Li Xizhou fell quiet for a moment, then tilted her head. "Now I'm rather curious. Why does the Sword Master treat Pei Ye differently? Did you trust each other from your very first meeting?"
Ming Qitian paused in silence. "Pei Ye asked me that question a few days ago too."
"Mm."
"I gave him an answer..." Ming Qitian gazed quietly at the illusory night of the Mirage Realm. "But the truth is, I don't know either."
"You don't know either?" Li Xizhou said in surprise. "What answer did you give him?"
"I said he was no different from the countless people in this world, yet different from every one of them. There is only one Pei Ye in the world, and I just happen to be willing to talk to this Pei Ye."
Li Xizhou laughed. "The Sword Master really is remarkably skilled at sweet-talking people."
"That is what I think. I wasn't lying to him," Ming Qitian said earnestly.
"But the Sword Master herself may not truly believe it."
"...I simply don't know." Ming Qitian looked toward the horizon.
Li Xizhou paused for a while. "The encounters of this world are hard to explain anyway."
"Yes."
"Does Yunlang truly have no intention of entering worldly affairs?"
"That's right."
"All right."
By the time the sky over Divine Capital City was indistinguishable from the Phantom Tower's night, the revelry inside was gradually dispersing, leaving the banquet tables in disarray.
The figure at the head of the banquet had never reappeared after leaving her seat, and naturally, the people of the Jianghu felt much more at ease. The Divine Capital was a place to seek fame, its splendor intoxicating, but contact with the court was actually unsettling, especially now, when the political situation was stable and the Tang Emperor, in