To Travel by the Edge of a Creek

I’ll put it back in its original place.”

Once Yun He came out, the trio saw that they all wore their own clothing and exchanged smiles. 

…

The banquet was held in the Guest Palace[1], which while not large, was more than sufficient to hold the disciples and elders of the three sects. 

The errand-running disciples had gone down the mountain before to procure fresh ingredients and find famed chefs of some restaurants to prepare a gourmet spread.
Elder Yi, who was in charge, had come to the Guest Palace early to prepare.
Any disciples who did not move fast enough would hear his reprimands. 

The chefs brought their skills out to bear, and as the fragrant aroma of the feast wafted over the Qingshan Mountain, even the small critters on the mountain gathered together. 

…

Once the trio was ready to go, they headed over to the Guest Palace. 

A flock of birds suddenly took flight on the mountain.
Jiang Ling vigilantly gazed over to that distant spot. 

“What’s wrong?” Gu Yun asked. 

“Nothing.” She was probably too sensitive.
It was just a flock of birds. 

Halfway there, they ran into the disciples of the Yueluo Sect. 

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“Jiang Ling-er!” Shangguan Qing went forward to meet her like they had been separated for ages. 

“Humph.” Han Pengyi looked at Shangguan Qing acting this way and feigned anger, “Miss Shangguan must want to transfer sects.”

The trio heard Han Pengyi’s stern voice and were frightened.
They said to Han Pengyi reverently: “Greetings, senior.”

“Mm.” Han Pengyi was quite satisfied; Yun Yang’s disciples were taught well. 

Shangguan Qing hurried back over to Han Pengyi, “Senior-shishu[2], would you really have the heart to let me transfer?”

“Why would I not?”

“I’ll go study the Qingshan Sect’s sword arts, then.”  Shangguan Qing acquiesced to Han Pengyi’s words. 

“Then my ‘thunderclap’ spear technique will be lost because of you, lousy girl.” Shangguan Qing had originally studied under Han Pengyi.
Han Pengyi was a contemporary of Lu Yi, and back then, the ‘thunderclap’ spear had been as famous in Jianghu as Lu Yi’s Qingshan sword arts.
Han Pengyi thought that the disciples he had brought along were bothersome.
He himself was an old man without any female relatives or wife, so it was not prudent for him to accept a girl as a disciple, and so, he had left Shangguan Qing with Han Yuyang.
Han Yuyang did not have a son by his knee, and Shangguan Qing had been brought up by Han Yuyang’s wife, so Han Pengyi would every now and then come to their courtyard to teach the little girl. 

“It was Senior-shishu who didn’t want me first.”

“Fine, fine, come back so your shimu[3] can scold you.”

…

Han Pengyi saw that the trio was still standing in place, “Is your shifu well?”

“Shifu is very well.
He is back on Minghe Mountain enjoying a leisurely life.” Gu Yun said. 

“That’s good, haha.”

Looking at these three disciples, Han Pengyi recalled the three disciples of Lu Yi.
They had been young and vibrant, too, and daring and energetic enough to make people envious.
Then he thought, it was not that he could not accept disciples, but rather, he had later seen one of those disciples leave and another die, leaving only Liu Qi behind to bitterly guard the mountain gate.
He sighed and thought that being alone was just fine.
It was just that, after he had taught Shangguan Qing and he was entrusted with her care, he could not rest easy this time with Shangguan Qing traveling outside of the sect, so he used the pretext of traveling with her to come and see how his old friend was doing. 

It was easy for those up there in years to reminisce on the past.
Whenever he met Lu Yi, they would talk endlessly.
Yun Yang’s three disciples unavoidably made Han Pengyi sorrowful. 

Han Pengyi signaled to everyone to continue on without delay.
Jiang Ling waited and joined with the group of Yueluo disciples to go to the Guest Palace.
The food was served just about as they entered. 

The Guest Palace was already full of many people.
The Sect Leader, Liu Qi, as well as the sect leader of the Qiantian Sect, Zhong Shi, had already arrived and were recalling past events. 

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The disciples of each were guided to their seats one after the other by little disciples of the Qingshan Sect. 

Liu Qi expressed that they need not hold back and called a beginning to the banquet. 

As Jiang Ling and the other two were conversing with the disciples of the Yueluo Sect, they naturally sat beside them.
Shangguan Qing had just come from Longxi, so she had never really had the chance to sample the cuisine of the southern central plains.
She intended to eat her fill this time.
Because the trio had eaten the mountain pig earlier, they were not very hungry, so they only ate some food to be polite. 

However, from how Shangguan Qing and Shen Xiuqi acted, it was like the mountain pig had never existed.
They ate and drank everything in sight, and it was unknown if everyone in Xibei had appetites like these, or if it was just them. 

…

“Liu-laodi[4], won’t you have a cup?” Zhong Shi invited Liu Qi to a drink. 

Liu Qi shook his head. 

“You really were a little fuddy-duddy as a child, and now that you’re at this age, you’re an old fuddy-duddy.” He did not know how he got married back then. 

Zhong Shi really wanted to ask if he had had a drink at his wedding, but he did not have the opportunity to ask. 

“Zhong-xiong.” Liu Qi suddenly took the offered cup and emptied it in one gulp.
Since he had seen Yun Yang’s three disciples, things of the past had risen in his mind constantly.
His mind was unsettled, so he drank the wine to ease his worries. 

“Good wine! Haha!.” Zhong Shi laughed uninhibitedly. 

Liu Qi drank some, then sensed that Elder Ye of the Hall of Swords had not yet arrived at the banquet, even though he is usually late. 

“Gu Shi, go to the Hall of Swords and invite Elder Ye over.”

“Understood.” Gu Shi rose and quickly headed off to the Hall of Swords. 

…

Gu Yun absent-mindedly ate, then looked in A Du’s direction and started to walk over to where he was. 

“Why are you going over there?”

“To have a man-to-man talk with A Du.
Don’t come over ah.” Gu Yun put on a tight-lipped expression. 

“Who even cares.” Jiang Ling put her chopsticks down, a sense of exasperation and irritation clogging up her chest. 

…