Ling Yu gave him a flat look.
"You make it sound poetic, but don't act like you don't feel it too. The timeline's off."
He tilted his head, his smirk thinning.
"I didn't say it wasn't."
For a brief moment, their gazes locked, a quiet, wordless understanding between two people who had both died once, both seen the end, and both come back to a beginning that no longer matched what they remembered.
The rest of the team was packing up nearby, Nie Ziyu whining about his broken weapon, Ye Qingxue trying to comfort him while glancing nervously between Ling Yu and Ji Xiulan, as if afraid another argument would break out. Xian Yu, the quiet one, was pretending not to listen, but his curious eyes betrayed him.
"Master Ling," Song said, snapping her attention back. "What are your orders now that the dungeon's been cleared?"
