Chapter 368 - 174: Reunion
He smiled and said, "Speaking of which, Senior Sister, have you been well all these years in the Haisa Sect?"
"Yes, everything has been fine."
Zhou Yu nodded, a gentle smile gracing her lips. "My uncle is a Steward here, after all, so he takes good care of me. Although my aptitude isn’t considered exceptional within the sect, I’ve never lacked for necessary Cultivation Resources. I’m much better off than many of the ordinary disciples who have no one to rely on."
’She knew very well that if not for her uncle, Li Yuan, she likely wouldn’t have even been able to enter the Haisa Sect with her aptitude.’
As they talked about the past and present, the atmosphere was congenial.
Old friends always have endless things to talk about when they reunite, especially when reminiscing about their time at the Zhou Institute in Gaolin County.
Chen Qing noticed that Zhou Yu had changed considerably as well.
Though her disposition was still gentle, she seemed to have lost some of her former innocence. A trace of melancholy lingered between her brows, and she was no longer as lively as she once was.
’But then again,’ he thought, ’it’s only natural. Time flows on, fortunes rise and fall. The years wait for no one, so how could anyone be expected to stay exactly the same?’
"Back then..."
Zhou Yu covered her mouth with a light laugh, her eyes shimmering with nostalgia. "Almost no one at the institute thought you’d be the first to break through to Transmutation Force. Everyone felt the most promising candidate was Junior Brother Qin Lie."
Chen Qing laughed as well, nodding in agreement. "That’s right. Junior Brother Qin Lie was exceptionally talented. He was certainly the most promising prospect at the institute for breaking through to Transmutation Force back then."
Had he simply followed the conventional path and persevered for a few years, Qin Lie’s chances of breaking through to Transmutation Force would have indeed been the highest.
"But who could have imagined,"
Zhou Yu gazed at him, filled with emotion, "that in the end, it was you, the quiet Junior Brother Chen, who would come this far and leave everyone else in the dust."
’Thinking back on it now,’ she mused, ’Chen Qing’s rise always seemed to be like this. He would make astonishing leaps in silence, and by the time anyone noticed, he was already so far ahead they couldn’t even see his back.’
Chen Qing was also filled with emotion. "Speaking of which, I haven’t seen Master or Senior Brother Sun Shun in a long time. I should make some time to go back to Gaolin County for a visit."
The two continued to chat for a while, catching up and reminiscing about their friendship.
As evening approached, Chen Qing rose to take his leave.
Zhou Yu walked him to the gate of her small courtyard.
Moonlight, like flowing water, spilled into the quiet courtyard.
"You don’t need to see me out, Senior Sister."
Chen Qing stopped at the gate and turned to Zhou Yu. "If you ever run into any trouble here in the Haisa Sect, feel free to send a messenger to find me at the Cyan Wood Institute of the Wutai Sect. If there’s anything I can do to help, I won’t hesitate."
"Okay, I’ll remember that. Thank you, Junior Brother."
A warmth spread through Zhou Yu’s heart, and she nodded gently.
"Junior Brother!"
Just as Chen Qing turned to leave, Zhou Yu suddenly called out to him again.
Chen Qing turned back, his gaze questioning. "What is it, Senior Sister?"
Zhou Yu looked as if she wanted to say something, but the thousand words on the tip of her tongue dissolved into a slightly strained smile. "It’s... it’s nothing. Be careful on your way back. Take care!"
’She watched Chen Qing’s tall, straight-backed figure in the moonlight and felt, in a daze, as if an invisible, insurmountable chasm separated them. They were people from two different worlds now.’
Chen Qing smiled and said gently, "You take care too, Senior Sister."
With that, he turned and left, his figure quickly melting into the night and vanishing at the end of the stone path.
Zhou Yu stood alone at the gate, gazing in the direction he had vanished for a long time, her heart a whirlwind of emotions.
’She couldn’t help but recall the scene from earlier in the day: Chen Qing standing there, calm and composed as he chatted and laughed, radiating a brilliant aura. He was the perfect embodiment of all her youthful fantasies, yet he was also completely and forever out of her reach.’
...