Chapter 41: Leaving the Pass - Part 1

In a pine forest halfway up the mountain, white clouds lingered, and straight, towering trees shot up into the sky.

Sunlight hit the trunks of some pine trees, split by the leaves, turning into patches of yellow and gray.

Deep in the forest, a young man in his twenties, wearing a light yellow Taoist robe, stood beside a large pine tree, focusing intently. He was holding a longsword upside down, seemingly there to practice swordsmanship.

From a distance, the sound of other disciples practicing swords during the early morning intermittently carried over. The man remained motionless, as though waiting for something.

Time slowly passed, and after about ten minutes,

a green figure lightly swept from the left side of the man—it was a young girl wearing a white feathered ornament in her hair. The girl, with long hair down to her waist and fair, delicate skin, looked rather young.

"Lin Xin," the girl let out a relieved call upon seeing the man.