Chapter 31 — Suspicion
劍問蒼天 · Page 3 of 7
Yet he was utterly unwilling to walk alone through this darkness—and yet, apart from the darkness, there was no road to take.
So he raged in grief and indignation; a fierce fire burned endlessly in the depths of his heart. So he swore a grave oath to the demon gods of the Nine Hells: even if his body and soul were reduced to ashes together, he would kindle that one point of light—even if for it he must bury all the world with him.
That sliver of malevolence from ages past remained as defiant as ever.
Zhang Qingyue slowly opened his eyes.
Soft light fell upon his eyes; the familiar smell of his dwelling drifted through the room.
There seemed to be no one here.
He slowly sat up, and had just meant to raise a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow when a sharp pain shot through his shoulder, his chest, and his lower belly all at once; he gasped, and the pain turned his face white.
He sat on the bed and dared not move; a long while passed before the piercing pain slowly ebbed.
It must be afternoon now. The door stood ajar, the two windows propped open, and he could faintly see the still-green grass and tall bamboo in the courtyard. Little Gray, who always followed him, and Big Yellow, who always followed Little Gray, were both gone—had they found meaty bones again?
He smiled—at this empty room, he smiled to himself.
"Creak"—the door was pushed open, and the dignified, beautiful Su Wan came in. Zhang Qingyue stirred and called out, "Mistress!"—and before he could rise, his face twisted again.
Su Wan crossed quickly to the bedside and sat down. "Don't move, Xiaofan," she said softly.
Zhang Qingyue waited for the pain to ease before saying to Su Wan, "Your disciple did not know you would come—"
Su Wan shot him a reproachful look. "Half your life is gone, and you still have the presence of mind to remember that! Enough nonsense—sit still."
Zhang Qingyue gave a sheepish laugh. Su Wan examined him, then nodded. "Your external wounds have healed about as well as they can; it's the damage to your meridians that's too severe. You won't recover without resting quietly."
Zhang Qingyue said, "Yes. Your disciple has disgraced Master and Mistress. It's truly—"
Su Wan cut him off: "You've brought your master great honor, if anything. In nearly three hundred years, apart from the Seven Branches Martial Gathering your master himself entered long ago, Dazhu Peak has never had a finer disciple than you."
Zhang Qingyue flushed and lowered his head. "That—that was only your disciple's good luck."
Su Wan smiled faintly and patted his shoulder. Zhang Qingyue then remembered. "The matches are over, aren't they? Who took first place in the end—was it Senior Sister Lu?"
Su Wan shook her head slightly. "No. It was Qi Hao of Long Peak."
Zhang Qingyue felt, for some reason, a sudden pang of bitterness. "So it was Senior Brother Qi," he said quietly. "He truly is formidable—even Senior Sister Lu, with Tianxuan, fell to him."
At his words Su Wan seemed touched by some thought of her own; she sighed softly and changed the subject. "You were badly hurt this time. Your master spent great effort to save you. He said that for Lu Xueqi to work the True Art of the Divine Sword That Commands Thunder with Tianxuan—well, her cultivation was insufficient, but if that treasure of yours, the one that burned, hadn't blocked it for you, even the gods could not have brought you back."
Hearing this, Zhang Qingyue suddenly recalled something and looked around, but could not find the black, ugly dark iron staff.
Watching him, Su Wan said evenly, "Your master took that treasure of yours."
Zhang Qingyue started, then said quietly, "Yes." After a moment he could not help asking, "Master, he—"
Su Wan said, "You were unconscious five days and five nights; your injuries only steadied last night. This morning a message came from the peak lord of Receiving Heaven Peak summoning your master; he should be at Receiving Heaven Peak now."