Pei Ye pressed his palms together. "Sorry, that wouldn't be convenient."
"...Oh." The receptionist paused. "Then please go right in, Young Hero Pei, both of you."
After finishing his notes, the receptionist handed the invitation to the maid behind him. She bowed and led the two of them onward.
"Thank you, thank you."
Li Tishui walked inside. "It seems Heavenly Mountain really does treat you well."
"Our friendship goes back to Shaolong." Pei Ye smiled.
Late spring was approaching. Greenery dotted the garden, and orioles sang their lilting songs. Heavenly Mountain's style favored rustic simplicity over soft delicacy, so pines, cypresses, and curious rocks abounded, while the flowers and plants were few but exquisite.
The garden was enormous. After walking deep into it for quite some time, through overlapping glimpses of railings, they finally saw a broad, level pool, its surface like a mirror. All around it, rocks and vegetation, pavilions and seating had been made ready.
Now they could hear plenty of talking and laughter too. The size of the gathering and the number of people rather exceeded Pei Ye's expectations.
But after scanning the crowd, he still spotted that stretch of plainly colored sword robes.
Chapter 745: Looking down from the pavilion
There were some thirty people from the Sword Cultivation Academy, with a dozen low tables arranged beneath an artificial rock formation. Two or three sat around each, scattered about but filling every table.
Pei Ye led Li Tishui over and offered a couple of greetings. People shifted to free up a low table for them. His standing in the Sword Cultivation Academy was quite high now, and many leaned forward with smiles to greet him.
It was bustling indeed. Pavilions rose at different heights around the pool, with countless low tables clustered together or scattered about.