Hou Niao waited in Liuyang for three days. Once those three days were up, he turned and left.
As he saw it, Chongling simply did not want to see him for the time being, so he certainly would not go chasing after him. Given his current standing in Quanzhen, there really was no need for them to meet.
He rode out of the city. Unlike what he had imagined, he did not seem to feel that he was leaving his homeland. He had never been familiar with Liuyang and had no family or friends there, but did he have any in Fufeng City? Or did leaving the Anhe Kingdom simply stir no emotion in him?
As an undercover agent, he had already successfully come to regard the Shan Kingdom as his home. Cultivators roamed to the ends of the earth; they rarely had particularly strong attachments to their native soil anyway.
Where my heart finds peace is my home.
He had no need to hurry on the return journey and let his horse wander where it pleased. By the time the main road became a narrow path, he was not far from the White Poplar Forest.
He dismounted before the White Poplar Forest. It was better to let the horse have a proper rest while they crossed the forest. Horses could not practice cultivation methods.
Drawing his longsword and resting it on his shoulder, he silently turned to face the way he had come. Three riders were slowly approaching from that direction.
He had noticed someone following him as soon as he left the city. When he sped up, so did they; when he slowed down, they slowed down too, seemingly without any scruples. He did not know why, nor could he be bothered to find out. Rather than enter