Chapter 43 — The Blooddrop Cave
劍問蒼天 · Page 4 of 6
Zhang Qingyue breathed a sigh of relief—but just then something stirred in him. He stepped back and stared at the water. The ripples were settling, and there, slowly emerging in the pool, were the reflections of the seven red stones. Being reflections, their arrangement was no longer that strange spoon shape; instead they somewhat resembled a human hand.
Zhang Qingyue stood where he was and said nothing for a moment. In that instant he hesitated—as though he had suddenly found himself standing at a crossroads, unsure which way to go.
The feeling passed in a flash. He turned. "Hey!" Bili was still gazing at the stone ceiling and answered carelessly, "My name isn't Hey—that's what you said when we first met." Zhang Qingyue was stumped; the words he had meant to say nearly went back down his throat. But somehow, with this woman who seemed so careless, he found unusual patience. "Then what is your name?" Bili turned her head, a smile surfacing on her face. "My name is Bili."
Zhang Qingyue repeated it twice in his mind, then shook his head. "Come over here and take a look." Bili was a little surprised; she rose and came over. "What is it?"
Zhang Qingyue pointed at the water's surface. Bili bent and looked; the water rippled, but as she concentrated, she slowly made out the reflections of the seven red stones, like a hand, in the water.
Bili's body gave a start. She turned quickly. "This is…" Zhang Qingyue shook his head. "I only saw it by accident. Maybe it's nothing after all…"
Before he could finish, Bili cut in, "Whatever it is, we have to try." With no further words, she splashed into the water.
Zhang Qingyue was startled. In moments the falling droplets had soaked through Bili's clothes, yet she paid them no mind at all, only holding her breath and waiting.
The water, disturbed by her wading, gradually stilled again, and Bili waited quietly for the reflections of the seven red stones to reappear on the surface. Watching from the bank, Zhang Qingyue saw pearl-like crystalline droplets drifting gently down through the air, lighting on this beautiful woman's hair, her shoulders, her face, her clothes.
The clear, transparent droplets slid from the ends of her black hair, ran slowly across her snow-white skin, and seemed to make even her face so lovely as to be almost translucent.
Zhang Qingyue suddenly stared, entranced. The splashing of the water in the cave seemed to recede into the distance; in his eyes there was only this woman standing in the water before him, pure and lovely as a lotus rising from the shallows, her breathtaking beauty rushing at him and overwhelming him.
The reflections of the seven red stones slowly surfaced, like a hand, drifting quietly in the water. Bili took careful aim, slowly opened her right hand, and pressed it down upon the spot where the hand lay.
Her jade-like hand passed through the gentle ripples and reached downward. The reflections of the red stones wavered faintly in the water; the surface glittered with light reflected from some source unknown, illuminating the beautiful woman's face with a faint brightness.
The pool was shallow, and Bili's hand soon touched the bottom, where a thin layer of sand and gravel lay. As her fingers touched it, she felt five slightly raised places beneath her hand, right at the tips of her five fingers. Her heart leaped; she brushed lightly with her hand, and indeed, beneath the sand and gravel, five small stones set into the floor gave off a faint red glow.
Without further thought, Bili pressed down hard with all five fingers—then raised her head.
Not the slightest stir.
The delight on Bili's face froze at once. Her eyes met Zhang Qingyue's on the bank for a moment, then turned back.