Meng Hao smiled as he looked at Xu Qing. She was immeasurably cold, but he was used to that. His smile contained happiness, within his eyes was warmth.
Their gazes met; Meng Hao’s smile and Xu Qing’s coldness. Only the two of them knew how their gazes reached into each other’s hearts. He knew that she understood. She knew that the person standing there in front of her was none other than Meng Hao.
It was the same as that look they had shared outside the Black Sieve Sect’s Blessed Land. It was just like the smile underneath the moonlight in the Reliance Sect. It was like the time Meng Hao had turned his head to look at her back on Mount Daqing.
Obviously, this was not the proper place for words. In truth, though, there was no need for words; the emotions of their period of separation were contained deep within their eyes. A look was all they needed to express the joy which existed in their hearts.
“I’ll escort you,” said Xu Qing coolly.
“Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Xu,” said Meng Hao with a smile, clasping hands and lowering his head.
Zhou Dekun stared in shock for a moment. Patriarch Violet Sieve and the others also gaped; they knew who Xu Qing really was, and they also knew that her presence here far, far exceeded that of their own.
Xu Qing ignored them, having eyes only for Meng Hao.
The three of them left.
Far outside the Black Sieve Sect, Meng Hao and Xu Qing stood atop a tall mountain peak, looking at each other. Zhou Dekun tactfully waited some distance away.
“Thank you….” said Xu Qing, her voice soft.
Meng Hao shook his head and looked back in the direction of the Black Sieve Sect. Xu Qing waved her right hand, and the ghastly coldness once again appeared in her eyes. She turned, and her voice echoed out into the emptiness.
“Any soul within thirty thousand meters of this place will be instantly exterminated!” As she spoke, a ghastly aura accompanied the sound to echo out. Meng Hao immediately sensed the countless discarnate souls in the area fleeing at top speed. An instant later, there was no sign of any discarnate soul.
Time passed, and the two of them stood there in the early morning air on top of the mountain. They spoke simple words, smiling, listening. Time passed, but neither of them seemed willing to part.
In the past, they had been friends in the same Sect. Later, they met in the Black Sieve Sect Blessed Land. Now here they were, meeting again in the outside world. All of these things things melded together deep in Meng Hao’s heart, as well as Xu Qing’s.
Her expression was cold, but her heart was filled with joy. Within her seemingly cold pupils could be seen a touch of warm light. No matter how his appearance had changed, the person in front of her was still her Junior Brother Meng Hao.
As soon as she had realized that Fang Mu was Meng Hao, her heart had begun to pound. There were so many things she wanted to tell him, but as soon as he looked at her, she felt like she didn’t have any words to speak.
The fact that he hadn’t left the Southern Domain, that he was a Furnace Lord of the Violet Fate Sect… this was enough. As soon as she saw the Cosmetic Cultivation Pill, she completely understood everything. She wasn’t sure when it had happened, but Meng Hao’s figure had at some point become deeply ingrained into her; he was now a part of her very heart, a part that would never leave her.
No matter how many years passed that tried to wash clean the memory, as long as she thought back, she could see that faint smile. The years could not wash it away, so it grew deeper, to the point where she didn’t need to think back. She just kept moving forward, because she knew that one day, the two of them… would meet again, and would walk together amidst the snow and wind.
Soon, moonlight caressed the branches of the willow trees, and the sky began to turn slightly violet. The mountain breeze lifted Xu Qing’s long, black hair to cover her face. The sight of it filled Meng Hao with warmth, and a slight smile.
The smile appeared on his face, but came from his heart.
It was faint, but like water, it was something her life could never do without.
“Go,” she said softly. “I want to watch you fade into the distance.”