*Fwoosh* Zhao Xieren lunged forward as she hugged Qian Yu.

Qian Yu was startled, “Eh?” It was a tight hug unlike earlier with Bai Jia. 

This was someone he had always admired since joining the sect. With a good background, strength, and beauty, she was like a gem that encaptivated him at first sight.

“Ah! I’m sorry!” Zhao Xieren jumped back. 

“I was just a little overwhelmed seeing you,” Her eyes had a mix of happiness and sadness.

“It’s been a while, Zhao Xieren,” Qian Yu bowed while observing her. Over the months, she hadn’t changed much as she still had her long black hair and young and developing aura and charm.

“Yeah, it has. You don’t need to be like that, I’m no longer your leader,” Zhao Xieren sighed as she looked away. 

“Hmm, you’ll always be a reliable and strong person to me,” Qian Yu wasn't lying. Back then, leading a group of 10 others was no easy task. Even when doing missions or participating with others, he had never been the one calling the shots. Focusing on yourself was a lot easier than paying attention to everyone else and leading.

“Y-you know that’s not the case! We both know how much I relied on you but my decision put you in danger,” Zhao Xieren shouted. 

“I-I why am I shouting?” she sighed. “I’ve never gotten the chance to properly apologize to you before, so I’m sorry! I put you in danger. I should have just surrendered...” Tears welled up in her eyes. 

As Qian Yu looked at the girl in front of him, he couldn’t help but get a sense of deja vu. 

Wasn’t this him? Wasn’t he full of guilt as well when his mistake caused Zhen Yue to suffer? The roles were just different now and he was in Zhen Yue’s position instead. Yet, Zhao Xieren had been dealing with this for over 4 months!

‘She’s sad because of me. Is this how Zhen Yue felt when I cried for her?’ Qian Yu thought. Awkwardly, he stepped forward as he brought Zhao Xieren into his arms again. 

“Qian Yu!” Zhen Yue was surprised all of a sudden.

“It’s ok. Can’t you see I’m fine right now?” Qian Yu bit his lip as he did his best to comfort her. It was the first time he did something like this.

As Qian Yu said that, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him.

Zhao Xieren was quiet for a while and Qian Yu could feel her heartbeat slowly dropping. “Still… that doesn’t change the past and I feel like I owe you something,” Zhao Xieren let go as she wiped her face.

“Hmm, if it makes you feel better, what happened in the past was a blessing in disguise,” Qian Yu sighed as he decided to tell her the reality of the event. 

“What do you mean by that?” Zhao Xieren was perplexed. 

“I’m not sure what you were told but when I fell off that cliff, I actually managed to enter an inheritance realm,” Qian Yu looked around before quietly saying. 

“Really?!” Zhao Xieren put her hands over her mouth. 

“Yeah, you can ask sister Bai who came to look for me if you want, I’m sorry I didn’t take into account the guilt you’ve felt,” Qian Yu said. 

“Still, it was just because of luck. If it weren’t for that…” Zhao Xieren stubbornly said.

“Sigh, anyways, I don’t want to think about it anymore...” Zhao Xieren didn’t want to linger on this topic anymore. Her 4 months of guilt wasn’t something solved and washed away so easily. 

“Very well then, were you planning to get dinner?” Qian Yu changed the topic.

“Uhm, yes, should we go together?” Zhao Xieren replied, she still wasn’t smiling, but her frown was gone. 

“Yea, I have a lot I want to talk with you,” Qian Yu started walking towards the food area. 

“Mmm, same here,” Zhao Xieren quietly said.

Along the way, they started talking, “Did you always live here?” 

“No, when I went into closed cultivation, the sect took back the place where I stayed last time. When I came back to the sect last week, I was given the current place,” Zhao Xieren shook her head. 

“Hehehe, looks like we’ll be neighbors then. Anyways, how strong are you currently?” Qian Yu laughed before asking.

“I’m at the middle stage of soul foundation. I just barely managed to enter it before leaving seclusion,” Zhao Xieren replied. 

“Wow, the middle stage of soul foundation, that’s pretty good!” Qian Yu didn’t expect that. She had mastered the first three techniques already. 

‘She’ll hit Martial Fighter within a year from now then,’ Qian Yu didn’t know how to feel. He was happy that she was growing stronger but he had his own dreams of catching up to Zhao Xieren too.

“I won’t lie that I’m proud of myself as well. To cope with everything, I just spent all my time thinking about cultivating. I’m more shocked about yourself though. In just over 4 months you are at the 7th stage of qi gathering. It usually takes about a year to get through all nine layers but at this rate, it’ll take another 2 or 3 months,” Zhao Xieren honestly said.

‘2 or 3 months if I could cultivate every day but at this rate, it’ll take a little longer,’ Qian Yu couldn’t help but think as he heard that. 

“Ahh, see! This is even more evidence of that inheritance realm encounter,” Qian Yu said as he thought of this as another form of evidence.

“Alright alright, I believe you now,” Zhao Xieren said. 

“Oh yeah, I don’t know much about the inner court but I heard that it is a lot more tiring, Can you explain more about it?” Qian Yu asked. 

“Hmm, being in the inner court is a lot different. Unlike before, we have a meeting that lasts the whole day every week where elders explain various random concepts, talk about their own experiences, create theoretical scenarios, and hold battle combat practice. The inner court is a lot more competitive and the community is a lot smaller, and things such as tournaments and such exist,” Zhao Xieren explained. 

“Alright, that’s all the questions I had. You can go ahead,” Qian Yu knew, like everyone, she was curious too.

“Hmm, can you tell me about what you did in your adventure?” Zhao Xieren asked, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Expecting this question by now, Qian Yu was an expert in this as he quickly described his adventures while omitting a few parts. Soon the two reached the food hall as they got their food while Qian Yu managed to finish up his story.

“Sigh, I’m really envious of your adventures. Particularly, the inheritance realm. I want to enter one myself but I don’t know if I will ever get the chance. I would be happy just to go outside and roam like you,” Zhao Xieren pouted.

“Hmm, what about all those missions we had?” Qian Yu felt that these were pretty fun and interesting as well, to him at least.

“Mmm, those missions were fine but they weren’t that long and we were kind of restricted in what we could do. Also, I always had to worry about what to do and how to act as a leader which got stressful,” Zhao Xieren sighed. 

Qian Yu frowned upon hearing that. “Have you ever tried to go on an adventure by yourself?” Qian Yu proceeded. 

“Ahem, truth be told, while I do want to go on an adventure, I don’t want to go alone as it can be a little scary. None of my family members want me to travel and explore so none of them want to go with me…” Zhao Xieren sadly said. 

As he heard, Qian Yu took a minute to think before he offered, “How about this? If you want, I can travel with you in the future.” She was like a trapped bird inside her cage. Her family was overly protective and very conservative. If an opportunity arose where he could help her, Qian Yu wouldn’t hesitate to take it.

“Really? That’s a deal. Hmph, your trip was 4 months long so you can’t be stingy. I want to travel outside the country for at least a month!“ she exclaimed, realizing her dream could be fulfilled.

“Alright, we can plan something if you see a decently long mission come up in the future. Though it’ll probably be better if it’s after I enter the soul foundation realm. While I do enjoy travelling, settling down for a while is nice,” Qian Yu said. 

“Okay okay, I’m fine whenever hehe,” Zhao Xieren giggled like a child with a new toy.

Looking at the girl finally laughing now, Qian Yu suddenly felt a sense of nostalgia as he remembered the past. The Zhao Xieren he had remembered had always been a lot more lively and joyful. Despite their reunion being short, it was difficult to even see her smile.