(Yesterday I wrote "old crows" instead of "madams" in quite a few places... I have no idea how that happened. Also, about the name of Yuan Qu's sword: a reader suggested Plum Sword, which feels pretty cool, and interesting too. Does anyone have any other good ideas? But don't let your swords stray down eccentric paths like those alternative names for Yuan Qu!)
Yuan Qu went to Shangde Peak. During the climb, he had a good long talk with Junior Sister Yushan, picking out the important events outside Yunji Town to recount to her, leaving her filled with longing. When she heard that True Person Tan had actually gone to Yunji Town in person and even wanted to invite Jing Jiu to become the Zhongzhou Sect's sect master, she exclaimed in surprise again and again.
Reaching that bitterly cold cave abode at the summit, Yuan Qu obediently knelt and kowtowed many times to Yuan Qijing, then answered his questions in careful detail before standing, rubbing his waist, and jumping into the well.
Riding that crooked flying sword, he descended underground with the daylight, then knelt and kowtowed many times to Corpse Dog before heading deeper into the Sword Prison.
Entering the Hidden Peak, where the sky was blue as porcelain and so beautiful it seemed unreal, Yuan Qu passed flowers covering the mountains and fields and found Tong Yan's cave abode.
"There's a formation outside, but it must have stopped working a long time ago. Why didn't you leave? Still, it's good you're here. I kept worrying that Sect Master Uncle had miscalculated. What if that A Piao had killed you?"
Yuan Qu said, "I really didn't want to come in and find a skeleton. Not that I'd be particularly scared, but thinking it was someone I knew