Senior sister, stop working and go home for dinner.

Chapter 447 Strangers from the Past

After a long while, Su Changning looked at Chen Anran and Lu Kong, who were still sitting opposite her, drinking tea from three days ago, and didn't know what to say.

These two senior cultivators, whom she had never met before, came to see her, but they didn't say anything and just sat down opposite her to drink tea.

Moreover, when he heard that Chen Anran had accepted He Yunzi's invitation, he felt displeased with these two seniors.

Going there is nothing more than drinking, revelry, and pleasure.

They're all birds of a feather.

Su Changning put down his pen, raised his head, his gaze swept across Chen Anran's face, landed on Lu Kong's face, and then looked away.

"Esteemed gentlemen," she said, "the tea is finished."

Lu Kong looked down at the teacup in his hand; it was indeed empty. He gave a dry laugh and put the cup down.

Su Changning continued, "If there's nothing else, I still have some general affairs to attend to."

She spoke politely, but her politeness clearly carried the implication that she wanted to be asked to leave.

Chen Anran looked at her without saying a word.

He just stared at her, at the faint aloofness in her eyes, at her "you should go" expression.

The eldest sister from three thousand years later would never see him like that.

She would look up when he came in, smiling and asking, "What brings you here today?" She would pour him tea when he sat down, always keeping it warm, just right for him to drink. She would stay silent with him when he was silent, without asking questions or urging him, simply sitting beside him, doing her own thing.

But the person in front of me can't do anything.

She is just Su Changning.

A stranger.

Chen Anran stood up.

Lu Kong also stood up, his gaze lingering on his master's face for a moment before quickly shifting away. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but only sighed and turned to follow Chen Anran outside.

As Chen Anran reached the door, she suddenly stopped.

He didn't turn around; he just stood there, his back to the desk and to the person.

"Your handwriting," he said, "is very beautiful."

Su Changning was stunned.

She lowered her head, looking at the files she had just reviewed. The words were still the same words, no different from those written yesterday, the day before yesterday, or three years ago.

She looked up and gazed towards the doorway.

But that figure had already disappeared outside the door.

Footsteps echoed in the corridor, fading into the distance, one after another, until they were completely inaudible.

Su Changning sat behind his desk, remaining motionless for a long time.

The flame of the oil lamp still flickered, casting her profile in alternating light and shadow. Faint sounds of bustling city life drifted in from outside the window, coming from the south of the city, where hundreds of thousands of ordinary people lived their lives day after day.

"Two...strange people."

........................

When Chen Anran and Lu Kong walked out of Tongtian Pavilion, the sun was already setting in the west.

The deserted street remained empty, the shops on both sides still had their doors and windows tightly shut, and the dust on the doors was still thick. Only the wind blew in from the street corner, carrying the distant hustle and bustle of the city, swirling around in this deathly quiet street before dissipating.

Lu Kong walked beside Chen Anran, wanting to speak several times, but swallowed his words back.

He didn't stop until they reached the street corner before he couldn't help but ask, "Uncle-Master, are you just leaving like this?"

Chen Anran continued walking: "Otherwise what?"

"No..." Lu Kong caught up with him, "You went to all this trouble just to say 'Your handwriting is beautiful'?"

"What else? Tell her she's my senior sister? Say she's your master?"

"That……"

Lu Kong had only uttered one word when Chen Anran continued, "Right now, I just want to know her current situation."

Lu Kong remained silent upon hearing this, and after a moment said, "Didn't Martial Uncle say he wanted to change Master's mind? Or rather, her original destiny?"

Chen Anran smiled, "How could I not want to? I think about it all the time. It's just that we're lacking an opportunity right now, so we need to wait."

Lu Kong was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Uncle-Master, do you think what we did was right?"

Chen Anran stopped in her tracks.

He didn't turn around, but just stood there, gazing at the road leading to the south of the city. People came and went on the road; peddlers carrying loads squeezed past, women leading children hurried along, and several scholars stood at the entrance of a bookstore, flipping through books and discussing something as they did so.

"What method?" he asked.

Lu Kong walked to his side and stood next to him, looking at the bustling street.

"Overthrow the Immortal Alliance, seal away spiritual energy, and eliminate all cultivators from this world." His voice was soft, almost as if he were talking to himself. "We thought that was salvation. But what difference is there between what we did and what those cultivators did?"

Chen Anran remained silent.

Lu Kong continued, "Cultivators treat mortals like ants, but what about us? We treat all cultivators as a malignant tumor. Good, bad, virtuous, evil—we lump them all together. We make choices for the world without ever asking if they want them to."

As he spoke, he suddenly chuckled. There was a hint of self-mockery in his laughter.

"Uncle-Master, tell me, did we do the right thing?"

Chen Anran did not answer directly, but said, "There will definitely be a better way."

Lu Kong was stunned for a moment, only to see Chen Anran continue walking forward. Lu Kong snapped out of his daze and quickly followed.

........................

It was dusk when Wei Shanyue led Feng Wenzheng and Feng Changyuan toward the palace.

The palace was located in the northern part of Tianjing, three streets away from the Immortal Alliance's headquarters. Logically, it should only take half an hour to walk there if one walked quickly. But today, for some reason, the streets were unusually crowded, packed tightly together, and people were moving extremely slowly.

Wei Shanyue walked at the front, his back ramrod straight, his steps steady. But his heart was far from as calm as he appeared.

The two people behind him are the ancestors of the Feng family's royal family.

He'd lived most of his life; what kind of scene hadn't he seen? But he'd never seen anything like bringing the Feng family's patriarch to meet the Feng family's descendants.

"General Wei," Feng Wenzheng suddenly spoke, his voice steady, "what are the usual hobbies of that Princess?"

Wei Shanyue was slightly taken aback, then quickly replied, "Reporting to Immortal Master Feng, Her Highness the Princess prefers tranquility. Besides handling palace affairs, she spends her days admiring flowers and feeding birds in the Imperial Garden. Her favorite flower is the peony, and a special peony garden has been set up in the Imperial Garden, where hundreds of famous varieties are planted."

Feng Wenzheng nodded and asked no further questions.

Feng Changyuan followed behind, his eyes darting around. This was his first time entering an ancient capital, and everything was new and exciting. The houses with their blue bricks and gray tiles, the peddlers carrying their wares and calling out their wares, the old people squatting in the corners basking in the sun—all of these gave him an indescribable feeling.

This is Tianjing from three thousand years ago.

This is the place once ruled by the Feng family's royal family.

After turning a street corner, the space suddenly opened up ahead.

A wide imperial road stretches straight ahead, and at the end of the road, a majestic palace stands quietly with red walls and yellow tiles.