The woman breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Then we've found the right place. The Divine Capital really is far too big. We knew it was in Xingdao Ward, but we still went around in circles several times."
Pei Ye smiled. "You must have come around from Vermilion Bird Thoroughfare. These woods block the view from that direction. If you come along East First Street, it's much easier to see."
The woman nodded in understanding and smiled. "I'm Ning Shuhong of Emei, and this is my junior sister, Zhu Shishi. May I ask which sword school you belong to?"
Pei Ye could only repeat, "I don't belong to any sect, and I don't know anyone here. Brother Wang was just introducing them to me."
"Oh." Ning Shuhong drew his junior sister over to exchange greetings with Wang Shousi. Clearly, both parties had only heard of one another and had never met, and their faces showed a measure of delighted surprise.
Pei Ye did not know that this scholar with his fresh, unassuming air had held the same-tier Chief Champion title in the Southeastern Thirty Sects Sword Debate for nine consecutive years, starting at the age of twelve, and was regarded both within and outside his sect as the hope for Golden Crow's resurgence. Nor did he know that last year, this woman had stormed twenty-three bandit strongholds in the Ten Mountains alone with a single sword, killing two hundred and seventy-one people in one night, her clothes soaked through with blood, earning the saying, "Atop Green Mountain, One Red Tree."
Thus, he did not understand the weight behind their exchanges of "I've long admired your name." He only saw Ning Shuhong likewise cast his gaze outward, slowly surveying everyone before sighing softly. "They really are all outstanding talents from