Chapter 44 — The Book of Heaven
劍問蒼天 · Page 3 of 6
Bili had grown up in the Demon Sect, and her father was a man of rare genius, learned in things ancient and modern; with such a family education, she knew very well that these were the peerless magical treasures and secret relics spoken of in the legends of the Demon Sect. How could she not be delighted? Unfortunately, on these racks there were for the most part only labels and no objects — a joy in vain.
She sighed, yet still nursed a hope, and looked along the racks one by one. Every shelf was empty. Perhaps Heaven did not disappoint the diligent, for in the very last compartment she found a small iron box still there. But this rack had no label, and she could not tell what was inside.
Bili's heart leaped with joy. Cautiously she reached out and picked up the box; it felt quite heavy in her hand. She shook it gently a few times, but no sound came forth.
Bili pondered a moment, then set the iron box on the ground, drew a deep breath, and gathered her mind in guard. Her right hand swept out, and at once white light blossomed in the stone chamber; a jade-like flower appeared in midair, giving off a faint, delicate fragrance.
Bili's expression was grave. She turned her right hand over, and the little flower hovering in the air blazed brighter; it flew above the iron box, and its white light enveloped the whole of it.
Only then did Bili cautiously reach out to open the little box. The moment her fingers touched the lid, she felt that the box seemed not to be locked. Her brow knitted; the wariness in her eyes deepened. She bit her pearly teeth, steeled herself, and opened the lid.
There was a faint click, and before she could see what lay within the iron box, a wisp of black vapor came seething out.
Bili's face changed drastically. She flung herself backward as though struck by lightning, and the little white flower above the iron box swooped down at once. The black vapor was caught in the white light and, though it surged again and again, could not escape. After a moment the black vapor gradually withered away — while the jade-white flower slowly turned black, for it had drawn that black vapor into itself.
Only when the black vapor had wholly dissolved did Bili wait a good while before coming back. She bent her mind upon her little flower. The wondrous treasure her father had spent such great pains to refine for her alone — the "Heartbreak Flower" — now had petals that had been white as jade turned wholly purple-black, and looked somewhat savage.
Bili's face shifted slightly. "Corpse poison of the ancients!" she murmured. "The Blackheart Old Ghost was blackhearted indeed — to refine a thing like this!"
Cursing the Demon Sect elder, the Blackheart Old Man, under her breath, she turned her eyes into the iron box.
It was very simple; in that small iron box lay only one thing: a little bell of golden hue, as flawless as one could wish.
Bili was struck blank. She had not expected that a thing so rare and poisonous as the "corpse poison of the ancients" should have been set to guard only such a little bell. She looked it over this way and that, but could find nothing strange about it. After a moment's thought, she slowly reached out and picked up the bell.
"Ding-dang."
A clear, crisp note, as though echoing in the heart of a person, rang out in that secret stone chamber that had been silent for eight hundred years.
Bili held up the bell. Its clapper was exquisite and fine, and a slender iron cord was tied to its body. At the slightest shake the clapper struck softly against the sides, and again it gave forth sound.
"Ding... ding-dang."
Watching it, Bili, with a young girl's heart, was much taken with it, and the disappointment of a moment before was diluted considerably. She examined it once more carefully, and truly there was nothing strange about it; it seemed only an ordinary bell, cunningly made.