When he returned that time, the gates of the Heavenly Mystic Immortal Sect still stood where they always had.
But new disciples had long since replaced the gatekeepers. The disciple who had asked Senior Brother Yuan Pu, "And who might you be?" was long gone.
"Ancestor!" The two disciples dropped to their knees with a thud when they saw him.
Chen Xu nodded without saying much and walked straight inside.
As he made his way through, he encountered fewer and fewer disciples. Of those familiar faces, some were on the front lines, and some... were already gone.
He reached the entrance to the side hall and was just about to push the door open...
"Junior Brother!!!"
Senior Brother Yuan Pu's voice came from behind him, as boisterous and carefree as ever.
Chen Xu turned around.
Senior Brother Yuan Pu stood beneath the covered walkway, holding a flask of wine, a smile on his face.
He had grown thinner, and older.
Chen Xu suddenly noticed that his senior brother's temples had turned white. Even immortals could not withstand the erosion of time.
"What are you staring at?" Senior Brother Yuan Pu walked over and jabbed him with a fist. "What, don't recognize your senior brother anymore?"
"You've lost weight," Chen Xu said.
"None of that."
Senior Brother Yuan Pu shoved the wine flask into Chen Xu's hands and casually sat down on the steps beside him.
"What are you standing around for? Sit."
Chen Xu glanced at him without a word, then sat down too.
The mountain breeze swept past, carrying a faint, elusive trace of blood from the distant battlefield.
"Junior Brother," Yuan Pu suddenly said.
"Mm."
"How long... are you staying this time?"
Chen Xu fell silent for a moment. "Three days."
"Three days?" Senior Brother Yuan Pu paused,