After such a heart-to-heart talk, Jia Huarai felt a great weight lift from his heart. No trace of obsession remained, and from then on, he gladly accepted this change in identity, taking from Huo Yuan the heavy burden of safeguarding the nation's fortune and defending its lands.
Of course, reason was reason. People like Zi He and Jia Huarai, who understood righteousness and reason, could both see it clearly.
But to say they could completely cast aside their hearts' pursuit of the Dao was utterly impossible.
Thus, when they saw Yang Lingrui—his bearing unchanged, his talent unchanged, his appearance unchanged—it was as though they saw, within their beautiful ideals, the selves who feared neither the hardships ahead nor the perils of the Dao path, still pressing onward with keen resolve.
With that thought, the two spoke at the same time without prior agreement.
One said, "Still the same."
The other said, "That is for the best."
Hearing this, Yang Lingrui revealed a sincere smile. He bowed slightly and accepted their praise.
With this exchange of greetings over, the three no longer stood on ceremony and began chatting and laughing freely.
When old friends reunited, they inevitably reminisced about the past, spoke of the present, and finally envisioned the future.
What Zi He and Jia Huarai cared about most, naturally, was the situation of the Yang Clan during the more than four years it had closed off its household and territory.
There had been no shortage of speculation from the outside world. Through the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion in the Northwest, they had learned a little of it as well. They also knew that the Yang Clan had not gone to the Central Region to attend the grand alchemy gathering hosted by the Pill Workshop.
Once they learned that the Yang Clan's