Chapter 19 — Reunion

While the two exchanged pleasantries, Zhang Qingyue was scanning the crowd behind Qi Hao with wide eyes. Sure enough, within moments he saw Lin Jinghong, standing behind Qi Hao, also sweeping his gaze this way and that, clearly searching for something too. Their eyes met, and overjoyed, they stepped forward at the same time, seized each other's hands, and seemed to have a thousand words to say, yet for a moment none could speak.

After a long while Lin Jinghong said, "Xiaofan, are you entering this gathering?"

Zhang Qingyue nodded and smiled. "Yes. My master is very good to me and graciously allowed me to join. And you?"

Lin Jinghong said, "I am entering too. Hmph, what is so good about that dwarf of a master of yours? Two years ago when I went to see you, the way he treated you—"

Zhang Qingyue said quickly, "No, he is not usually like that. He was simply angry that day."

Lin Jinghong, having finally been reunited with his childhood friend, did not want such tiresome talk to spoil their mood. He changed the subject with a smile. "You little wretch—two years without seeing you, and you have grown so tall?"

Zhang Qingyue punched him in the arm and cursed with a laugh, "What, only you are allowed to grow up and I am not allowed to get taller?"

Lin Jinghong laughed heartily. The two chatted on their own at the side; this time no elders stood nearby, and they spoke freely of whatever came to mind, and no one paid them any attention. Yet in the midst of their talk, Zhang Qingyue happened to look back and saw that Qi Hao had at some point noticed Tian Lingsu and Wenpei standing with their group of women and was walking over to greet them. For no reason at all a pain stabbed through his heart, and even his face changed.

Lin Jinghong saw it and said in surprise, "What is it, Xiaofan?"

Zhang Qingyue shook his head and forced a smile. "Nothing." But for all his words, his eyes remained fixed on where Qi Hao stood.

Qi Hao had by now reached Tian Lingsu and Wenpei. He greeted Tian Lingsu first with a smile. "Junior Sister Tian, do you remember me?"

Tian Lingsu had been chatting happily with Wenpei and the other Xiaozhu Peak women. Now, with Qi Hao suddenly appearing, she blushed for some reason and her voice dropped low. "Yes. Greetings, Senior Brother Qi."

Seen from afar, Tian Lingsu's delicate face was gently flushed, and at first glance her limpid eyes seemed dreamlike and illusory. Yet that beautiful face, reflected in Zhang Qingyue's eyes far off, cut into him like a blade, causing pain deep in his heart.

"Xiaofan, what is wrong with you? Why has your face suddenly gone so pale?" Lin Jinghong, at a loss, said with concern, "Are you ill?"

"N-nothing, I am fine," Zhang Qingyue said quietly.

In the distance, Wenpei was sharp enough of mind; one look at Tian Lingsu's expression and she had a fair idea of what was going on. She turned to Qi Hao and said, "Senior Brother Qi, how is it that you know only Junior Sister Tian, and have no eyes for the rest of us sisters of Xiaozhu Peak?"

At her words the women behind her all clamored, and Qi Hao said hurriedly, "What sort of talk is that, Senior Sister Wen? How would I dare slight any of the senior sisters of Xiaozhu Peak?"

Wenpei gave a light laugh. "Senior Brother Qi, entering the Seven-Branch Martial Gathering once more—surely you are determined to take it this time?"

A flash of keen light crossed Qi Hao's eyes. "At the last gathering, Senior Sister Wen passed three rounds in succession, only to lose narrowly to Senior Brother Xiao Yichen of the head branch—a great pity. I imagine that after sixty years of intensive cultivation, and with the careful nurturing of Master Shuijing, you now enter as Xiaozhu Peak's foremost expert, and must also be aiming for the champion's crown."

Wenpei smiled. "I would not dare, I would not dare. How could I presume to contend with Senior Brother Qi? And as for the title of Xiaozhu Peak's foremost expert, I could never live up to it."

Qi Hao frowned. "Senior Sister Wen, you are too modest—"

Wenpei laughed. "Not at all. My master, Master Shuijing, is a scholar of heaven-deep learning, but my own aptitude is dull, and I have not received even a tenth of her true transmission. Our branch has other prodigies among its sisters—Senior Brother Qi had best be careful."

The keen light in Qi Hao's eyes blazed brighter, though he smiled. "So much the better. Whoever can make Senior Sister Wen concede must surely be a rare genius of the age. I truly long to meet such a one soon."

Wenpei gave a light laugh, nodded in acknowledgment, and said no more, drawing away the still reluctant Tian Lingsu to one side.

Just then a shrill whistle came from above the plaza, like a thunderclap, shaking the whole assembly. Several hundred Qingyun disciples on the plaza all looked up and saw a streak of red light shooting toward them. In an instant it halted above the plaza: a crimson immortal sword scattering threads of immortal qi, hovering in midair, with a Daoist of the head branch of Jietian Peak standing upon it. He called out clearly to the disciples of the various branches gathered on the plaza:

"Senior Brothers, the Sect Master and the various masters have issued an order: all senior brothers taking part in the Seven-Branch Martial Gathering, please come up to Yuheng Hall to confer."

The mountain wind blew, white clouds drifted, and the several hundred Qingyun disciples on the plaza stirred for a moment; then, one after another, people stepped out and headed toward the front of the plaza.

Zhang Qingyue had assumed that those disciples of profound cultivation would simply summon their treasures and fly there, but to his surprise none of them seemed inclined to; every one of them walked honestly on foot. He walked alongside Lin Jinghong and glanced left and right: Tian Lingsu was walking with Wenpei and the other women of Xiaozhu Peak, her face wreathed in smiles, her mood clearly excellent, while Song Dayi and the other Dazhu Peak disciples followed behind them.

As for the Long Peak branch, seven or eight men had come out from among Qi Hao's group, but they had now drifted elsewhere and were exchanging greetings with disciples who had likewise stepped out from other branches. Qi Hao in particular called out the names of disciples from other branches with easy familiarity, greeting them all, smooth and sociable in every direction, and the disciples of the other branches all met him with smiling faces—clearly he had a wide circle of acquaintances.

"Senior Brother Qi is very good at making friends," Lin Jinghong, walking beside him, remarked, noticing that Zhang Qingyue's gaze stayed fixed on Qi Hao. "And his cultivation is profound, and he enjoys the trust of our master, Master Cangsong. That is why everyone in the Canglan Sect gives him face."

Zhang Qingyue took this in without changing expression and only nodded slowly.

At the end of the plaza was the Rainbow Bridge, one of the Six Scenes of Qingyun. Zhang Qingyue and Lin Jinghong had both crossed it five years ago when they were rescued and brought up Mount Canglan. Now, revisiting the old ground, they could not help feeling a pang of emotion.

Setting foot on that bridge, a work of uncanny craftsmanship, and gazing at the clear water that flowed down both its sides and still refracted a dazzling, beautiful seven-colored rainbow, the two boys who five years ago had known nothing of the world were now disciples of the Canglan Sect. Walking at the rear of the crowd, Lin Jinghong suddenly sighed softly. "Five years!"

Zhang Qingyue said nothing and simply walked on. The scene before him was just as it had been that year: as the Rainbow Bridge climbed, the white clouds gradually fell away beneath their feet, and the azure sky, clear as if washed, stretched overhead.

"Why doesn't anyone fly up on a sword?" Zhang Qingyue asked suddenly.