Things had changed; reunion with Tie Ling'er

At those words, Fourth Prince Zhao Yan's brows furrowed slightly.

Thirty-five years had passed. He had assumed Su Yueli had long since died in the bellies of demonic beasts within the Azure Cloud Ruins, or perhaps had resigned herself to guarding herself in seclusion there for the rest of her life.

Who could have imagined that not only had this woman emerged alive, but the moment she reappeared, she had overturned the entire Pang Family.

A few years ago, with the resources bestowed by the imperial family, Pang Jinbiao had finally broken through his shackles and entered the Ninth Realm of Martial Dao, becoming one of the foremost mortal experts in the Imperial City.

Yet this time, he had taken three Seventh Realm elders to surround and kill her, only for every last one of them to be wiped out?

Those were Ninth Realm martial artists, beings who could practically walk sideways through the mortal world. There was no reason they should have been slaughtered to the last by a girl with no background whatsoever.

"Could it be... that imperial ruin the Great Li Iron Cavalry failed to strip clean a thousand years ago truly concealed some earth-shattering opportunity?" Zhao Yan murmured softly, a flash of heat passing through his eyes.

He raised his head and stared at the guard. "Are you certain you did not see wrongly? The one who acted was truly Su Yueli?"

The guard knelt on the ground, cold sweat streaming down his body. He kowtowed and said, "Your Highness, this subordinate would never dare mistake her! That woman's face was exactly the same as when she won first place in the Martial Dao Tournament thirty-five years ago!"

"Exactly the same?" Zhao Yan's pupils contracted. "You mean her appearance has not changed in the slightest? Not even the faintest trace of age?"

"Yes. This subordinate saw clearly. She still looked like a young girl of around twenty."

This time, Zhao Yan could no longer sit still. With his hands behind his back, he paced back and forth through the secret chamber, the doubts in his heart growing ever heavier.

Su Yueli was undeniably a mortal martial artist. She possessed not the slightest trace of immortal roots, nor did she have the spiritual power fluctuations of a cultivator.

A mortal had passed through thirty-five years for no reason at all, yet could remain a beauty untouched by age?

This simply defied the laws of mortal Martial Dao—or rather, the laws of heaven and earth themselves.

However, Zhao Yan soon forcibly suppressed the urge to bring Su Yueli in.

At present, the Great Li Dynasty's struggle for the throne had reached its most critical point. The princes were openly and secretly battling one another, and even the games between the immortal sects behind them had been drawn in.

Compared with the great undertaking of ruling the realm, the secret of a mortal Martial God was tempting, but not tempting enough for him to personally divert his attention to deal with it now.

"Pass down the order. Have the shadow guards watch her movements. Be sure not to alert the snake in the grass. Without this prince's command, no one is to make a move against her on their own." Zhao Yan's voice was grave.

"This subordinate obeys." The guard bowed, then turned into a black shadow and withdrew from the secret chamber.

Zhao Yan remained where he stood, gazing at the empty secret chamber as a meaningful curve rose at the corner of his lips. "A mortal Martial God who has not aged in thirty-five years... Interesting. Truly very interesting."

"..."

At the same time, Su Yueli was following the route in her memories as she hurried back to Azure Province City at full speed.

Along the way, seas had turned into mulberry fields, and things remained while people had changed.

Thirty-five years had brought earth-shaking changes to the official roads and wilderness she had once traveled through.

Many of the barren mountains from back then were now covered in tightly packed villages and towns. Several familiar post stations and tea stalls had long since vanished, replaced by broader roads and prosperous inns for traveling merchants.

In many places, she could barely recognize them anymore.

As she passed through a bustling market, Su Yueli watched the peddlers crying out their wares with shoulder poles, the children playing noisily along the street, and the wisps of cooking smoke rising from both sides of the road. She could not help slowing her steps.

That long-lost scent of mortal life finally brought a trace of warmth to the heart that had been frozen for thirty-five years within that deathly silent mausoleum.

"After being stifled in that sunless hellhole for so many years, the feeling of walking under the sun on a street is truly not bad..."

Su Yueli tugged at the corner of her lips and laughed at herself.

Two days later, Su Yueli returned to Azure Province City.

Standing before the familiar yet unfamiliar city gates, she followed the memories buried deep in her mind and headed straight toward where the Iron Clan Martial Hall had once stood.

After turning down two streets, Su Yueli spotted the courtyard from her memories in the distance.

But when she approached it, her steps came to a halt.

The imposing black-lacquered plaque that had once read Ironbone Martial Hall above the main gate had long since disappeared. In its place hung a brand-new sign draped in bright red silk, bearing the words Iron's Distillery.

The sounds of shouting martial artists were no longer coming from within. Instead, there was the smell of fermented grain.

The former Martial Dao sect had now become a bustling brewing workshop.

Su Yueli stood outside the gate, her heart sinking slightly as an ominous premonition rose within her.

Thirty-five years ago, Tie Tu had already been past sixty. By now, he should have been at least a hundred years old.

If mortal martial artists could not break through to a higher realm, their qi and blood would decline. At such an age, they would already be in the twilight of their years.

Could it be that old master Tie Tu had already...

And Tie Ling'er had lacked talent for martial arts since childhood and had never liked fighting and killing.

Could it be that after the old master passed away, she could no longer support the martial hall alone, so she had changed professions and entered the liquor business to make a living?

Still, when Su Yueli had left back then, Tie Ling'er had already managed the liquor business quite impressively.

With that thought, Su Yueli hesitated no longer. She took a deep breath and stepped through the distillery gates.

Inside the distillery, several young workers stirring fermented grain heard her footsteps and instinctively turned to look.

At that glance, they froze where they stood.

A young woman in a plain blue dress had entered through the gate. She appeared only a little over twenty, her fair, delicate skin untouched by even a speck of dust from the road.

Yet her black eyes were deep and cold, and her entire body exuded a chill, noble air that made people afraid to meet her gaze.

Within this crude workshop reeking of sweat and fermented grain, she was like an immortal maiden who had mistakenly wandered into the mortal world, utterly out of place with everything around her.

For a moment, the brewers stared dumbly. Even when their wooden paddles fell to the ground, they failed to notice.

Su Yueli walked straight to the counter, looked at the accountant calculating the books, and asked, "May I ask whether Tie Tu and Tie Ling'er are here?"

The accountant behind the counter shuddered. Only then did he awaken as if from a dream, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead before answering with a slight stammer.

"This... this young lady, you have come at an unfortunate time. Old Master Tie Tu lived to ninety-eight, which was considered a long life, but regrettably, he passed away peacefully from no illness four years ago and was laid to rest."

"Now this distillery is under Manager Ling'er's care. She should be busy in the inner courtyard at the moment."

Upon hearing that Tie Tu had passed away, Su Yueli had been prepared for it, yet a faint bitterness still welled up in her heart.

Mortal lives were short. Even though she was now a Tenth Realm Martial God, she ultimately could not preserve the lifespan of old friends.

"Thank you."

Su Yueli nodded despondently and headed toward the distillery's inner courtyard.

The moment she stepped into the inner courtyard, the workshop's clamor immediately faded considerably.

Sunlight spilled over the clean bluestone ground. Several enormous steaming vats stood in the middle of the courtyard, billowing white vapor.

Amid those massive wine jars, a slightly stooped figure stood with her back to the gate, laboriously carrying a heavy bucket of fermented grain, preparing to pour it into an empty jar.

Seeing that back, Su Yueli's eyes grew slightly hot.

Thirty-five years ago, the bright young girl with twin ponytails, who had always trailed behind her chattering and calling her Sister Yueli, was nowhere to be seen now.

The woman before her had more than half her hair turned gray. Her once-straight body had become slightly hunched from years upon years of labor.

Thirty-five years of wind and frost had carved dense wrinkles across her face.

Time's merciless carving knife had thoroughly sculpted the shell of a mortal.

Perhaps sensing footsteps behind her, the busy woman stopped what she was doing.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her apron, rubbed her aching lower back wearily, and turned around.

The instant her gaze fell upon the girl in blue, she froze.

The woman standing beneath the sunlight still possessed the breathtaking face of a twenty-year-old. Even her gaze was identical to the one she had worn when they parted all those years ago.

It was as though time had completely stopped upon her.

Clang—!

The old woman's hands trembled, and the small porcelain jar full of fresh wine that she had been holding smashed to the ground. The fragrance of wine and shards of porcelain scattered across the courtyard.

The old woman stared at the young woman before her, tears instantly blurring her eyes as she murmured,

"Sister Yueli... Is that you?"