In a private room with a window on the top floor of the Gathering Immortals Tower in Celestial Treasure City.
Shen Xiuyong and Qiao Hongyun sat across from each other. The Spirit Tea before them had already grown cool, yet neither had touched it.
They would occasionally meet each other's gaze, their expressions complex. There was the anticipation of reuniting with an old friend after many years, but also a hidden thread of tension and wistful sentiment.
Both had received a message from Ruan Lingxiu, asking to meet them here.
"It's been seven or eight years, hasn't it?" Shen Xiuyong broke the silence, his voice low as he rubbed his teacup.
"Mm."
Qiao Hongyun's gaze drifted out the window. "After we parted ways at the Ten Thousand Poison Swamp, she returned to her family. We heard nothing from her after that. I never expected… that she would become a True Disciple of the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect, ranked ninth."
