Just then, Chen Pipi jumped behind the scholar and bowed deeply. "Greetings, Eldest Senior Brother."
Eldest Senior Brother turned around. Seeing Pipi's deliberately solemn expression, he could not help smiling and shaking his head. "Pipi, you're no longer the youngest disciple on Back Mountain. The way you speak and act..."
Before he could finish, Chen Pipi threw his arms around him. "Senior Brother, you're finally back!" he said, overjoyed and aggrieved at once. "Who knows where Teacher has gone off to play? There's no one on Back Mountain who can keep Second Senior Brother in check. He throws his weight around and insists we learn some ancient etiquette. The others are furious but don't dare say a word. He's driven Eleventh Senior Brother nearly mad—even flowers go straight into his mouth now. You have to stand up for us!"
Amid Chen Pipi's torrent of words, Ning Que caught two things.
First, Pipi had said their teacher was off "playing" somewhere. Second, he had said Second Senior Brother tyrannized everyone while the others dared not complain. And there was Chen Pipi, holding Eldest Senior Brother like a treasure, his round face full of hope and delight without a trace of deference or distance. Ning Que understood then: neither Fuzi nor Eldest Senior Brother did much to manage Back Mountain.
Chen Pipi wiped the tears and snot from his face, then pulled Ning Que into a hug and thumped him hard on the back. "Youngest Senior Brother, you've been through a lot... Oh, this young lady is beautiful."
Ning Que shoved him away roughly and glanced back at Mo Shanshan, deeply embarrassed. Who compliments a woman's looks the moment they meet her? He's disgraced all of Back Mountain.
Ning Que introduced her. "This is Mo Shanshan of the Great River Kingdom, Saint