Chapter 24 — The Divine Sword
劍問蒼天 · Page 4 of 8
Zeng Shuyan paid him no mind, only dragged Zhang Qingyue inward. The Fenghui Peak disciples clearly thought very well of Zeng Shuyan; one and all they made way, and Zhang Qingyue rode his coattails in. In no time the two had burrowed into the inner ring, where the view was indeed excellent. At the point nearest the platform sat seven or eight figures—Sect Leader Daoyan Zhenren of the Canglan Sect, Cangyan Daoren of Long Peak, and Master Shuijing of Xiaozhu Peak were all conspicuously present, and the rest, from the look of them, were mostly renowned elders of the various peaks. Behind them stood a dense throng of Qingyun disciples, and most conspicuous of all, the bevy of beautiful female disciples of Xiaozhu Peak stood behind Master Shuijing; Wen Pei, whom Zhang Qingyue knew, was among them. But nearest to Master Shuijing was the beauty in blue from the drawing of lots in the Yuheng Hall the day before. She was still cold as frost and snow now, exquisitely pure, drawing countless gazes.
"See her? That's the one." Zeng Shuyan nudged Zhang Qingyue with his elbow, signaling him to look at the woman in blue. Zhang Qingyue looked at her a few more times and said in a low voice: "She's the great favorite you spoke of?"
Zeng: "Favorite maybe not. I hear Lu Xueqi hasn't been in the sect very long, and her cultivation is hard to gauge. But everyone says that for beauty, it must be hers beyond question!"
Zhang Qingyue frowned: "Brother Zeng, the way you're drooling looks quite lewd!"
Zeng Shuyan: "Cough, cough—I, do I? Heh heh, you must be seeing things. By the way, look at our fellow disciples all around?"
Zhang Qingyue looked out and saw that among the young generation of Qingyun disciples nearby, most had their eyes fixed on the beauties of Xiaozhu Peak, and above all on that woman in blue, Lu Xueqi. Yet those beauties seemed long accustomed to it; every one composed, and Lu Xueqi herself expressionless, cold as frost, as though she did not see the male disciples of her sect behind her at all.
Zeng Shuyan swallowed a mouthful of saliva and whispered to Zhang Qingyue: "When you think about it, it's no wonder. Our Canglan Sect has been taking in young disciples in great numbers these last years—look around, there must be three or four hundred of our age at least. Heh heh, our cultivation is shallow, so naturally we're easily tempted."
Zhang Qingyue shot him a sidelong glance. Zeng Shuyan's originally handsome face now seemed to have taken on a different flavor, and recalling the book from a moment ago, Zhang Qingyue felt as though the character for "lust" were written on his forehead.
Zeng: "Brother Zhang, why do you keep looking at me instead of them? It's because I feel a kinship with you—because I count you a friend—that I dragged you over here to look. By the way, which of them do you think has the best figure?"
Zhang Qingyue turned his head away at once, and in his mind appended the character for "wolf" to his appraisal of Zeng Shuyan.
Just then the clamor that had filled the grounds fell suddenly silent. Under all eyes, Lu Xueqi stepped forward and made a bow to Master Shuijing, who sat in her chair. Master Shuijing nodded faintly: "Go."
Lu Xueqi answered, straightened the front of her garment, lightly formed a dharma sign with her right hand, and cast a pair of bright, brimming beautiful eyes toward the platform. Now the faint cloud-vapor that had lain at the white jade flagstones beneath her feet suddenly swirled from all sides and gathered swiftly toward her; in a moment a white cloud cluster had formed beneath Lu Xueqi's feet, and then she rose, like a fairy maiden, slowly ascending amid that vast white cloud, drifting into midair and over onto the platform.