Chapter 19 — Reunion

Song Dayi froze. The voice lingered in his ears like celestial music; a moment later he came to as if waking from a dream and spun around like lightning. Behind him stood five or six female disciples, and from their attire he could tell they belonged to Xiaozhu Peak of the Canglan Sect, which had always admitted only women.

And the one at their head, facing them, was a beauty with a melon-seed-shaped face, hair like clouds, skin like snow, and a faint smile at the corner of her lips. Zhang Qingyue looked at her and was about to turn and ask which branch she belonged to, but when he glanced back he saw that from Wu Dayi to Zheng Dali to He Dachuan, every one of them wore a strange smile. Something stirred in his mind; he looked again at Song Dayi and saw that this ordinarily shrewd and capable senior brother wore a foolish grin, standing there dumbly as though he had forgotten how to speak. Zhang Qingyue thought it over and guessed the woman's identity.

Sure enough, He Dachuan and the others at his side were waiting to enjoy the show, but Song Dayi had suddenly fallen into a state of idiocy. That idiotic look was more than the Dazhu Peak contingent could bear; even the female disciples of Xiaozhu Peak across from them were covering their mouths and giggling. The beauty standing before Song Dayi flushed slightly and called in a low voice, "Senior Brother Song."

Song Dayi still had not come to his senses. He Dachuan, thoroughly impatient, cut in with a laugh: "Ha ha, Senior Sister Wenpei, it has been many years since you and I last met. How have you been lately?"

Wenpei's lovely eyes settled on the lean man and lingered a moment before she smiled and said, "This must be Senior Brother He Dachuan?"

He Dachuan nodded repeatedly. "That is I. Senior Sister Wen, what a memory you have—we met only once, sixty years ago, and you still remember me. I am truly flattered."

Wenpei smiled faintly. "Senior Brother He fought valiantly against a formidable opponent in the last tournament and displayed great skill. Of course I remember."

He Dachuan reddened. In the previous Seven-Branch Martial Gathering he had drawn a master from Jietian Peak, the head branch, in the first round; though he had done his utmost, he had been defeated. But he was a shrewd man, and he laughed it off. "Those old matters are best left unmentioned. My paltry cultivation is far beneath that of Senior Sister Wen and our senior brother. Speaking of which, ever since the last gathering, our senior brother has thought of you constantly."

Wenpei's face reddened slightly, but she did not answer; she only glanced at Song Dayi out of the corner of her eye. The younger sisters behind her, however, had already burst out laughing. Song Dayi, a rugged, burly man, was now as flustered as a bashful youth. He protested at once, "No—no, when have I ever thought of her constantly—"

"What?" A young woman behind Wenpei cut him off before he could finish. "Then you don't think of our Senior Sister Wenpei at all?"

Song Dayi's heart skipped. He stole a glance at Wenpei and saw that she was looking right back at him, her lovely eyes unblinking. Panicking, he blurted out, "N-no, that's not it, I do think of her—"

"Ha!"

The disciples of Dazhu Peak and Xiaozhu Peak roared with laughter together, especially the young women behind Wenpei, whose laughter was so bright and loud that disciples from the other branches nearby could not help glancing their way.

When the laughter had somewhat subsided, He Dachuan turned to the women of Xiaozhu Peak with a solemn face. "Senior Sisters, our senior brother's meaning is actually this: it is not that he does not think of Senior Sister Wenpei, but that he does not think of her constantly—"

"Then what is it?" a Xiaozhu Peak disciple called out laughingly.

He Dachuan glanced at her and smiled. "It is that every quarter hour he remembers Senior Sister Wen once, and every quarter hour after that he speaks her name once—that is why he says he does not think of her constantly."

Everyone howled with laughter. Song Dayi shot He Dachuan a murderous glare, yet from the corner of his eye he looked at Wenpei and saw the smile at the corner of her lips, and that she did not seem angry at all. Secret delight welled up in him, though he stammered, "Junior Sister Wen, they just love to joke, don't—don't take it to heart."

Wenpei smiled, turned her head to hush her younger sisters, who were shaking with laughter, then looked at him deeply and said, "Then what is it that you think in your heart?"

Song Dayi's face twisted in distress; he stammered "I—I—I" several times but could not get a word out. At the sight of him the young women could not help laughing again. Wenpei shook her head, shot him a glare, and paid him no more mind. She walked over to Tian Lingsu, took her jade-white hand, looked her over carefully, and said, "You must be Junior Sister Ling'er?"

Tian Lingsu said in surprise, "Yes. Senior Sister Wen, how did you know me?"

Wenpei smiled. "You often came with our Martial Aunt Su Wan to Xiaozhu Peak to visit our master, so we have known you for a long time. After several years apart, you have grown even prettier."

Tian Lingsu held Wenpei's hand and smiled. "Not at all—how could I compare with Senior Sister Wenpei's flowerlike beauty?" Here she lowered her voice, leaned close, and whispered, "My senior brother has been utterly bewitched by you, Senior Sister Wen."

Wenpei darted a glance at Song Dayi, who immediately put on a foolish grin. She shook her head and said softly, "That senior brother of yours—he really is a block of wood."

Tian Lingsu burst out laughing, and at once felt she had found in Senior Sister Wenpei a kindred spirit too late. Wenpei gave her hand a gentle tug, and Tian Lingsu followed her into the midst of the Xiaozhu Peak women. A few chirping exchanges later, she was thick as thieves with them, and peals of laughter kept drifting out from the group of women, leaving Song Dayi and the others standing to one side.

Song Dayi stood there, longing to step forward and speak with Wenpei, yet at a loss for how to begin, and so he stayed where he was. It was not only the others—even Zhang Qingyue, watching from the side, shook his head mightily.

Just then Zhang Qingyue heard Du Biyan beside him say, "Here come a lot more people."

Puzzled, Zhang Qingyue turned to look—and his body gave a sudden jolt. A crowd was approaching from the distance, thirty-odd people in all, every one clad in white, brimming with martial spirit—or, put another way, one might as well say swaggering with arrogance. But the few at their head carried themselves with uncommon distinction, especially the foremost man, whose white robes were like snow and whose bearing was elegant and free. Who else could it be but Qi Hao?

Qi Hao!

Zhang Qingyue stared at the approaching group and repeated the name heavily in his heart. At the same time he heard his fourth senior brother, He Dachuan, give a sudden laugh beside him and say in a low voice, "The Long Peak branch really does have the numbers."

Qi Hao had by now also spotted the Dazhu Peak group and came straight over, his followers trailing behind him. Reaching them, he cupped his hands to Song Dayi with a smile. "Senior Brother Song, we meet again."

Song Dayi did not dare be remiss; he returned the salute. "Senior Brother Qi, you have come too. Will you be entering this gathering?"

Qi Hao smiled. "I had originally not intended to, but my master felt my cultivation still needed tempering and ordered me to take part, so I have shamelessly taken up one of my branch's places."

Song Dayi nodded with a smile. "That is excellent. With Senior Brother Qi's talent, this victory can only be yours."

Qi Hao shook his head repeatedly and said modestly, "Not at all, not at all. Senior Brother Song flatters me too much."