Chapter 76 — The Fourth Chapter
劍問蒼天 · Page 7 of 8
Daoyan grasped the meaning at once. With a heavy snort he slammed his palm upon the table with a bang, and the clamor of the Qingyun disciples fell silent as every eye turned toward him.
Without a word, the Perfected One Daoyan strode toward the inner hall. The others exchanged glances, and only Xiao Yichen stepped forward with a smile and said to the assembly, "Ah—there was an urgent matter at the back mountain just now that urgently requires my master's attention. Please, everyone, wait a moment."
Shangguan Lue wore a mocking look and said, "Nephew Xiao, I have long heard that your Canglan Sect keeps strict rules. Seeing it today, they are indeed out of the ordinary!"
A flash of anger passed through Xiao Yichen's eyes, but at once he smiled and said, "You jest, Senior." Then he turned, gave a light cough, walked over to Cangyan and the other peak masters, and said in a low voice, "Martial Uncles, will you not call them back to their feet?"
Zeng Shuchang and the others came to their senses and at once stepped forward to summon their disciples back, dragging them aside and scolding them fiercely without end. Tian Lingsu was led back by Su Wan, yet she was not scolded. Instead, full of grievance, with tears faintly glistening in her eyes, she cried, "Mother..."
Su Wan gave a long sigh, shook her head, and signaled for her to say no more. Tian Lingsu looked toward Tian Buhui, and saw his face livid as iron, his brows locked tight, not saying a single word, sitting in grim silence in his chair.
Lu Xueqi was firmly pulled out of the Yuheng Hall by her senior sister Wen Pei. The eyes all around were full of strange looks. Only when they had reached a quiet corner outside the Yuheng Hall did Wen Pei begin to murmur reproachfully, while Lu Xueqi merely bowed her head and said nothing.
After a moment, Master Shui Yue slowly walked over.
Wen Pei, ever protective of her junior sister, went to meet her and whispered to Shui Yue, trying her utmost to explain, but Shui Yue's face was grave, and she walked straight up to Lu Xueqi.
Lu Xueqi dared not look at her. Head bowed low, she called softly, "Master."
Shui Yue gazed at her—her most prized and most beautiful disciple—and for a long while said nothing. Then suddenly she sighed, a sigh full of helplessness, as though tinged with a faint, quiet bitterness.
Wen Pei and Lu Xueqi both started in surprise.
Shui Yue took her eyes from Lu Xueqi and walked to the railing outside the Yuheng Hall, gazing out at the distance. There the peaks pierced the heavens and white clouds drifted faint and far, a scene of austere immortal grandeur.
"Qi'er, you did wrong today. Do you know that?"
Lu Xueqi kept her head lowered and said softly, "Yes, Master. I put you in a difficult position. It was your disciple's fault. But that Zhang Qingyue truly could not be..."
Shui Yue suddenly turned her head and stared at her. "Why would you stake your own life as surety for him?"
Lu Xueqi's face went pale at once, and she could not speak.
Shui Yue gazed at her for a long while, then shook her head and sighed low. "A bitter fate!"
Lu Xueqi said softly, "Master, I—I was not..."
Shui Yue cut her off abruptly. "Do you know that when I said you had done wrong, I did not mean that you left me unable to show my face?"
Both Lu Xueqi and Wen Pei were startled. Wen Pei said in surprise, "Master, what do you mean?"
Shui Yue smiled faintly and bitterly, her gaze once more turning to the distance, as though she too had sunk into some distant memory. "You young people, knowing nothing of the height of heaven or the depth of earth, make a show of courage for a moment—and I fear you may only be pushing that Zhang Qingyue one step further down the road to death!"
Lu Xueqi's face drained of color, and she cried out, "Master?"