Chapter 25 — The Unexpected
劍問蒼天 · Page 3 of 7
Su Wan nodded. She seemed about to say more when suddenly bells and cauldrons rang out together—the matches had officially begun. Tian Buhui and Su Wan exchanged a glance and nodded. He said: "You all know where your matches are, I trust; it was written clearly enough on that red list. Once the matches begin, your mistress and I will also come down to watch you fight. Don't make us lose face."
All answered together. Tian Buhui nodded, and he and Su Wan walked off, talking in low voices. Tian Lingsu, who had come along with them, glanced around, then walked toward Zhang Qingyue. Zhang Qingyue's heart suddenly began to pound.
When she reached him, Tian Lingsu looked him straight in the eye, then suddenly burst out laughing. She turned back to the others and said with a smile: "Look how nervous Xiaofan is—there's sweat on his forehead."
Everyone laughed. Song Dayi laughed too: "I tried to comfort the little junior brother just now, but it seems to have done no good. It'll have to be you, little junior sister."
Tian Lingsu spat at him, then turned to Zhang Qingyue: "Xiaofan, I have a match soon too, so I can't go cheer for you. You must do your best—and be careful in everything!"
Zhang Qingyue looked at her beautiful face, so close at hand, her breath sweet as orchid, a faint delicate fragrance seeming to reach him. He could not help the surge of feeling in his heart; he nodded vigorously, yet somehow could not get a single word out.
Tian Lingsu plainly did not think too much of it. She smiled at Zhang Qingyue, then went over and chatted a few words with her senior brothers. After a moment the group broke up by twos and threes—those with matches heading for the platforms, those without going to cheer for their fellow disciples. Yet no one at all thought to go with Zhang Qingyue. Perhaps everyone believed he was a man with no hope whatsoever.
Zhang Qingyue stood where he was, watching his senior brothers walk far away, and a feeling he could not name suddenly rose in his heart. Slowly he walked to the red list and read it over once more, carefully.
He and that Zhaoyang Peak disciple Chu Yuhong had been assigned to the farthest platform of all: the Zhen position.
Zhang Qingyue gave a bitter laugh and walked on. All along the way, countless Qingyun disciples hurried to and fro, chatting and laughing. Listening as he walked, Zhang Qingyue found that most of them were discussing the results of yesterday's matches. In yesterday's contests, the several favorites everyone acknowledged had all won easily. Among them, quite a few mentioned that the Long Peak line, apart from Qi Hao, seemed to have produced another young expert; from their few words of description, Zhang Qingyue guessed it was most likely Lin Jinghong. But more people talked about Lu Xueqi of Xiaozhu Peak. That beautiful woman who possessed the divine sword Tianxuan—that her cultivation ran deeper than expected was one thing, but yesterday, before the eyes of the crowd, she had deliberately shattered her opponent's immortal sword, and this seemed to have left many quite displeased. Yet it only made more people want to watch her matches; her popularity had risen rather than fallen. Beyond that, the long-lost Tianxuan drew even more attention—who knew how many wished to see this treasure from the great war between righteous and demonic a thousand years ago, and even some of the Canglan Sect's elders were no exception.
Walking and listening, Zhang Qingyue could not help recalling the icy beauty Lu Xueqi as she had looked yesterday, and shook his head. Just then a shout suddenly came from ahead: "Xiaofan!"
The voice sounded very familiar. Zhang Qingyue looked up, and at once broke into a smile: Lin Jinghong was striding over. Zhang Qingyue went to meet him and laughed: "I was wondering why I couldn't find you anywhere—so you'd gotten all the way over here!"