Ren Changge lifted his gaze, swept it over the blue-robed youth before him, paused slightly, and then focused on the latter's waist.
There hung a moon-like jade pendant, precisely the gift he had given the youth after returning from the Qingfeng Edge Great Elder's birthday banquet years ago. The elder's gaze returned, his expression unchanged, his face stern and meticulous, with only a slight nod, as if the past two years had never existed.
But those two years had indeed existed.
Thus, an aged voice rose beside the youth's ear, and whether it was Wang Anfeng's illusion or not, it carried an almost imperceptible trace of relief:
"Back already?"
On the twenty-first layer of book stairs, a youth in a white Confucian robe sat cross-legged on the wooden steps, holding a rare volume, though his mind was hardly on it. His eyes wandered, and upon looking down, they brightened slightly. He tugged at his companion and lowered his voice, saying: