Qin An drank the glass of wine in a few gulps.

The moment Qin An finished his drink, Shu Lan's eyes brightened again.

Shu Lan took out a plate of pear blossom cakes from her storage ring. "Come and try some. I just bought these outside."

Qin An picked up a piece of pear blossom cake, carefully put it to his lips and savored it, while catching the crumbs with his other hand under his mouth.

"Yes, thank you, fellow Daoist. The pear blossom cake is delicious!" After saying this, Qin An received no response for a long time.

Qin An looked up and saw that Shu Lan's eyes were already red, and his hand holding the wine glass was trembling.

Before Qin An could finish his question, he heard his master's brother's voice tremble as he called out, "Xiao An, is that you?"

Qin An paused, his hand holding the wine glass still, and remained silent for a moment.

"Xiao An, it's you, isn't it? It must be you!" Shu Lan was so excited she was almost incoherent. "Xiao An, can I take off your mask?"

Qin An remained silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.

Shu Lan slowly approached Qin An, her hands trembling as she gently removed Qin An's mask.

The mask fell off, revealing the face he had been longing for.

Qin An's face has completely shed its childishness and become more angular, but you can still clearly see what he used to look like.

Shu Lan covered her mouth with one hand, tears welling up in her eyes.

When Qin An saw his master brother crying, his heart skipped a beat. He immediately panicked and reached out a hand to gently wipe his master brother's eyes. "Master brother, don't cry, Xiao An is here, don't cry!"

"You heartless little thing, it's been four years and you haven't come to see me once!" Shu Lan cried, her voice choked with sobs.

Qin An pulled Shu Lan into his arms and gently patted his master's back, "Don't cry, it's my fault, it's all my fault, I'm heartless..."

Shu Lan buried her head in Qin An's arms and cried quietly.

When he finally finished crying, he sheepishly broke free from Qin An's embrace.

"Tell me, if I hadn't discovered you, would you still not want to acknowledge me?" Shu Lan wiped away her tears and looked directly at Qin An.

"Of course I want to reunite with my master! But..." Qin An hesitated.

"But what?" Shu Lan pressed.

"By the way, Master, how did you recognize me?" Qin An suddenly changed the subject, trying to avoid Master's question.

Shu Lan knew what he was up to, but she still patiently answered his questions.

"How could I not know you? Every time you drink something, your thumb is always on the rim of the cup."

"Also, you always lick the corner of your mouth with your tongue after you finish drinking something."

"Especially when you eat pastries, you always hold the pastry in one hand and catch the crumbs under your mouth with the other." Shu Lan talked non-stop about the little details he had observed in Qin An's daily life, details that even Qin An himself hadn't noticed.

Shu Lan didn't see that Qin An's eyes were getting brighter and brighter, and that his gaze was becoming more and more ardent.

So Master knows me so well! He even knows all my little habits. It seems that Master really cares about me! Thinking of this, Qin An felt a warmth in his heart.

How could I bear to let go of such a wonderful master?

Qin An realized how much he wanted to kiss his master's endless lips, how much he wanted to hold his master brother tightly and never let go, but he held back. His master brother didn't know his feelings yet, and he couldn't scare his master brother.

After Shu Lan finished explaining her discovery, she quickly pressed Qin An for answers: "Don't play dumb. You haven't answered my question yet! Why won't you acknowledge me?"

Qin An saw the problem come full circle and return to itself, and he knew he couldn't avoid it.

Qin An took a deep breath and decided to go all out.

He summoned a ball of demonic energy, then stared intently into Shu Lan's eyes: "As you can see, Master, I have cultivated demonic arts!" After saying this, he looked even more nervously into his Master's eyes, afraid of seeing anger or even disgust in them.

Unfortunately, there was no disgust or anger in Master's eyes. His gaze was full of heartache when he looked at her. Yes, heartache.

“I’ve heard that cultivating demonic arts is very painful. If you’re not careful, you can fall into the clutches of your inner demons. Demonic energy is very rampant and violent. Since you’ve cultivated demonic arts, it must be very difficult for you, right?” Shu Lan gently wrapped Qin An’s hands in her own. “How have you been these past few years? Are you tired?”

"Master, aren't you disappointed? Don't you want to expel me from the sect?" Qin An stared blankly at Qin An's actions and couldn't help but ask.

Why should I be disappointed? Why should I expel you from the sect?

"Because I cultivated demonic arts..." Qin An's voice grew softer and softer.

“I believe you must have a reason for cultivating demonic arts. Besides, what’s the difference between cultivating immortality and cultivating demonic arts? As long as you are wholeheartedly good, what difference does it make whether you are an immortal or a demon?” Shu Lan reached out a hand and ruffled Qin An’s hair. “I believe Xiao An is wholeheartedly good. Since that’s the case, why should I care whether you cultivate immortality or demonic arts?”

Qin An's nose tingled, and his eyes instantly reddened. He hugged Shu Lan tightly, "Brother Shizun, you're so good to me!"

Shu Lan gently patted Qin An's back to soothe his emotions.

After Qin An calmed down, Shu Lan asked, "Xiao An, you still haven't told me how you've been all these years. Also, what exactly happened in these four years?"

"I'm doing well, Master Brother, don't worry." Then, Qin An told Shu Lan about how he had listened to the disciple's invitation to go to Hong'an Village to exorcise demons, heard the disciple's cries for help, and then fell into Cao Quan's trap when he went to rescue him, and finally fell into the Abyss of Fallen Demons.

When Shu Lan heard that Cao Quan and his gang had framed her disciple, she clenched her fists in anger: "Outrageous! Xiao An, don't worry, I will definitely get justice for you!" Shu Lan decided to deal with this matter immediately after returning to the Star River Sect, and she was determined not to let those culprits get away with it.

"Well, fortunately, I encountered an opportunity in the Abyss of Fallen Demons. After cultivating for four years, my cultivation reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. Then I broke through that barrier and escaped from the Abyss of Fallen Demons." Qin An mentioned his four years of cultivation life in a single sentence.

But just that one sentence made Shu Lan feel heartbroken.

“You must have suffered a lot in these four years! It’s all my fault for being useless and letting you get into such a predicament.”

"Master, it's not your fault. It was all my carelessness. I promise I won't do it again!"