Unsheathed

The young man made his way over to the lake, and he could tell that the Geyang Gao Clan had invested a great deal of effort and wealth into this academy. As for the site of the old Mountain Cliff Academy in the Great Li Empire, that was about to become the location for the new Confucian temple of the Great Li Empire's capital city.

The young man turned around and caught sight of a familiar, yet also unfamiliar figure. Unfamiliar because the figure's appearance, height, and attire had all changed drastically, but also familiar because those eyes still hadn't changed at all. All those years ago, they had been neighbors.

One of them had been the kiln supervision official's illegitimate son, while the other had been a lonesome orphan struggling just to get by. Since then, one of them had become Prince Song Mu of the Great Li Empire, while the other had become a wandering... scholar? Swordsman? Hero? In any case, since their last meeting, Chen Ping'an had journeyed across an immeasurable distance over two continents.

"I heard from Mountain Master Mao that you came to the academy, so I came to see you," Chen Ping'an declared in a direct and straightforward manner.

Song Jixin looked Chen Ping'an up and down for a moment. He had heard that the pseudo-celestial weapon that he was carrying on his back, Sword Immortal, had been an apology gift from the Fu Clan, while the wine gourd strapped to his waist was a Sword Nurturing Gourd that had been meticulously picked out for him by Northern Mountain God Wei Bo as a bonus gift for purchasing those mountains back in the Dragon Spring Prefecture.

Song Jixin smiled as he said, "Back when we were neighbors, I always felt like the people on Fortune Street and Peach Leaf Alley were wealthier and more fortunate than us, but looking back now, it seems like the people from our Clay Vase Alley and Apricot Blossom Alley are doing a little better than them.

“Apricot Blossom Alley really only has Ma Kuxuan to boast of, whereas our Clay Vase Alley has you, me, Zhi Gui, and that little runt, Gu Can. I wonder if several decades from now, people will look back on our once shoddy Clay Vase Alley and regard it as a place of legends."

Chen Ping'an opened his mouth to say something, only for Song Jixin to raise a hand to interrupt him.

"Let me finish. Otherwise, given your stinky personality, there's a very good chance that our long-awaited reunion will conclude on rather sour terms."

Chen Ping'an nodded as he replied, "Alright, let's walk as we talk then."

The two of them began to make their way down the peaceful path next to the lake together.