Chapter 40 — Reunion
劍問蒼天 · Page 6 of 6
The seemingly eternal darkness had grown calm again — a deathly silence.
Zhang Qingyue felt a touch of dizziness, but seeing that the black qi had faded from Lu Xueling's face now that her wound was bound, he let out a breath of relief.
He kept watch beside this fainted woman, sitting quietly.
The black iron staff gave off a faint cyan glow, enfolding them both.
All around, silence!
Silence!
There was not even the chirp of insects. Beneath the Abyss of the Dead, it seemed that apart from the yin spirits and the demon beasts, there truly was no other living thing at all.
Yet just then, Zhang Qingyue suddenly heard it — the sound of footsteps, rising without warning.
Those footsteps in the darkness were soft and harmonious, but to Zhang Qingyue's ears they struck like a thunderclap out of a clear sky. He sprang to his feet, turned his head toward the sound, and at the same time tightened his grip on the Dark Iron Staff.
In the distance, within the darkness, a point of light drifted over. Then, in that light, a woman appeared — dressed all in water-green, with fine brows and delicate eyes, her jade-like skin outshining frost and snow. In that darkness she seemed to wear an uncanny splendor, possessed of a strange, heart-stirring beauty.
Zhang Qingyue's mouth fell open, and he stood speechless and staring — for this woman was none other than the green-robed girl he had met in the Shrine of Mountains and Seas in Heyin City when he first came down from the mountain.
Note One: From the "Monsters and Demons" chapter of *Records of Gods, Demons, and Strange Beings*, the Red-Eyed Pig Fiend: a pig's head on a dog's body, of immense bulk, with black fur, stiff bristles, and crimson eyes that can see in the dark. It delights in rotting flesh and dwells in damp, dark places.
Note Two: From the "Spirits and Strange Creatures" chapter of *Records of Gods, Demons, and Strange Beings*, the Tree Goblin: an ancient tree of a thousand years. Legend holds that it absorbs the spiritual essence of heaven and earth, and that it draws the power of resentful spirits and demons in foul, shadowed places, and so becomes a spirit. It takes the form of a great tree and craves living things. Other tales say it can move of its own accord.