie Lan walked to the dressing mirror and removed her earrings, muttering, "That day..." She thought for a moment, then said, "Didn't we take a fast carriage back that day? You don't remember?"
Yao Li looked at her. "When did you start wearing earrings?"
"Oh, you." Xie Lan turned around and gave her an exasperated look. Walking up to her, she forcefully poked her forehead. "I think you've become too absorbed in cultivation lately. They say cultivators lose track of the years when cultivating, but surely you haven't cultivated yourself into forgetting everything? When the next day off comes, I'll have to take you around again."
Yao Li said, "Xiao Lan, do you remember the swordmaster at the sword fighting hall that day?"
Xie Lan thought about it, then replied casually, "Who would remember that?"
Yao Li spoke with her for a few more moments. She had originally wanted to