"Waaah..."
Long Yan'er finally failed to hold back and burst into tears.
"Yan'er, don't cry. Your master's master is back."
Long Yan'er jumped down from the green stone she had sat on for over three years and threw herself straight at him.
Both hands clutched the fabric at Lin Shisan's waist, and she buried her face in his chest just as she had three years ago.
Only this time, she did not hang from his neck. She had grown tall enough to reach his chest and could no longer do that.
Lin Shisan gently rested his right hand on her head, his palm against her neatly tied ponytail.
"It's been three years. You've certainly grown taller, Yan'er, but you still haven't broken that crying habit."
Long Yan'er raised her head from his embrace, her eyes as red as a rabbit's and her nose red too.
She parted her lips and choked out, "Master's Master, what took you so long to come back...? I missed you so much..."
Warmth filled Lin Shisan's heart.
He crouched down, carefully wiped the tear tracks from Long Yan'er's face, and tucked the loose strands on her forehead behind her ears.
"Three years apart, and you've grown prettier, Yan'er."
"Yan'er, is Master doing well?"
Long Yan'er sniffled and looked at him with reddened eyes, revealing the same faint little dimples she had three years ago.
"Master said that if you didn't come back soon, she'd pour away all your share of the Deer Whip Soup."
The corner of Lin Shisan's mouth twitched, and he looked up toward the inside of the mountain gate.
Half an hour later, Lin Shisan and the other three arrived on Cold Moon Peak, entering the Bamboo Grove that had haunted his dreams.
Three years.
The Bamboo Grove was just as it