Chapter 44 — The Book of Heaven
劍問蒼天 · Page 1 of 6
Bili knelt and, with great solemnity and a face full of reverence, knocked her head three times against the ground. Only then did she rise, steal a glance at Zhang Qingyue, and see him standing motionless, his eyes fixed elsewhere, his brow faintly furrowed. She said nothing of it, only remarked coolly, "Let's go."
When they had first entered the tunnel together, Zhang Qingyue had actually felt a certain warmth and closeness toward this young woman. But now, at the sight of those two evil deities, he remembered at once the gulf between their sects, and the teachings of his masters since childhood. His expression cooled of itself, and he gave a slight nod. "Fine."
Bili glanced at him, then walked deeper in. Zhang Qingyue followed behind her. This time they did not go far before entering another spacious place. But unlike the stone chamber outside, this one had not been finished or furnished; it was a cavern of hanging stalactites and jutting strange rocks, where the stalactites took a thousand bizarre shapes and were of every hue under the sun. Before the two of them, at the mouth of the cave, stood a great stele, on which were carved, in bold, flying strokes: "Heaven and earth are not benevolent; they treat all things as straw dogs."
Each of those ten characters was nearly half a man's height. The strokes were archaic, the force of the brush vigorous, running straight like dragons and serpents, so that the words seemed about to burst out at the viewer and roar at the heavens.
At first Zhang Qingyue noticed nothing. But after gazing at them a moment, his head suddenly swam, and he found himself involuntarily taking a step backward.
Startled, he hastily steadied his mind. The characters were still there on the stele, not stirring in the least; it was only that their sheer power was truly frightening.
Alarmed, Zhang Qingyue saw that Bili had already gone around the great stele and was walking deeper into the cavern, so he followed. Beyond the stele, strange stalactites were everywhere. The two of them wound their way through that forest of stone for a while, and then Bili, who was in front, suddenly stopped and gave a soft, startled cry.
At almost the same instant, Zhang Qingyue suddenly felt the dark iron staff he used to brace his arm begin to glow with a strange light — and above all, the pearl at the staff's head blazed with an extraordinary blue radiance. But this time it was gentle, as though it had met an old friend, a familiar face not seen for many years, and glowed with unending remembrance and longing.
Astonished, Zhang Qingyue looked ahead. Past Bili's shoulder he saw what had startled her: at the bottom of the cavern was a smooth stone wall, and on either side of it a tunnel leading off to some unknown place. But beneath the wall lay a slab of green stone, and upon it — incredibly — sat a skeleton, in the posture of one sitting quietly in meditation.
And the pearl on the dark iron staff was now pointed straight at that skeleton, shedding its soft blue light.
Bili stood in front, unaware of the strange look on Zhang Qingyue's face and the change in the staff in his hand. After her first fright, she quickly steadied herself.
She was, after all, of the Demon Sect — how could she fear a mere skeleton? She stepped forward and examined it carefully, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Turning her head, she smiled at Zhang Qingyue. "Who knows, perhaps this is none other than the Blackheart Old Ghost, who held the world in awe eight hundred years ago!"
Zhang Qingyue naturally had no fondness for anyone of the Demon Sect. He gave a cold snort. "Let's hurry and see if there's a way out."
Bili shot him a glance and pressed her lips together. "If you want to look, look yourself."
Zhang Qingyue was taken aback, and rather than swallow his pride, he snorted and, to his own surprise, turned and walked straight into the tunnel on the left.