Reclaiming Memories (5)

The morning mist had yet to disperse when a figure approached from the far end of the mountain path. Shen Yuxi wore a pale blue-green Daoist robe, its sleeves fluttering softly in the mountain breeze. The white jade token at his waist swayed faintly with his steps, reflecting a chill gleam in the hazy morning light.

Shen Liangxian strode forward and blocked the middle of the path, his voice steeped in mockery. "Well, if it isn't our esteemed personal disciple of the Sect Master?"

Shen Yuxi raised his eyes. A trace of faint surprise flickered through his clear gaze when it landed on Shen Liangxian, before he returned to his usual calm. He turned sideways, intending to go around him, but his path was blocked.

The three lackeys hurried forward and formed a triangular formation to bar the way, their faces stiff with the unease of guilty thieves.

"Well, well, you little bastard, you ran quite fast." Shen Liangxian stepped half a pace closer, lowering his voice with deliberate humiliation. "Five years apart, and you no longer recognize your master? What, have you forgotten those days when you knelt in the Shen Family and served me tea and water?"

"I don't know you." Shen Yuxi's voice was faint, as though he were speaking of something utterly insignificant. He turned and prepared to leave.

"You don't know me?" Shen Liangxian grabbed his sleeve, nearly tearing the fabric with the force of his grip. "Who was it that knelt in the ancestral hall like a dog back then, taking beatings and curses without daring to let out even a fart? Now that you've put on this skin, you really think you're someone important?"

A ripple finally stirred Shen Yuxi's eyes. Beneath his wide sleeves, his fingers silently clenched, his knuckles turning white.