A row of houses had long since collapsed by more than half. Along the side against the mountain wall, traces of their former construction still remained.
The other three stone walls stood upon the ground in jagged, dog-toothed disarray, some high and some low.
All manner of weeds grew across the walls, some slanting, some straight, swaying unceasingly in the wind as an old, decaying stench silently spread through the air.
Many fallen stones, eroded by time, remained inside the houses. They had turned a bluish-black, their surfaces thick with dark green moss.
Tall reeds, more than a man's height, likewise filled the area around the houses, blending the entire cluster of dwellings into the valley. Without close inspection, it was already impossible to distinguish what was "inside" and what was "outside."
Li Yan flew overhead and silently watched one of the houses beneath him. This was a place where he had once lived, a place he had once feared.
Every time he went out, he had actually never wanted to return here. He had only wanted to flee far away—the farther, the better!
"Chen An, Li Yin..."
Li Yan murmured their names softly. He thought of the two personal guards who had been ordered to protect him by "never leaving his side," only to be spun round and round by him. Countless memories surged forth...
Each time, escorted by those two, he had no choice but to return here, while constantly thinking of how to shake off Chen An and Li Yin...
Though he spoke softly, Zhao Min and Zi Kun, who had flown over after him, were both profoundly cultivated. Naturally, they heard every word clearly, yet neither had any idea what Li Yan was talking about.
Other than dense weeds and several exposed bluish-black stones, nothing else