Snow Reed, in particular, seemed to look at Han Yu slightly differently now.
She was still gentle, still warm, still playful in her words, but there was also a new layer of respect in her gaze, as if she finally realized that the man sitting beside her was not merely a wandering cultivator, but someone who walked on a path far more dangerous than most.
"You are not an ordinary messenger," she said softly at one point, as she handed him another cup of tea.
Han Yu smiled faintly.
"No," he replied, meeting her eyes, "I suppose I am not."
She did not ask further, and he did not explain, and in that quiet understanding there was a kind of peace.
The hunters continued to drink, laugh, and boast about their hunt, occasionally pulling Han Yu into their stories, telling others how he had burned down wolves like fireworks and crushed beasts that would have taken ten men to handle.
