"Greetings, Master of Rise and Fall."
When Chen Cuo approached, the old man, the woman, and the scholar all composed themselves and bowed to him.
After leaving the Qiu Ruins, they had lost their bodies, but their Dao Marks had also broken free of their bonds and returned to the River of Time. Through them, they sensed things beyond ordinary perception.
Standing before Chen Cuo, they naturally glimpsed a little of the truth.
Chen Cuo was not surprised. He came up to the three of them and spoke frankly. "Desperate times called for desperate measures. At such a perilous moment, I truly couldn't attend to Xu. All three of you founded paths of your own. For you to vanish without a sound would have been a terrible regret, so I took it upon myself to invite you here..."
He paused, then smiled. "Whatever your reasons for holding the Qiu Ruins, you kept many calamities at bay. Your stories shouldn't have ended like that."
"You're too kind, Daoist Friend," the scholar said evenly. "If we had wanted to refuse, then no matter how ingenious your methods, we could have kept ourselves from entering this place. In the end, however we portray ourselves, we still fear the loss of both nature and life. We are no exception."
"That's true." The old man nodded and let out a long breath, clearing the gloom from his heart. "Resting and recovering here is better than having both body and spirit destroyed." He glanced at Chen Cuo. "Besides, compared with you, our meager Dao Attainment and methods are hardly worth scheming to obtain."
"Not so." Chen Cuo shook his head. "There really are a few things I'd like to ask you."
The woman immediately perked up. "What things? Let's hear them."
The old man's eyes brightened