Yang Qing and the others descended the mountain. Rather than entering the city, they once again stayed outside its walls.
After night fell, Yang Qing sat cross-legged on the carriage, his eyes fixed on the patch of darkness ahead.
Seated behind him were Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou.
Both men were weighed down with worry, for Yang Qing had not spoken a single word since they came down the mountain.
He had merely sat in the carriage, lost in thought.
After a long while, Yang Qing moved.
He simply turned and rested his gaze on Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er.
"Do you believe in immortality?"
The question came out of nowhere, with neither preamble nor apparent reason.
Bu Er was naturally taken aback.
He had no idea why Yang Qing had suddenly chosen this moment to ask such a question.
"Immortality is nothing but the world's foolish wishful thinking. Young Master, you mustn't take it seriously."
Jiang Zhizhou, however, shook his head. "No, I believe in it."
They had already heard of the Longevity Formula, and then the Longevity Gu had appeared—things that defied belief even upon hearing of them.
Yet all of them had appeared before their eyes.
Moreover, all these heaven-defying things came from the Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom.
"Are you saying that some people—or rather, people who were originally subjects of the Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom—are still striving to restore Eastern Splendor?"
Otherwise, how could they repeatedly encounter people and things that should never have reappeared in the world?
Yang Qing said, "The Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom gained its undying renown because of Emperor Zhetian. Perhaps this matter isn't quite what we imagined."
Perhaps it went even deeper than they had previously thought.
Regardless, they all sensed that a great upheaval across the realm might be close