"Boya smashed his zither and severed its strings for Zhong Ziqi. Though the music of High Mountains and Flowing Waters had faded, their friendship became an immortal tale, a testament for all eternity.
"A friend like that can be entrusted not only with your life and death, but even with your life's work, your Daoist lineage, and everything in which you place your spiritual hopes."
After Cui Jiuyang finished, He Feixu fell silent for a moment, then turned his gaze to Master Tiger and quietly awaited his answer.
Master Tiger had always been direct, and his words were all the more concise. "If Jiuyang sends word, I'll come, even to the ends of the earth, through mountains of blades and seas of fire."
That single, simple sentence expressed their brotherly bond to the fullest.
Hearing this, He Feixu slowly nodded, a trace of approval showing in his eyes. "The depth of your friendship is truly admirable."
He paused, then changed tack, his voice carrying a somewhat complicated melancholy. "But I don't envy you."
He drew a slight breath and continued, "Because I have a good friend like that too."
"Once, while traveling through Sanguan Mountain, I was caught midway by a torrential downpour, with lightning flashing and thunder rolling. The mountain paths grew muddy and difficult to traverse. Just as I was struggling, I happened upon a dilapidated Mountain God temple. Small as it was, it could still shelter me from the wind and rain, so I hurried inside."
"Only after entering did I discover someone was already there.
"He was about my age, dressed in a plain blue robe, and sat alone, cross-legged on the floor near the altar. Something seemed to have been drawn before him. His head was lowered, his brows slightly furrowed, and his expression utterly