Song of Plum Blossom Mountain (梅花山之歌)

Chapter 4

Mu RongXue sighed internally, "QiQi was no help either since they weren't mentioned in the plot..." She silently decided to continue ignoring them and feigning apathy to avoid conversation.

Mu YangXi descended directly into the viewing area and took his seat. Mu RongXue quickly did the same and took her place standing behind him. The large crowd around the arena noticed their arrival and began to chatter about. She opened her fan and looked down upon the arena with as much loftiness as she could muster as she tried to cover up her mild stage fight. Very soon, the peak lords arrived, one after another. The first was the peak lord of Bai Jian Peak, Shen BaTian. After him came Luo FeiHong from Ke Mo Peak, and finally Lu XiaWei from Meng Yu Peak.

Mu RongXue offered her formal greetings to each of the peak lords and their disciples before putting up her cold barrier immediately after to avoid conversation. To be fair, the disciples were technically not allowed to have conversations with one another, as it was not polite, but small chatter was naturally overlooked.

"Greetings to Xue-shimei (2), you're still as breathtaking as I last saw you~" The disciple of Ke Mo said giving Mu RongXue a wink. The other male was handsome all right. He had long jet black hair tied above midway with a silver ribbon, his soft black eyes and charming smile seemed to project an aura of familiarity, and the black robes he wore were carefully embroidered with dark red string.

She could barely hold herself back from full-body cringing at the forced closeness. "Heh Heh (3)... So these types of people really do exist in the world..." Mu RongXue thought darkly to herself. She gave the other a mildly irritated glance out of the corner of her eye and looked away without a word.

"Guan HeLan you're too disrespectful," another voice scolded in a stiff manner, the other male was about the same height as Guan HeLan, but had very different features. He had black hair, tied orderly into a bun and secured with a silver crown, and side parted bangs. His dark blue eyes were the same color as his robes, which he wore without a single crease. With such a severe expression, and strict tone, Mu RongXue suddenly felt scared that she was also going to get called out for her decidedly rude behavior.

"Xia ChenChao, you haven't changed at all since I last saw you a year ago. Can't you loosen up? I heard all the shimeis at Bai Jian are scared of you, how will you find a partner like this? Your shixiong is worried about you~" Guan HeLan countered.

The two soon started to bicker with one another, so Mu RongXue decided to tune out of their conversation.

"Xiao Xue, it's been a while, how have you been?" a soft voice asked from her left. Mu RongXue's eyes softened, despite her estrangement towards Ke Mo and Bai Jian, the original shared many childhood memories at Meng Yu with the owner of this voice.

Chen ChiHao was the first disciple of Meng Yu peak. When Mu RongXue was younger, she would often have to visit the peak due to injuries from overexerting herself. There Chen ChiHao would often be the one to treat her. To Mu RongXue, he was like an older brother, soft and caring. Chen ChiHao was actually very good looking, he had fluffy light-cream colored hair put into a loose braid begging him. Mu RongXue always fond of his soft beige eyes and his peaceful temperament. His light grass-green robes reminded her of a pasture and complemented his eyes well.

Mu RongXue closed her fan and turned to face him, bowing politely, "I've been well, how about shixiong?"

"I've also been well. I'm glad I could see you today," Chen ChiHao answered, his voice lighter than the racket around them.

"En," Mu RongXue agreed, opening her fan once again.

Soon after, a horn signaling the beginning of the competition sounded off and the crow grew louder with anticipation. The four top disciples were to make their way down onto the arena. Guan HeLan jumped flamboyantly down from the viewing area, his landing creating a small crater in the rock. The crowd went wild with excitement.