Rain drifted over the mountain.
"Senior Brother Lu, it really is you."
Zhao Feng looked at the black-robed cultivator before him, whose face he could not make out at all, a trace of complexity in his eyes.
Silence.
The black-robed cultivator suddenly tilted his head up slightly, then lowered it again to look at him. He laughed, his tone light:
"Heh! I knew I couldn't fool your Clear-Sight Sword Heart. And here I even left a few things in the sect specifically to mislead you."
"But... you've improved quite a bit in the days since we last met, junior brother."
"What you left behind was very useful. I really did keep thinking someone within the sect had harmed you, so I never dared help your lineage, afraid of beating the grass and startling the snake. I never imagined..."
Zhao Feng suddenly spoke:
"But why won't you show me your real face now?"
Silence again. The black-robed cultivator drew a deep breath but did not answer.
Zhao Feng did not press him further, either. Instead, he began chatting again, like a genuine old friend:
"Speaking of which, Elder Qin took me as his disciple too. I learned quite a lot from him."
"Him? Heh! Looks like I did save you, then. That old bastard finally died."
The black-robed cultivator spread his hands with a chuckle. "In that case, why not come with me, junior brother? Your senior brother now counts as the foremost person beneath the sect's elders. If you come, I have some ability to look after you."
"Look after me just like before?"
Zhao Feng spoke without warning.
"Of course!"
"You'll always be my junior brother!"
The black-robed cultivator answered without hesitation.
This time, Zhao Feng fell silent, seemingly recalling the warm days of the past. Even his stern