Chapter 76 — The Fourth Chapter
劍問蒼天 · Page 5 of 8
Lu Xueqi's face was faintly pale, but where she knelt beside Zhang Qingyue her body showed not the slightest intention of shrinking back. Upon that matchless, beautiful countenance, her white teeth gently bit her soft lower lip, and she said quietly, "Sect Leader—Uncle Master, this disciple Lu Xueqi of Xiaozhu Peak has something to say."
Shuijing frowned and barked, "Qi'er, Zhang Qingyue is a disciple of Dazhu Peak who has committed grave crimes; the sect leader will decide the matter himself. Do not meddle—come back at once!"
The corner of Lu Xueqi's mouth seemed to twitch as well; beside her, Zhang Qingyue clearly heard her breathing suddenly grow heavy—plainly, before all these people, kneeling at his side at this moment, the pressure on her was by no means slight.
And yet, in this solemn and awe-inspiring hall, beneath all those unfamiliar gazes, this beautiful woman still did not draw back.
The mountain wind from beyond the Yuheng Hall blew in at some unknown moment.
It caught a few strands of her hair and set them drifting softly.
Zhang Qingyue gazed at the woman beside him and said nothing.
"Sect Leader—Uncle Master, please allow this disciple to say a few words."
The Perfected One Daoyan glanced around him and saw the eyes of those fellow cultivators of other schools all turning toward them; he could only say coldly, "Very well. Speak."
Lu Xueqi nodded. "Thank you, Sect Leader. Sect Leader—Uncle Master, and all you martial uncles and martial aunts: I am not close to Junior Brother Zhang Qingyue, but after the Seven Branches Martial Contest I once went down the mountain with him, and on Kongsang Mountain in the Ten Thousand Bats Ancient Grotto and on Liubo Mountain in the East Sea, I saw with my own eyes Junior Brother Zhang fight the demon cult's remnants to the death. He is no spy of the demon cult. At this moment, with outsiders present, Junior Brother Zhang may have some difficulty he cannot speak of; I beg the Sect Leader—Uncle Master to think carefully before acting, and on no account—"
"Wait!"
Suddenly a voice cut off Lu Xueqi's words. The crowd looked, and it was the old man of the Fenxia Valley surnamed Shangguan, seated below the two divine monks of the Fanyin Temple. Earlier Zhang Qingyue's attention had all been fixed on the two divine monks, and he had not noticed him; now he saw a lean-faced man, tall and spare of figure, whose very manner of speech was somewhat sharp.
"The outsiders this young lady speaks of must mean me, I suppose—and Brother Pucheng, Brother Pukong, and all our fellow cultivators here? Heh heh, with such a scandal in the Canglan Sect, you still style yourselves the orthodox school of the world—would you deny us even an accounting?"
The faces of the Perfected One Daoyan and the other branch heads and elders darkened at once; Daoist Cangyan, seated nearby, said coldly, "Brother Shangguan Lüe, since our sect leader has today decided to try this man publicly before you all, it is precisely in order to give you an accounting!"
Shangguan Lue gave a cold laugh and said in a sinister voice, "Daoist Cangyan, your Canglan Sect disciple named Zhang Qingyue has far too many secrets hidden on his person. Beyond carrying a demonic sect's heretical artifact, he unexpectedly also knows the esoteric true dharma of the Brahma Sound Temple, and most likely has no small connection to our Fenxia Valley's supreme divine artifact, the Mystic Fire Mirror." Here he paused, then turned his gaze to the Perfected One Daoyan and said, "Let me say this plainly beforehand: the Mystic Fire Mirror is the greatest treasure of our Fenxia Valley, and we are determined to recover it!"