Pei Ye allowed time to flow again, but the man's figure remained still in a flickering candle-lit cave. After a long while, he slowly stowed the slip of paper into his sleeve, lifted his sword intending to leave, but after a couple of movements, he froze again. The light seeping from the cave entrance illuminated half of his silent face, shining brightly.
As the sky grew darker, footsteps pattered over. Yang Yan's face peeked out from outside the cave, "Senior brother, you're really here? It's your turn to practice swordsmanship tonight, everyone is waiting at the Sword Field!"
"Oh," Meng Li came to his senses, "I'll be right there."
"Senior brother, you look so pale... what's wrong?"
"...." Meng Li lowered his head and silently emerged from the cave, taking a deep breath of the forest air, "....Nothing much."
....
....
