This wasn't the greatest timing, I thought as we put away our weapons and headed towards the gate. Who could it be? Guests were rare at our hall, and the very few that did come were usually for me, such as Chu Xi and Zhong Yilan making their medicine requests whenever Bai Ye was away. With both of them gone, I couldn't think of anyone else that might be interested in visiting.
Bai Ye opened the gate with me behind him. Someone who appeared to be in his early thirties stood across the threshold. It took me a little while to recognize him as Teng Yuan, Xie Lun's master.
"Almost three hundred years and you've never invited me to your hall, Bai Ye," Teng Yuan said as he nodded a simple greeting and stepped inside. "Why now?"
I suppressed the urge to dart a surprised glance at Bai Ye. He wasn't particularly close to any other masters at Mount Hua, and I couldn't even remember when was the last time that anyone had visited him. Yet he had invited Teng Yuan?
