Seeing his low spirits, Du Siwen said nothing more and followed silently behind him. Xu Qingtong seemed to be flying at an unhurried pace, but his thoughts had long since flown to Houtang Town.
It had been over ten years since Xu Qingtong left Houtang Town. His uncle should already be sixty. He wondered whether his uncle and his family were still well!
Without a word along the way, Xu Qingtong flew with his senior sister for nearly another four hours, his heart uneasy, before Houtang Town finally came into view.
Xu Qingtong and his senior sister brought their Flying Swords down and walked into Houtang Town. As he looked at the little town he had been away from for so long, he saw few people in the streets. Its former bustle was gone, leaving it utterly desolate! An ominous premonition suddenly rose in his heart.
Following the route he remembered, Xu Qingtong arrived at his uncle's Spring Rejuvenation Hall.
Just inside Spring Rejuvenation Hall sat a young married woman who looked twenty-five or twenty-six. Her face was haggard, and she wore plain clothing, with a white flower pinned in her hair.
Xu Qingtong focused his gaze and looked closely. He could still faintly make out traces of his cousin Chen Ruoling in the young woman's face.
Xu Qingtong's heart lurched. He hurried up to her and asked in a slightly trembling voice, "Are you Cousin Ruo Ling? It's me, Qingtong!"
The young woman looked up at Xu Qingtong with a wooden expression. When she heard him say "Qingtong," her eyes lit up, suddenly coming to life.
She sprang to her feet and seized Xu Qingtong, saying excitedly, "Qingtong! Are you really Qingtong?"
"Cousin, it's me, Qingtong!"
Looking at her cousin, who had grown handsome and tall, Chen Ruoling could