"Master, what brings you here?"
"Nothing in particular. I came to have a look. Of Qingyun's seven peaks, Xiaozhu Peak was the only one I hadn't visited!"
Mu Yina said, "Shall I take you to see my senior sister?"
"Let's go!"
After following a path lined with slender bamboo, they arrived before a fairly large bamboo house. In the spacious clearing outside, a woman who had lost none of her grace was practicing her swordsmanship.
"Senior sister!"
"Martial uncle? My respects, martial uncle!"
"Mm, no need for formalities. Shui Yue, I'm going into seclusion at Looking-Moon Terrace for a while. Always staying in Huanyue Cave Abode gets terribly dull.
"Besides, your cultivation is lacking. Why are you only at the fifth layer of Shangqing?
"Didn't Su Ru copy out my cultivation insights and bring them to you sisters?"
Shui Yue looked embarrassed. Only in front of him would she react this way; his seniority left her little choice.
Otherwise, even Daoxuan, the sect leader, only received as much respect as she felt inclined to give him.
"Ahem, martial uncle, this disciple is ashamed. My aptitude and comprehension are lacking. Even with those insights, I've only reached the fifth layer of Shangqing.
"If you wish to go to Looking-Moon Terrace, I'll show you the way. I'll also have disciples deliver your meals regularly."
"There's no need to rush on the path of cultivation. The supreme good is like water; the Dao follows nature!"
A bright moon hung overhead.
Qingyun Sect, Xiaozhu Peak, Looking-Moon Terrace.
Moonlight spilled like water over Xiaozhu Peak. Dressed in gray, Shi Yongheng stood at the very edge of Looking-Moon Terrace on Xiaozhu Peak's Back Mountain, his expression as still as an ancient well.
Looking-Moon Terrace was Xiaozhu Peak's most famous landmark within the Qingyun Sect. Together