Northern Liang, beside North Mountain.
The night before, the carriage carrying Yang Qing and the others had reached the foot of North Mountain.
With darkness closing in on all sides, Yang Qing could see only a faint outline of the towering mountain he remembered. Before long, even that outline vanished from sight.
Only the thick, ink-dark night remained, impossible to dissolve.
Just like the thread of sorrow lodged in Yang Qing's heart.
Earlier, when he had heard that Dai Sheng was very likely hiding on North Mountain, a flicker of joy had stirred within him.
Now, however, he would rather it had all been nothing but a rumor carried on the wind.
For reasons he could not explain, Yang Qing felt a little more fear creeping into his heart.
Across the boundless ends of the earth, he had longed to see an old friend.
But would that old friend truly still be as he had been all those years ago?
Yang Qing pressed his lips tightly together and gazed into the darkness before him.
Seeing Yang Qing stand motionless after stepping out of the carriage, staring blankly at North Mountain, Bu Er knew something was troubling him. He immediately said, "Young master, why don't we simply leave?"
Since this was an old friend, meeting him or not would hardly matter.
He simply did not want Yang Qing to suffer any further unhappiness.
To his surprise, Yang Qing shook his head. "We must go up North Mountain, of course."
Dai Sheng's departure all those years ago had been strange. Yang Qing always felt as though he had overlooked something terribly important. If he could see Dai Sheng this time, perhaps he could find an answer or two.
"Are there guards on North Mountain?" Yang Qing asked.
Given North Mountain's unusual location,