Inside the Patriarch Hall

Forty-three members listed in the Jise Peak Patriarch Hall register led the way, followed by thirty-six guests attending the ceremony. They followed Mountain Lord Chen Ping'an to offer incense and bow three times before the hanging portraits, then placed their incense in the burner in order of precedence. As host, Chen Ping'an also had to return each guest's respects and thank them. That alone took a full three quarters of an hour.

Beneath the three portraits stood a table and two chairs. One chair remained empty; the other belonged to Chen Ping'an, but he never sat down. Dressed in a green scholar's robe, he stood with his back to the portraits and his face toward the Patriarch Hall doors, returning each person's salute. The thirty-odd guests merely smiled and nodded to the Mountain Lord. If they spoke at all, it was brief—at most a quiet word of congratulations. No one would detain Chen Ping'an with pleasantries at a moment like this.

Nuan Shu, whose name was recorded in the register as Chen Ruchu, served as the female incense attendant who announced the guests. She was therefore allowed to stand beside Chen Ping'an. She called out each guest's name and sect or mountain affiliation, then joined the Mountain Lord in returning that guest's salute.

Chen Ping'an sat first. Hosts and guests then took their seats in orderly fashion.

The chairs in the Jise Peak Patriarch Hall fell into three categories today. The first naturally belonged to those entitled to take part in its deliberations—those who already had chairs that no thunder could budge in Luopo Mountain's Patriarch Hall. Besides Mountain Lord Chen Ping'an, they included his student Cui Dongshan, his eldest disciple Pei Qian, and his student Cao Qinglang.

There were also chief steward Zhu Lian, Mountain Protecting Guardian Zhou Mili,