The woman walked until she reached the shore. The rain fell around her, but didn’t touch her clothing at all. She was beautiful, and had the aura of a cultivator, which gave her an otherworldly grace.
Her face was cold, and she was frowning. A bitter look could be seen in her eyes, and she seemed to be concealing great anxiety and confusion within her heart.
She was Xu Qing.
She had been searching for Meng Hao for many years, but had found nothing…. She was thinner than before, more lean.
She had followed her heart until she found this lake, which was also her former hometown.
When Meng Hao saw her, she also caught sight of aged Meng Hao. There was something strangely familiar about him, so she changed directions and headed over toward the log cabin.
“Are you the boatman here?” she asked, looking him over. Her face was filled with an expression that could cause one’s heart to tremble. Meng Hao lowered his head and sighed inwardly.
Xu Qing’s voice was calm, and just as cold as it had always been. However, Meng Hao’s appearance had changed far too much. Even people very familiar with him would have a hard time recognizing him based on his physical appearance.
After a long moment, Meng Hao nodded.
Xu Qing’s frown deepened. “Have you seen anyone else pass through here?” she asked. She had searched for a hundred years, and had failed repeatedly, yet had never given up. If he was alive, she wanted to see him. If he was dead, she wanted to see the corpse. If she couldn’t find him… then she would just keep on searching.
Her personality was simple, but it was that very simplicity which gave her such determination.
For some reason, she had the feeling that if she couldn’t find Meng Hao, then perhaps…she wouldn’t ever be able to find her way in life again.
“I haven’t seen anyone,” replied Meng Hao levelly, shaking his head. His voice was hoarse, and sounded nothing like it had before. He was happy to be able to see Xu Qing, but he didn’t want her to realize who he was, not when he looked like this.
What was the point? It would just lead to her waiting for him outside once of the Rebirth Cave. Then, if he never came back out, she would become a woman sorrowed because of a lifetime of gloom and listlessness.
Wouldn’t it be better to forget about each other….?
Xu Qing looked around the area, and then sighed inwardly. After scanning Meng Hao with Divine Sense, all she had seen was a mortal man. And yet, she also felt something familiar that made her give him a second look over.
“Have we met before?” she asked.
“No,” he replied with the shake of a head.
She gazed at him for a very long moment, and a complex look appeared in her eyes. The intense complexity turned into sorrow, and a slight tremor ran through her body.