"Absolutely not, this simply won't do. There's no reason for it—skills are passed down within the family, how can they be carelessly exchanged? I don't need yours, and you should stop looking for me."
The mist hadn't cleared yet when Jiang heard a string of words filled with rejection.
"Master Peng, Master Peng..."
The fog dispersed.
Jiang saw a slightly younger Jiang Chengde being pushed out by a middle-aged man who looked somewhat familiar, yet was overall a stranger he was certain he had not seen before.
Jiang stood at the entrance of Yonghe House, he and the unfamiliar middle-aged man inside, with Chengde having just been pushed out the door.
Jiang tentatively took a couple of steps outside, only to find that he indeed couldn't leave—the problem with the house's sentient memory was the limited range of movement.
"Master Peng, please reconsider," Chengde pleaded with a very humble posture, clearly asking for a favor.