"Oh."
"So, the sword practice you owe me..." Zhang Junxue said in a muffled voice as she sharpened her blade.
"...Tonight," Pei Ye said. "After tonight's cultivation lesson, all right?"
Zhang Junxue nodded.
Pei Ye stood up. "Then I'll be going."
He glanced back at the West Courtyard. The wooden door, soaked by the rain, was still closed.
He suddenly stopped and stood quietly for a while.
"Oh, right." Pei Ye turned and looked down at her. "You said... when Bai Yuliang beat Shang Huaitong, he was at Sixth Growth?"
"Yes."
Pei Ye turned his gaze back to that door.
So.
If Sixth Growth and Yellow Jadeite had already cut off your path once, forcing you to lose a year and start over, then even if you had reached Sixth Growth yourself this time, and logically had no reason to fear a young girl... did you really have the courage to gamble?
Pei Ye left Zhang Junxue, walked up to the door, and raised his hand to knock softly.
This time, however, the person who opened it was not the girl, but a tall man. Pei Ye had seen his back when leaving the courtyard that morning, but as far as he remembered, he had never seen this man during his first overnight stay in the West Courtyard or in the days they had spent together afterward.
Pei Ye cupped his hands in greeting. The man seemed taciturn; he raised his hands to return the gesture, then invited him inside.
Zheng Dong's body lay beneath the small pavilion in the courtyard.
Several Jade Feather disciples stood nearby. Li Piaoqing was not among them. Beside the body, a long-haired man sat motionless in the muddy water, his head bowed.
It was Xiao Qiu.
Pei Ye slowly approached and looked down. All