Chapter 18 — To the Gathering
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 2 of 6
"Eh?" He Dachuan said at once. "Senior Brother, now that's strange. Second Brother and Third Brother and I had no idea what her name was—how is it you came out with it so quick? Though now that you mention it, Senior Sister Wen Pei really is so very good to our senior brother..."
The crowd roared with laughter. Song Dayi knew he had let something slip, and knew too that in a war of words he was no match for He Dachuan, the sharpest wit on all of Dazhu Peak; the more he said, the more he would betray. He gave a snort, and relying on his notably thick skin, laughed drily and said, "Idle talk, haha. I'll go see whether Master and Mistress are ready."
Tian Lingsu would have pressed him further, but Song Dayi fled faster than the wind and was out of sight in the blink of an eye. She had to settle for grabbing He Dachuan, her big bright eyes brimming with excitement. "Fourth Brother, quick, tell me—what does that Senior Sister Wen Pei actually look like?"
He Dachuan laughed. "Little Sister, don't you often go back to Xiaozhu Peak with our mistress to visit Master Shuijing? How is it you've never once seen Senior Sister Wen Pei? She's Master Shuijing's favorite disciple."
Tian Lingsu shook her head. "Whenever Mother and I go to Xiaozhu Peak, we go straight in to see Master Shuijing. I've hardly met any of the senior sisters there. Come on, tell me!"
He Dachuan laughed. "Don't be in such a hurry. Today we go to Jietian Peak, the peak of the eldest branch, for the Seven Branches Martial Contest—you'll most likely see her for yourself."
Tian Lingsu said "Oh," and her eyes rolled as if something had dawned on her. "No wonder our senior brother looked so glowing and full of spirit when I got up this morning—he's been nursing a secret scheme!"
The others were stunned for a moment, then understood, and burst out laughing; Tian Lingsu laughed too, and the last bit of nervousness she had felt about the contest melted away into nothing. Her gaze traveled around the room: everyone was wreathed in smiles, everyone in fine spirits. But when her eyes fell on Zhang Qingyue, her heart suddenly faltered. There was a smile on his face, yes, but she had been closer to him than anyone these past years, and at a glance she could tell that his mind seemed to be elsewhere.
While the others were deep in lively talk, Tian Lingsu quietly drew Zhang Qingyue aside and said in a low voice, "Xiaofan, is something the matter?"
Zhang Qingyue started. His lips moved; his right hand went unconsciously to his chest. At last he said, "It's nothing, Senior Sister."
Tian Lingsu looked at him and said flatly, "Whatever it is, let me see it."
Zhang Qingyue hesitated, then drew out what he was carrying and let Tian Lingsu have a look. It would have been better had she not looked; the sight only astonished her more. "Why are you carrying this black iron rod around with you?"
Seeing her face full of astonishment—and even with a touch of reproach in it, she was still that beautiful—Zhang Qingyue faltered: "Master was kind enough to let me come along and see something of the world. My cultivation's shallow, I've no magic treasure to speak of, and I don't know how to use one anyway..."
Light broke on Tian Lingsu, and she could not help but burst out laughing. "Ah, haha, so that's it. So you're going to the Seven Branches Martial Contest with this—this black iron rod? In two thousand years of the Canglan Sect we had one oddity already, Sixth Brother with his dice magic treasure, and now—now you, you go and bring a black iron rod... hahahaha, I—I'll die laughing."
The disciples of Dazhu Peak standing nearby heard Tian Lingsu suddenly helpless with laughter and came over one after another; once they learned the reason, they too could not hold back another roar. Zhang Qingyue looked around at all those smiling, happy faces of his senior brothers and sisters, and in his heart there suddenly rose a surge of anger.