Nine years away from home might not have brought much change to Moon Province as a whole, or even to Yuanjiang County.
After all, these were not nine years in Yi Shuyuan's previous life, an age when heaven and earth could be turned upside down in that time. Things were different here.
But for ordinary people, it was still a long time. Perhaps children could take it in stride, but not the older generation.
Yi Shuyuan descended from the clouds and appeared on the country road between Yuanjiang's county town and West River Village. He also dimly sensed in his heart some of the events closer to him that had occurred over those nine years.
Unlike his last homecoming, this time Yi Shuyuan's feelings were rather subtle.
He appeared at the little stone bridge on the country road that he had crossed on his first trip into town all those years ago. Back then, he had headed to the county town after spring began, when the lingering snow was melting and all things were turning green, with grass growing and orioles flitting along the way.
This time, returning from the Heavenly Realm, he arrived just as winter approached. Because of Yuanjiang County's unusual location near the Azure Mountain Range, winter came earlier here. Frost's Descent had only just passed, yet many places were already covered in white snow.
Clearly, winter and snow had come rather early this year.
Yi Shuyuan walked on, his pace neither fast nor slow, but as he walked, the hair on his head grew ever whiter.
Partly this was because a light snow had begun to fall, scattering flakes over him. But his hair itself was also changing, the black gradually fading from his graying locks.
"Life draws toward twilight in its waning years; once the