The return journey took four days.
It had taken three days to get there, and one more to get back. The gash on Yu Che's shoulder had scabbed over, but walking too fast still tugged at it painfully; the shallow mark on Chen Chong's waist had yet to fade, either.
They took their time over the three hundred li of mountain trails.
On the evening of the fourth day, the Pine Roost Sect's mountain gate appeared in the mist.
Inside the stone gate, the Big-Eyed Beast crouched in the shadows. As the two approached, it raised its enormous head and turned its two huge, pitch-black eyes toward them, sweeping its gaze over both.
The guard checked their tokens and let them through.
Stone steps stretched upward, pine trees standing still on either side in the dusk. A hundred steps up, they rounded a huge boulder, and a familiar scent suddenly joined the wind.
The scent of bamboo leaves.
The Bamboo Sea.
The bamboo hut's door curtain was raised. Luo Yu sat on a meditation cushion, the Bamboo Sword laid across his knees. He seemed to have known all along that they would arrive today.
Chen Chong recounted what had happened in the ravine.
The Serpent Demon, the fruit, the people from the Flame Martial Sect, and He Shouyi from the Divine Sword Sect. He kept it brief, going through each event without adding or leaving anything out.
After listening, Luo Yu did not speak immediately.
"Nine people from the Flame Martial Sect died," he said.
"Yes."
"Any survivors?"
"No."
Luo Yu nodded. "Then it's as though none of this ever happened."
Chen Chong frowned. "Those two from the Divine Sword Sect..."
"Don't worry about them," Luo Yu said.
Chen Chong froze for a moment.
"That Profound Art of He Shouyi's