"Yes, a place especially for welcoming Miss Ming."
Ming Qitian smiled. "What is there to welcome about me? Knowing how busy you were with affairs in the Divine Capital, I said in my letter that I would come find you myself."
Pei Ye smiled, hesitated, and looked a little embarrassed. "To tell you the truth, Miss Ming, I was just wondering how to greet you. Your heart is clear, so you have no such worries, but I was afraid that after so long apart, we might have grown distant... I was fretting over what I might gain or lose."
"You are my only friend. If you stopped being my friend, I would have no friends left. I should be the one fretting," Ming Qitian said.
"...You're just comforting me, Miss Ming."
"No, I'm not," she said sincerely.
Pei Ye seemed to recall all at once the words and moments they had shared in the autumn months last year. Her calm, earnest tone was the same as ever, whether she was discussing swords beside a campfire or sharing private words on Rain Mountain.
"Glaze has missed you too, though it's feeling a little shy now." Ming Qitian lowered her head and took the sword from the small of her back, smiling. "Now you want to hide again."
Heart-Slaying Glaze rose with a swish and circled her twice, as though protesting.
Pei Ye looked at this familiar Famous Sword he had not seen in so long. It truly was still the most beautiful, pure and translucent, with red beads and a fine thread, its two colors like plum blossoms in snow.
The Immortal Lord's corrosion within its Sword Body had, of course, long since disappeared. It looked much livelier now, merely swaying gently without coming any closer to Pei Ye.
Pei Ye