Zhang Xiaohua heard the sound of pipes and strings by his ear and could not help but freeze. He had lived in Hui Chun Valley for several months now, and the valley had always been exceedingly secluded and quiet. Never had it been so boisterous. The music had actually carried from the outer valley into the inner valley. Then Zhang Xiaohua's heart leapt with joy. Could it be that people from the Incense-Passing Cult had arrived?
Without bothering to inspect the abnormality of the pill, he instantly spread out his divine sense and sent it straight toward the valley entrance.
Hui Chun Valley Manor had been freshly decorated from top to bottom. Though it was not adorned with lanterns and colored banners as it would be during the New Year, considerable thought had clearly gone into it. At the manor gates, a group of people held musical instruments and played with all their strength. The sound of pipes and strings had come from there.
Valley Master Nie had changed into brand-new robes and headwear. Behind him stood Nie Qianyu, Fei He, Mu Qingxuan, and the others. Nie Qianrong and Yue Zhonglin, as well as Nie Qianxiu and Qiangsheng, stood slightly farther back. They waited before the manor gates. Looking farther down the path, a caravan of some ten carriages was making its way toward Hui Chun Valley.
Looking more closely, Zhang Xiaohua saw some twenty young men in tight-fitting attire on either side of the caravan. Long swords hung at all their waists, and they sat tall and spirited on horseback as they guarded both flanks. In particular, several people vigilantly guarded the sides of a somewhat larger carriage in the middle of the convoy, every one of them looking fully devoted to his duty.
Zhang Xiaohua frowned. The carriage