After more than a decade, Shiheng once again set foot in Hess City.
The unremarkable little frontier city of his memories had long since shed its former simplicity. Its streets and alleys had widened several times over, shops stood in rows, and crowds bustled through them. Vendors' cries, children's laughter, and neighbors' idle conversations mingled together, filling every corner with the vibrant warmth of everyday life. The scenery no longer looked as it once had: the old roadside trees had sprouted new buds, and dilapidated houses had been replaced by orderly courtyards. Yet the familiar scent of daily life in the air and the aroma of food drifting from an old corner shop could still stir his deepest memories.
Things and people had changed, yet the warmth remained. That was Shiheng's most heartfelt impression after his many years of wandering.
Kelin Xiaoman accompanied him. He stood tall and straight, the indifference that trials of life and death had etched into his features softening somewhat into the gentleness of homecoming. She was graceful and lovely, dressed in a simple, elegant gown, affection in her eyes as she nestled quietly beside him. Following a direction sealed in their memories for years, they walked slowly toward his family home.
When they reached the entrance, even Shiheng, who had seen all manner of magnificent buildings across the continent, could not help stopping.
What stood before him was no longer the ordinary house of those days, but a grand, imposing estate fit for a distinguished family. Towering vermilion gates stood tall, their panels adorned with exquisite bronze cloud patterns. Two imposing bluestone lions stood before them with heads raised, radiating majesty. Pushing open the gates and entering revealed an entirely different world within. Carved beams and painted rafters formed an elegant arrangement, and the grounds