Hou Niao entered the little temple. It was more like a courtyard house, and two True Persons were sitting in the courtyard drinking tea. They exchanged greetings as equals.
True Person An brewed the tea himself and sighed. "Fortune is fickle, and worldly affairs have seen so many changes. Last time we met, I still called you young friend; this time, I must call you sect leader. Seeing you, I feel the shifting winds and clouds of cultivation. Everything is changing, except us..."
Hou Niao smiled. "It's only a title, a layer of skin. I'm still the same person. Please keep offering me guidance as you did before, seniors. I would be endlessly grateful."
The three sat down, and Xiao True Person looked over. "Little An has probably told you already. Well, what do you think?"
"A mess! I can't find a single thread to follow. To be honest, I turned over countless possibilities on my way here, but couldn't find a single workable plan. I wanted to plan for Anhe while securing benefits for Shanmen, to look after the present while planning for the long term. In the end, I realized I was overthinking it."
Xiao True Person sighed. "Not just you. All of us were overthinking it. Planning stops at the limits of our cultivation. Only when dealing with beings far beneath us does calculation have any meaning. As for what we cannot control, rather than indulge in wishful fantasies, we might as well quietly watch how things unfold."
Hou Niao nodded. "You're right, senior. In fact, the root of all this lies in the abnormalities on the Brocade Continent. This clearly isn't an ordinary opening of the heavens in a lower realm anymore. When it involves the true mysteries of the universe, we cannot rely on imagination