The taste of summer grew ever more distinct, the weather ever hotter. Even the wind felt stifling.
Who knew whether the people of Dayuan City missed that inexplicable snowstorm from years ago? In any case, the bamboo chair appeared beneath the veranda less and less often.
When the flowers in the lotus pool reached full bloom, Bu Qiuxiao finally finished his arduous work at sea and arrived at Three Thousand Courtyard aboard Kuzhou.
He was a true Sage, and by rights, the Green Mountain Sect should have given him a grander welcome. Yet whether at Bu Qiuxiao's own request or for some other reason, neither True Person Guangyuan nor Nan Wang appeared at Three Thousand Courtyard.
Bu Qiuxiao was in an even sorrier state than the Zen Child. His plain clothes were outrageously filthy, as though they had been dyed black.
Liu S sui welcomed his teacher and prepared towels and hot water as quickly as possible, along with a fresh set of clothes.
Bu Qiuxiao took a hot towel and casually wiped his face, then changed his clothes, but refused to bathe. He went to see Jing Jiu first, then, like the Zen Child, stepped straight through the round window to the lakeside and sat on a stone stool.
"I'd been hoping to see whether a Sage's bathwater could grow some good medicinal herbs," Zhuo Rusui said, looking out the window with some regret.
Que Niang loved cleanliness and could not help wrinkling her nose at this.
The contest between Bu Qiuxiao and Xilai was even simpler. He took out a book and gave it to Xilai.
Xilai took the book and began to read. Pages that even a light breeze could turn seemed to become immensely heavy beneath his fingers, like a great mountain.
Each time he turned