"Actually, there was nothing wrong with days like these."
Beside the stream, Qingxu held a fishing rod in one hand and his Dry Pipe in the other, looking utterly at ease. Suddenly, his expression stirred. A smile of delight crossed his face, and he jerked the rod upward!
"Got you!"
With a splash, he hauled a fish from the water. A light flick of the rod sent it into the small basin beside him.
The basin's depths were strangely dark, as though they led to another world. The fish flopped a few times after landing inside, then dived out of sight.
Wind stirred the trees, dappling the ground with shadows. A few shafts of sunlight fell into the basin, faintly revealing a school of fish swimming within. The little basin seemed bottomless; no onlooker could have gauged its depth.
Not far away, the Jade Void Cult Leader sat cross-legged beneath a tree. At Qingxu's words, he shook his head. "That is only an illusion. Our peace is temporary. Soon, we will have no choice but to face that man." His voice sank as he spoke. Gloom entered his eyes, and worry showed on his face.
"I prepared myself for that long ago. You needn't say more." Qingxu cast his hook back into the water and smiled. "But days like these truly are rare. This stretch of history lies within a sealed section of the River of Time. From Emperor Gaoyang's era to the Ancestral Dragon's, no power from Beyond the Mundane can interfere. Neither a past you nor a past me exists on this timeline. How wonderful—not having to worry about being disturbed."
"And you aren't using such a rare opportunity to gain insight?" The Jade Void Cult Leader looked at him mockingly. "To be the only self in the