Chapter 41 — The Blackwater Serpent
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 4 of 6
As they spoke, their feet never halted, and they pressed steadily forward. Without the two women's consent the yellow-clad figures beside them would naturally not strike, and so, one side advancing and the other giving way, they covered a fair stretch of ground in the course of that talk.
Supporting Lu Xueling, Zhang Qingyue grew more and more tense — but at his ear he gradually caught the sound of lapping water. It seemed they had come back round to the bay where it had all begun.
Bili paused and turned to the veiled woman. "Aunt You, is this the Ruthless Sea, then?"
The veiled woman was silent a moment, then gave a low sigh. "Deep feeling suffers only for the sake of the ruthless! Yes — this is the Ruthless Sea, most mysterious of the Five Seas."
"Ah!" Perhaps because she was young, Bili paid no heed at all to the bitterness in the words of the woman she called Aunt You. Greatly excited, she said, "I've heard my father speak of it since I was small — the Ruthless Sea lies hidden deep beneath the earth, the sea of the Nine Hells. And he said the Blooddrop Cave here in the Vale of Death Spirits lies right beside this Ruthless Sea. So it seems after three days of searching, we're nearly there."
The veiled woman, however, had fallen into silence and said not a word.
Bili found it a little odd, glanced at her, then thought no more of it and turned back. "Good. Now I'll take the two of you first, and then go find that Blooddrop Cave!"
With that she waved her hand, and the five yellow-clad figures stepped forward together, ready to strike. Behind Zhang Qingyue lay the Ruthless Sea, boundless in the darkness; before him he was hemmed in by these demon-cult folk. Truly there was no road ahead and no ground to retreat to — he stood in a place of utter death.
Lu Xueling felt gust after gust of cold wind blowing off the Ruthless Sea behind them, chilling her to the heart, while within her body she was weak and aching, with a faint dizziness and nausea besides — most likely the poison was still in her.
She was clever enough that she needed no time to see how matters stood: if Zhang Qingyue was to look after her, the two of them could only die together.
She turned her head and looked at Zhang Qingyue. The youth still seemed tense, his body drawn tight, even the hand that supported her gripped hard with nervousness; and in his eyes there was still a longing for life, a dread of death.
And yet — plainly there was not the slightest thought of drawing back.
"Brother Zhang," she called softly. Zhang Qingyue heard, and his shoulder moved as though he meant to turn his head — but for some reason, in the end he did not turn to look at her.
"Sister Lu, up there on the platform, and even just now, you saved me and shielded me — I'm not leaving." Zhang Qingyue's heart was stirred, and he meant to say some brave, ringing words, but when they reached his lips they seemed to vanish, and in the end all he could manage was the dry word "leaving."
Lu Xueling said no more.
Zhang Qingyue suddenly felt uneasy. Had his words offended her? For some reason, from the very first time he saw Lu Xueling, he had been a little afraid of this woman cold as frost and snow.
A cold wind blew off the Ruthless Sea, lifting a few strands of the silent woman's long hair behind him, so that they brushed lightly across his neck and cheek.
The waves of the Ruthless Sea seemed suddenly to swell.
Deep in the darkness, as though with a sigh, a wind swept past — like the Ruthless Sea baring a ghastly grin, looking down in mockery at the people of this world.
Bili smiled and, with the five yellow-clad figures, closed in around them.
Zhang Qingyue stepped back — and felt a chill at his feet. He had stepped into the ice-cold seawater.