Chapter 18 — Answering the Summons
劍問蒼天 · Page 1 of 7
That morning, everyone on Dazhu Peak of the Canglan Sect was in high spirits, the disciples especially, every face wreathed in smiles; some nervousness there was, but it was mostly drowned in excitement.
Among them all, the only ones who had taken part in the last Seven Meridian Martial Contest were the eldest senior brother, Song Dayi, along with the second, Wu Dayi, the third, Zheng Dali, and the fourth, He Dachuan. As for the fifth, Lu Daxin, and the sixth, Du Biyan, they were all disciples Tian Buhui had taken on in recent decades; and the young Tian Lingsu and Zhang Qingyue had certainly never witnessed this grand event, held once every sixty years in the Canglan Sect.
Tian Lingsu was the happiest of all just then. Seizing the moment while Tian Buhui and his wife were making their final preparations, she pestered Song Dayi, the most experienced of them, with a stream of chatter: "Eldest Senior Brother, will there really be that many fellow disciples at the Seven Meridian Martial Contest?"
Song Dayi wore a smile, clearly in excellent spirits as well. "That's right. The Seven Meridian Martial Contest is the greatest event in our sect; every meridian regards it as a matter of the first importance. And those senior and junior brothers chosen to represent their meridians are all outstanding figures without exception. As for how magnificent and thrilling the spectacle is, that goes without saying."
At this, the fourth brother, He Dachuan, overheard from nearby and came over. Stealing a wink at Tian Lingsu, he said with a smile, "Little Junior Sister, what you don't know is that our eldest senior brother has left something unsaid."
Tian Lingsu gave a little "oh!" and, ignoring Song Dayi's astonished look, pressed on: "What is it, Fourth Senior Brother?"
He Dachuan smiled. "At the contest grounds, hundreds of fellow disciples gather to watch. The victor stands on the platform amid thunderous applause, and that pride is his beyond question. But if some pretty young junior sister from another meridian is won over by our eldest senior brother's brilliance, screaming and cheering—well, isn't that an even greater delight in life?" At this point he turned to Song Dayi with a perfectly straight face. "Eldest Senior Brother, would you say that's so or not?"
Song Dayi's face suddenly went red.
Tian Lingsu saw it plainly and found it truly strange. "Eldest Senior Brother, why did your face suddenly go red?"
Song Dayi shook his head like a rattle drum. "No, no, who's red? I'm not red..."
He Dachuan cleared his throat, and saw that the other senior and junior brothers had gathered around at some point, unaware. The younger ones, like Du Biyan and Zhang Qingyue, understood little of it, but Wu Dayi and Zheng Dali both wore smiles. So he laughed and said, "Ah, so Second Senior Brother and Third Senior Brother are here too. My memory's been poor lately—it seems at the last contest, when our eldest senior brother won two bouts in a row and reached the third round, there was a young and beautiful junior sister from our sect. What was her name now? I've forgotten..."
Wu Dayi immediately took it up: "Ah, I can't recall clearly either. But I believe she was a junior sister from Xiaozhu Peak. Extremely beautiful, she was. Her name, though..."
Zheng Dali, his face all smiles, said, "Her name, well, we've all forgotten it. But the one who clapped loudest that day, the one making eyes at our eldest senior brother—we all remember what she looked like."
"Whoa!"
At these words the crowd erupted. Tian Lingsu led the interrogation: "Eldest Senior Brother, which senior sister was it who was so good to you?"
Song Dayi looked deeply embarrassed. He shot He Dachuan a fierce glare and said with a dry laugh, "N-nothing of the sort. Don't listen to Fourth Senior Brother's nonsense. Junior Sister Wen Pei of Xiaozhu Peak was only doing it for our master's wife's sake, cheering us on a few extra times."