In a rural village school, a teacher named Chen Ji was instructing his disciple in a particular stance.
While Zhao Shu Xia rested, his feelings were complicated. During the day, his master had nearly been scratched across the face by a shrew who had barged into the school.
In Yuxuan Kingdom Capital City, where there was no curfew, the fortune-telling Daoist priest Wu Di cooked himself a late-night meal, then stepped out of his residence beneath the night sky. Passing Changning County Yamen, he saw the Yamen Shrine brightly lit, presumably because another dispute had broken out. The Daoist priest headed north through a shabby alley in Yongjia County, intending to find a Young Man and chat for a while.
Over at Caiyu Mountain, Chen Jiu, the outer-sect reception steward of Bamboo Branch Sect, arrived at the riverside where he had already baited the waters, ready for some night fishing. That was how experts did things: one rod, one stool, one fish basket, and absolutely no spreading out a stall.
Within Fenwan Mansion on Hehuan Mountain, the Young Man carrying a sword on his back and using the alias Chen Ren had an empty scabbard. He was hesitating over whether to let his disciple trade blows with that shifty-eyed Grandmaster Wen, to get some practice in.
Atop Ink Wash Peak, Chen Ping'an, dressed in the manner of an immortal sage, neither confirmed nor denied it. Smiling, he took his leave and gave Cao Rong a Daoist clasped-hands salute. "If Cao Heavenly Monarch ever finds the time to visit Luopo Mountain, just send word beforehand. I will sweep the couch clean and await you."
Cao Rong did not say that he would definitely visit Luopo Mountain. He merely smiled and returned the salute. "Boundless blessings of the Heavenly Worthy."
Chen Ping'an