The damp air after the rain blew against their faces on the night wind. With the light from the room behind him outlining his profile, Qi Gu looked forlorn.
Lin Hanzhi noticed his mood and the slight redness around his eyes. "You and he..."
Qi Gu hurriedly stopped Lin Hanzhi from saying anything more and shook his head gently.
Sensing that this was not something they could discuss openly, Lin Hanzhi understood and said no more about it. Instead, he spoke obliquely. "You and your Shifu were very close, weren't you? I remember you put a shrine outside Floating Mist Temple with a statue of him inside. People online all say praying to him for things under the Underworld's jurisdiction works very well."
"Yes. He was my only family. He raised me and worked very hard to support me and give me a life much like other children's. One year, I was envious of the villagers down the mountain who all had peaches to eat, so he went and bought a peach tree, even though he knew nothing about growing trees. He kept declaring that I'd be able to eat our own peaches from then on." As the scene unfolded before his eyes, Qi Gu remembered the old man's face as he boasted in all seriousness. "Unfortunately, he was hopeless at farming. The peaches he grew were sour and bitter."
A tear slipped from the corner of Qi Gu's eye, trailing down his luminous white cheek to tremble at his jaw.
As though bewitched by that tear, Lin Hanzhi lightly and swiftly brushed a bent knuckle against Qi Gu's cheek, drying the tear between his fingers.
"Things are better now, aren't they?" Lin Hanzhi's voice softened a little unnaturally. He actually wanted to rub Qi Gu's head, or cup his