The sounds of celebration rang through the air, loud and shrill. Cymbals crashed together, trumpets were blown, people were screaming and cheering and firecrackers were released one after another, causing a deafening cacophony of noises.

Luhan swerved through the crowd, hurrying to keep up with his best friend and avoid having his robes stepped on at the same time. Zhou Mi walked purposefully - Luhan did not have to see his eyes to know the single-mindedness, the determination that was shining in them.

Abruptly, Zhou Mi stopped. Luhan jerked back with a yelp, narrowly avoiding a painful crash, but as he stepped back his bare hand brushed against a arm.

Luhan turned; he gave another, even louder yelp, this time following it up with several steps back.

The woman he’d knocked against shot him a look - irritation? She was dressed, well, rather skimpily, her arms bare and her hair let down, a lustrous waterfall tumbling down her back.

The woman paid no attention to him, turning away from Luhan to look at the commotion, but Luhan found himself frozen in place, unable to look away.

Her eyes. Deep brown, soft, vulnerable - captivating. Luhan stared dazedly at the woman, at a loss for the first time in his life.

“Lu, what the hell are you doing just standing there? Let’s go!” Zhou Mi hissed as he noticed his friend standing rooted to the ground. Without waiting for a response, he grabbed Luhan by the arm, dragging him along.

Zhou Mi shoved his way to the front of the crowd, elbowing and pushing rudely, forcing himself to ignore the tuts and angered whispers of those he pushed. Finally, he found himself at the front - staring right at the Shushan Five.

It was the five of them, the ones he’d met a few days ago.

The leader of the five was standing in the middle, a polite smile on his face as he gazed at the crowd. Zhou Mi knew his name - how could he not? Zhang Yixing was a legend and his adventures - his victory over the Demon Sect Warrior Hwang Chansung at the Cliff of Tides, his one-against-fifty battle at the Mount of Taishan and so many others - were known by all. In person, though, he looked absolutely normal. He had a sincere, affable air that made Zhou Mi instantly like him.

On his right was the tall, brooding warrior he’d seen yesterday. Zhou Mi had no doubt that this was Wu Yifan, the famous Silent Warrior. No one outside of Shushan Sect had ever heard him speak before - but everyone knew of his fighting prowess and his talent with a guandao¹.

Flanking the group were the two younger-looking warriors, Amber and Tao. Both had playful grins on their faces; they were exchanging looks, as if planning something evil. Although they were the youngest of the Shushan Five, Zhou Mi had heard enough tales to know that they made a deadly tag-team.

And on Zhang Yixing’s right - it was her. Qian.

She looked less upset now, but her face was still set in the same stern, unwelcoming expression as she stared down the crowd. Her fists were tightly clenched by her side, almost as if she were resisting the urge to draw her weapon.

The altar had been set up behind them, and Zhou Mi could see a wizened old man hobbling towards the Shushan Five. The man was doubled over with age, his white beard nearly touching the ground, but the grasp of his hand on his staff was steady and strong. Next to him stood a taller, younger man - his face was lined with age and Zhou Mi could see the experience of decades in his eyes. He stood tall and strong, his muscles rippling under his tightly-stretched clothes, his sharp eyes studying the crowd without pause.

There was no doubt. These were the Master and the Shifu of Shushan Sect respectively.

Zhou Mi bowed his head automatically in respect at the sight of them, and several others immediately followed his lead.

The Master reached the Shushan Five, and they parted like the Red Sea before him, stepping away to make space for him. All five knelt at his feet, their heads bowed in respect.

The Master gave a nod - his lined face was wisely and kind, and he lay a gentle hand on Yixing’s shoulder, bringing him up again.

Then the Master faced the crowd.

Zhou Mi felt himself tense. Would the Saviour be amongst the crowd this time. Was it possible that - could he even allow himself to believe that it might be him?

He could hope.

All of a sudden, he heard Luhan’s voice hissing from behind him. “What’s going on now?”

Zhou Mi jumped - he’d nearly forgotten that Luhan was here too.

Zhou Mi leaned backwards slightly to whisper. “He’s trying to see if the Saviour is amongst us now.”

“How can he even tell?” Luhan sounded bewildered. Zhou Mi hesitated, but could only shrug. “I have no idea. Maybe the Saviour has some special aura or something.”

“Okay, back up for a moment here. Who the hell is the Saviour supposed to be anyway?”

Zhou Mi had to bite back a sigh of exasperation. This was just like Luhan. Ask him to name all the poems that Li Bai² had written, and he could do it in five minutes flat. Ask him anything to do with the jianghu³, and he would be lost and stuttering. He turned to look at Luhan. “You remember the news we got about Jincheng and Lijiang⁴getting wrecked last year? It’s been rumoured that the destruction was caused by a war between the Shushan and Demon Sect, and that this war has been going on for dozens of years. And the Saviour-”

“Uh, Mi...” Something changed in Luhan’s eyes, and he took a step back, but Zhou Mi continued without pausing. “Don’t interrupt me! Anyway the Saviour is supposed to be the guy who can stop the war and help the Shushan Sect. Supposedly. And I’ve heard-”

“Mi!’

Exasperated, Zhou Mi stopped, glaring at Luhan. “What?!”

With a trembling finger, Luhan indicated something behind Zhou Mi. “That old guy is pointing at you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You have got to be kidding me!” Tao snapped. “That guy is the Saviour? That...that nerdy troublemaker?”

The Shushan Five sat around the room, their expressions varying. Tao looked absolutely furious, and his expression was mirrored by Qian, who stood with her face towards the window, her arms folded. Yifan looked serious - but this time there was an edge of concern in his gaze. Amber was playing with her own fingers, seemingly nonchalant, but her eyes were sharp as she listened. Only Yixing sat on the chair, completely relaxed. “The Master said he’s the one, so it’s him.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Xing.” Qian cut in before Tao could say a word. Her expression was brutally cold. “He won’t last a week in our world.”

“We don’t know him. We should at least give him a chance, don’t you think? Doesn’t Shifu always talk about not judging a book by its cover?” Yixing appealed to his fellows, spreading his arms wide.

“At the very least I know that that guy is a martial arts imbecile. He can’t even walk without tripping on his own robes, let alone fight.” Qian’s voice was dismissive. She leaned against the wall. “Give him a chance? Sure. And I’m telling you he’ll be fleeing with his tail between his legs by a week.”

“Martial arts can be learnt. We learnt it, didn’t we? We weren’t born wielding swords or flying darts. This man, Zhou Mi - he can learn too. And he’ll only learn faster if we’re there to help him.”

“Can this man even be trusted?” Yifan interrupted. He looked up for the first time, his eyes frank. “The five of us grew up together. We’ve known each other since young. We know we can trust each other with our lives. But this man - we don’t know him at all. For all we know he could secretly be a Demon Sect spy sent to infiltrate us.”

“Given Changmin’s treatment of Zhou Mi the last time-”

“That could easily have been a ruse. To make us trust him. To make us accept him without suspecting anything. Your problem, Xing, is that you’re too trusting. Just because you won’t do treacherous things doesn’t mean others won’t either.” Yifan spoke plainly, his words to the point. Tao was nodding vigorously at Yifan spoke, his face convinced.

Yixing paused, and Qian took this chance to speak up. “Yifan is right, Xing. This man - who knows what he may be up to? We can only trust each other - we’ve known each other since forever. And this man, well, he’s untrustworthy.”

Yixing’s voice was quiet as he murmured. “Just because you’ve known someone since forever doesn’t make him trustworthy.”

Dead silence.

Three of the other four looked down, almost afraid to meet the eyes of either Yixing or Qian. They gazed at their hands, almost studiously, as they held their breaths.

In three strides Qian was at the door; she slammed it shut after her, the impact shaking the entire house.

“That was uncalled for, Xing.” Amber spoke solemnly.

Yixing’s smile was sad, almost apologetic. “She can’t keep pretending it didn’t happen, can she?

“Delusions of one’s mind - that is the worst kind of betrayal.”

--------------------------------------------------

(1) Guandao: A pole weapon with a heavy blade at the head. 

(2) Li Bai: A famous poet of the Tang Dynasty

(3) jianghu: The term martial artists use to refer to the world of martial arts; kind of means "China" in general 

(4) Jincheng and Lijiang: Towns in China

A.N: Hey guys, I'm back! Sorry for the delay ><

In any case, Zhou Mi is finally identified as the Saviour. The personalities of the Five are actually revealed by their reactions to him: Kris is the wary, cautious one, Tao just dislikes outsiders coming into his group, Amber (when not causing trouble) is actually more of a listener than someone who will offer her own opinion and Yixing is the warm, trusting type. Qian, on the other hand, is actually still angry at Zhou Mi for the encounter in the previous chapter. Yes, she holds grudges, and yes, she's scary when she does so. 

The Five are also very clearly friends, from the way they treat each other, but some are closer to each other than others - for example, Yixing and Qian, since Yixing is the only one who dares to express his thoughts frankly to Qian even tho he knows it may upset her. 

Luhan, too, is a great friend to Zhou Mi, plus he's getting his own arc too, with that woman he encountered. Can any of you guess who she is and how their story will pan out? 

Not much Zhoumi/Qian interactions this time, but the next chapter will be chockful of them - Zhou Mi will be entering Shushan Sect officially. Wait for it, guys. This will be fun. 

And remember guys, comment and subscribe!