Snow Eagle Ridge had arranged residences for the great clans and major sects invited to the Heroes' Gathering. For privacy, these were scattered throughout the county town.
Although Wei Wuyi disliked Zhang Guan of Purple Emblem Mountain and the monks sent by Tiantai Temple to supervise, he still had to observe the proper courtesies. Their accommodations were on the outskirts of town, in pleasant surroundings but far from the Various Major Sects—clearly, he did not want Daoism and Buddhism stealing the limelight on an occasion like this.
As night deepened, more than a dozen male and female disciples stood outside Purple Emblem Mountain's residence with Dharma Swords on their backs. Beyond them, a sea of young heroes craned their necks, hoping to see Fairy Nangong.
Although Purple Emblem Mountain had explicitly stated that its sect leader would not attend and that the deputy sect leader had come instead, Fairy Nangong had always said that in the past to avoid being surrounded by curious onlookers. What if she had come?
And so, many young heroes stubbornly waited in the street for the Daoist Sect's foremost beauty, who was "cold as an iceberg, untouched by mortal concerns, unsmiling toward men, to be admired from afar but never approached with familiarity." Even a glimpse of her back would make the journey worthwhile.
Inside the residence's reception room, however, Nangong Ye sat in the seat of honor in a black dress, utterly ignoring the noise outside as he studied the intelligence in his hands.
Zhang Guan sat beside a tea table, facing two senior martial uncles from Purple Emblem Mountain. They were conversing:
"Everyone had arrived by this morning. Wei Wuyi held a welcoming banquet at Stormwatch Tower, but we really have no way of finding out what they discussed..."
"That's only natural. Wei