Chapter 78 — Six
劍問蒼天 · Page 5 of 8
In the midst of the chaos, while the elders and masters of the Canglan Sect held off the furious assault of the Demonic Cult, Shuiyue led the young disciples in bearing the gravely wounded masters of the Fanyin Temple into the rear hall. Daoist Daoyan too walked backward, but his steps were faintly unsteady, stumbling now and again.
Tian Buhui caught sight of this in the thick of battle and was seized with anxiety. Casting a glance around, he drove back the Demonic Cult fighters before him with the Crimson Flame Immortal Sword, then slipped over to the side of Qi Hao and Lin Jinghong, who were fighting beside the elders though their faces were pale, and said urgently, "We have no need of you here—go at once and escort the sect master!"
Qi Hao and Lin Jinghong started. But Tian Buhui's face was stern, and they dared not disobey; and in truth, with the sudden treachery of Daoist Cangyan, elder of the Long Peak, it was to these disciples of the Long Peak as a thunderbolt from a clear sky, and their minds were already in disarray. They answered hastily and went after Daoist Daoyan.
Watching their departing figures, Su Wan, fighting nearby, knit her brows tightly. After a moment she found a chance to break away and slipped over to Song Dayi and Tian Lingsu, saying in a low voice, "Your uncle Cangsong has turned traitor, and there is no telling whether the disciples beneath him can be trusted. Go after them and keep watch over the sect master!"
Song Dayi and Tian Lingsu were startled, then understood at once and hurried after. Su Wan was about to turn back when from the corner of her eye she glimpsed, apart from this battle that had turned the world upside down, Zhang Qingyue—the young disciple who but a moment ago had been the focus of all eyes, and who now stood there as though no one minded him at all, his gaze fixed on some far-off point before the ranks of the Demonic Cult, motionless.
Her brows drew together. In truth she was of one mind with Tian Buhui, and did not believe for a moment that this young disciple could be a Demonic Cult spy. Remembering now how shallow Zhang Qingyue's cultivation was, she slipped at once to his side and patted him lightly on the shoulder.
Zhang Qingyue started and turned to look. Su Wan's heart suddenly leapt with alarm: Zhang Qingyue's eyes were shot through with blood, and though his senses seemed clear enough, there was about him an indefinable air of strange and baleful ferocity.
But matters were urgent now—how could Su Wan spare it further thought? She said hurriedly, "Xiaofan, it is far too dangerous here. Go with your senior brother and sister Ling'er."
Zhang Qingyue hesitated a moment, but beneath the gaze of this mistress who had cherished him since childhood, he nodded at last and ran toward the rear hall.
Su Wan was reassured, and threw herself back into the ever more savage fighting!
Amid the rumbling crashes and the violent clangor of colliding treasures, Zhang Qingyue ran into the rear hall and caught up with Song Dayi and Tian Lingsu, then with Qi Hao and Lin Jinghong; the group gathered around Daoist Daoyan. Daoist Daoyan glanced at them and nodded slightly, but when his gaze fell upon Zhang Qingyue it lingered there, as though against his will, before shifting away.
Zhang Qingyue could not tell what he felt. But the black iron staff in his hand now seemed faintly to ripple with green light, and waves of dizziness came over his mind again and again; he felt as though currents of baleful energy, like vengeful spirits, were charging straight into his head, and he could not keep himself from imagining the smell of blood.
Yet at this moment every heart was heavy, and no one marked anything amiss with Zhang Qingyue. And a moment later, Lu Xueqi of the Xiaozhu Peak and Wen Pei appeared before the group.
Lu Xueqi glanced at Zhang Qingyue, then said to Daoist Daoyan, "Master sent me and senior sister Wen Pei here!"