Chapter 519 — Worldly Ways

Chen Chen pressed him for details. Helpless, Zhang Xiaohua cleared his throat and began recounting everything — how he met Nie Qianyu and Little Orange, how they encountered danger, how they were sent to Spring Rebirth Valley, how he stepped onto the arena stage to compete, and so on. Whatever he should have told, he embellished with flair; whatever he should not have mentioned, he filled in with wild nonsense. The group listened with great delight, as if they themselves had experienced it, their curiosity and thirst for gossip fully satisfied.

At last, Chen Chen still looked unconvinced. “Little Brother Ren, you really didn’t even touch Nie Qianyu’s hand? Don’t lie to me — honestly. If you didn’t, how could she think to have you go up on the platform? That’s clearly because she wants to marry you!”

“What a silly big sister,” Zhang Xiaohua inwardly concluded, chuckling to himself. “So a girl can only think of marriage after someone holds her hand? She knows even less than I do. Looks like Li Jinfeng ought to give her a proper lesson.”

Beside them, Kong Que burst out laughing and reproached her: “He’s just a young boy — how can he say such things in front of you? Don’t you realize — if there hadn’t been something between them, would that girl have thrown herself into his arms, crying when they left Spring Rebirth Valley? Try using your head.”

“I knew it! No wonder…” Chen Chen pretended to be angry, then waggled her brows. “You brat, hiding this even from your big sister! If Senior Sister Kong hadn’t mentioned it, you’d have kept me in the dark. So — how did it feel, holding such soft fragrance in your arms?”

Zhang Xiaohua covered his forehead, nearly blurting out: “Big sister, are you twenty or thirty? Is that something you ask people?”

Seeing his face redden and his muttering silence, Chen Chen felt even more triumphant, convinced she’d struck the mark, and grew all the more interested.

Kong Que glared and waved a hand. “Junior Sister Chen, really — what am I to do with you? The male disciples in the sect already tremble before us like mice before cats, too timid to speak directly. But you still can’t pester Ren Xiaoyao with endless questions like this. Let the boy keep some privacy — or how will he dare face you again?”

Chen Chen laughed awkwardly, rubbing her hands together. “Senior Sister Kong knows me too well. Heh — those little brats are no fun: either shaking with fear or shamelessly trying to cozy up to you. Now that I’ve finally met someone with stories to tell, how could I let him off easily?”

“I’m dizzy…” Zhang Xiaohua nearly stumbled. He had risked his life saving people and escorting them across thousands of miles, and now it had become light gossip over tea. “Sigh… these heaven-favored daughters.”

He lamented inwardly — the unfairness of the world was truly abundant.

Xia Qing laughed. “Plenty of people in the sect have stories. You simply don’t care to hear them.”

“Tsk, what stories could there be?” Chen Chen curled her lip. “Most were brought into the sect at four or five years old. Where would they get stories from? It’s all just shut-door fabrication and wild imagination.”

Zhang Xiaohua was secretly delighted. “As the ancients said: when telling a lie, seven parts truth and three parts falsehood are hardest to discern. I just split it half and half — and this newly acknowledged ‘big sister’ actually believes it.”

Chen Chen then cast him a look like a weasel eyeing a chick. “Little Brother Ren, what other juicy tidbits do you have? Spill them all.”

Zhang Xiaohua said awkwardly, “I’m still young. I haven’t roamed the jianghu long, and my experiences are few. There’s really nothing much to tell.”

“Young?” Chen Chen looked disdainful. “With that build of yours, you could certainly fool little girls. Hmph — even Nie Qianyu threw herself into your arms, and you still dare say you lack experience?”

She winked. “Any other romantic adventures? Tell your big sisters — we’ll keep it secret. We definitely won’t tell Spring Rebirth Valley.”

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua’s face turn red and his silence deepen, she continued, “Forget it. I heard from Senior Sister Kong that Nie Qianyu isn’t even pretty, and she’s short too. If you tell your secrets to your big sisters, I’ll find you a peerless beauty within our Incense Spreading Sect. You might as well not go back. After all, you two haven’t performed the wedding rites yet. What do you say?”

Zhang Xiaohua felt thoroughly ashamed. How had he failed Chen Chen’s good intentions so completely? How was it that he had no tales of romance to contribute?

Just as he was about to speak, a disciple approached and bowed. “Lady Kong, the caravan has halted for quite some time. If we do not depart soon, we may not reach the scheduled location before nightfall.”

Kong Que nodded. “Very well. We depart at once. Go inform the others.”

Then she turned to Zhang Xiaohua. “Ren Xiaoyao, you may return. If you don’t wish to remain inside the carriage, ride your Sibuxiang for some air. From what you said, you drove the carriage the entire thousand-li escort of the beauty — quite commendable.”

Zhang Xiaohua bowed. “Many thanks, Lady Kong.”

He cupped his fists as well to the other “big sisters” before turning and leaving.

The moment he was gone, one of the female disciples complained: “Junior Sister Chen, what are you doing? He’s only a medicine boy from the Tuodan Hall, and quite ordinary-looking at that. Why let him call us ‘big sisters’? Isn’t that rather absurd?”

Another disciple chimed in with mild reproach: “Exactly. We were only listening to a story, and now we’ve gained a bargain-bin little brother for nothing. If that fellow starts borrowing our prestige and waving our banner in the future, what will you do then?”

Xia Qing said nothing, quietly listening without offering her opinion.

Chen Chen glanced only at Kong Que. The two of them cultivated the same technique and were far closer than the others. Seeing that her senior sister showed no sign of blame, she laughed. “Didn’t you see how meek and deferential he was? Where would he get the nerve? Besides, from what Senior Sister Kong said, he’s one of those rare chivalrous sorts found in the jianghu — he wouldn’t do such a thing. And anyway, once he reaches our Incense Spreading Sect, he’ll be like an ant in our hands. If he dares step out of line, a single finger would crush him easily — hehe…”

These words sounded nothing like her earlier eager gossiping.

The others, hearing this, agreed and stopped pursuing the matter. Then Xia Qing asked: “Senior Sister Kong, when you went to Mo Chou City this time, you saw Lake Mochou, didn’t you? Tell us about the scenery there! And — that wretched Frowning Tower — is it still intact?”

Kong Que smiled. “I knew you’d envy me. I even brought local specialties from Mochou City for all of you — I’ll give them out once we return to the sect…”

She then recounted her journey and experiences in Mochou City in gentle detail.

When she finished, each of them in turn described the places they had visited and the local customs they’d encountered, elaborating at length.

They had long since forgotten the matter of “big sisters and little brother.”

Returning to the carriage, Zhang Xiaohua found Qiang Shi brimming with curiosity, asking about what had happened outside. Zhang Xiaohua didn’t hide anything — he told a shortened version — and it filled Qiang Shi with undisguised envy. After all, before even entering the Incense Spreading Sect, Zhang Xiaohua had already acknowledged several inner-disciples as elder sisters — something Qiang Shi wouldn’t have dreamed possible.

Had he not known Zhang Xiaohua wasn’t as handsome as himself, Qiang Shi might have suspected the sect selected people by appearance alone.

Seeing the jealousy Qiang Shi tried to conceal, Zhang Xiaohua inwardly shook his head: “These casual forms of address — who takes them seriously? Anyone who truly does is a fool.”

In any case, Zhang Xiaohua had never intended to keep calling them “sisters” once inside the Incense Spreading Sect. This differed from when he was eleven or twelve and met Qiu Tong and Ou Yan. Back then, he was young and ignorant; seeing how kind they were, he called them that casually — and fortunately, they didn’t mind. Moreover, his status wasn’t much different from Qiu Tong’s, so there was little at stake. As for Ou Yan, though somewhat aloof, she and Qiu Tong treated each other like sisters, and they all lived together in the small Piaomiao Manor — so calling her that was harmless.

The Incense Spreading Sect, however, was entirely different — he couldn’t speak so casually.

Watching Zhang Xiaohua remain calm and unmoved by favor or slight, Qiang Shi secretly gave a thumbs-up in admiration. “As expected of someone fit to be my future uncle-in-law — impressive.”

After several more days, even more people arrived. Not only were there veiled inner sect female disciples, but quite a number of unmasked male disciples came as well. Yet regardless of age, every one of these inner male disciples addressed Kong Que and the others uniformly as Senior Sister.

Seeing several bearded men respectfully calling Xia Qing “Senior Sister,” Zhang Xiaohua laughed so hard he nearly fell off the carriage. “So the Incense Spreading Sect really does value women over men!”

In truth, ever since Chen Chen and the others had appeared, Zhang Xiaohua had stopped riding atop his sibuxiang. First, he needed to cultivate and contemplate the incantations he had grasped, and sitting on Huanhuan’s back all the time would attract attention. Second, his current role was merely that of a medicine boy — better to stay low-key and composed. Drawing the notice of interested parties would benefit no one.

Moreover, after Chen Chen’s group had come, Steward Yang received word that Zhang Xiaohua had spent a long time among the inner disciples. He quietly came over to question him and gave a soft warning: he should avoid interacting with inner disciples as much as possible, lest trouble be brought upon the Tuodan Hall or Spring Rebirth Valley. Zhang Xiaohua understood this well and agreed obediently, head lowered — which was why he had remained in the carriage ever since.

Seeing him so sensible, Steward Yang departed reassured, going on to attend to the inner disciples arriving one after another. Only Qiang Shi felt rather put out. He had thought that staying close to this “future uncle-in-law” might help him curry favor, but the man either rode outside on the sibuxiang or sat cross-legged inside cultivating, barely paying him any mind.

Had he known, he would have gone up front to find other boys — at least there would have been conversation.

The convoy traveled onward for quite some time more. One day, after circling a towering mountain and passing along a narrow plank road, they arrived at the shore of an enormous lake. At the sight of it, not only Zhang Xiaohua but all the boys who had just stepped down from the carriages were entranced.

It was a place of rippling emerald waters and breathtaking beauty. Majestic mountains rose on every side, thick with lush forests. At the center lay that expanse of lake — vast as a jewel of jade set among the peaks — so captivating that one glance made it hard to look away.

After admiring the waters for a moment, Zhang Xiaohua turned his gaze elsewhere. Needless to say, this must be the gateway leading to the Incense Spreading Sect — yet the surrounding mountains showed no obvious path upward. So how exactly would they proceed?

Suddenly, his eyes fell again upon the round lake, full as a bright moon. Could it be…?