To Travel by the Edge of a Creek

Chapter 6: Qingshan

GenZany

MARCH 9, 2022

To Travel by the Edge of a Creek – Chapter 6: Qingshan

The travelers chatted together, and they arrived at the foot of the mountain before half a day had passed.

Qingshan was surrounded by immensely tall mountains that pierced the clouds. The mountain gate and its accompanying steps of the mountain path were hidden by the cloudy mist, its end out of sight. At the foot of the mountain was an enormous boulder engraved with ‘Qingshan’. The writing style was bold and forceful; the engraver was surely one of profound skill. Beside the boulder was a boy servant, who had been waiting for some time to lead the way. The boy servant’s hair was bound into a bun on the top of his head, and he wore moon-white robes embroidered with silver bamboo patterns. Seeing that people had arrived, he came forward in welcome.

“These shijie and shixiong have come to attend the Sword Conference, then.”

“Yes.” Shen Xiuqi answered, his voice clear, resonant, and articulate. Because of his tall stature, reaching almost to the heavens, as well as him often being in Xibei—unlike a woman of a respectable family, he did not attach much importance to his skin, so his skin was burnished by the sun and quite tanned—he bore a remarkable resemblance to the men of Xibei. Although he wore refined clothing, he was unavoidably fierce-looking. When he stepped forward to hand over his name card, the boy servant could not help himself from taking a few steps back when he saw his appearance.

“Shixiong, you’re scaring everyone.” Shangguan Qing smiled, stepping forward gracefully. She took the name card from Shen Xiuqi’s hand and passed it to the boy servant. The boy servant looked over the name card and said: “So you are shijie and shixiong from the Yueluo Sect. You must be weary from the long journey. The Sect Leader has already arranged for your residences.” As he spoke, he pulled a jade token from his pocket. The jade token was marked with crimson channels and emerald bamboo, with the characters for ‘Yueluo’ inscribed in the center, exquisite and beautiful.

With this level of meticulousness and consideration, Qingshan was indeed worthy of being a major sect.

“When you ascend the mountain, show this token to the gatekeepers and they will show you to your residence.” The boy servant’s speech was extremely reverential, with a thorough presentation of etiquette.

Shangguan Qing received the token and placed it in her sleeve, smiling sweetly at the boy servant as she said: “Thank you, shidi.”

The boy servant slanted his body to peer around these two and discovered that the trio behind them were not wearing the same clothing of the Yueluo sect members. He asked: “Excuse me, which sect are these shijie and shixiong from?”

Yun He saw that the two from the Yueluo Sect had brought a name card, but all she remembered from her previous time coming with shifu was entering directly through the mountain gate; there had not been nearly as many convoluted formalities. Thinking about it, this year’s Sword Conference also included disciples from other sects, so it must be a little different from previous year’s. Yun Yangzi had not left them any kind of name card either, so the trio felt a bit discomfited.

Yun He remembered the letter she had received from Yun Yangzi. Contained in the letter were a few trifles that occurred in Minghe since they left, details of the banquet after the Sword Conference concludes, as well as the instruction that after the banquet, the trio need not hurry back to Minghe, lest there be a breach of etiquette.

Yun He pulled out the letter and gave it to the boy servant. When he saw the sender’s name of ‘Yun Yangzi’, his eyes lit up: “So you are the disciples of Yun Yangzi-shibo, the one shizun always talks about. Shizun has been waiting for you for a while.”