Chapter 81 — Nine
劍問蒼天 · Page 1 of 7
The crowd fell into confusion and hurriedly carried Daoist Daoyan into the Yuheng Hall, though by now the hall itself was already badly wrecked; more than half of the once-magnificent structure had collapsed, and shattered stone and broken timber lay everywhere.
Tian Buhui and the others had the younger disciples swiftly clear an open space, dragged over a chair from the side, and set Daoist Daoyan down upon it. The various elders around them fumbled out whatever miraculous elixirs they carried, as though they wished they could make Daoyan swallow them all at once.
After a moment, Daoyan's body stirred; he drew a long breath and slowly came to.
Tian Buhui and the rest saw that Daoist Daoyan's face was deathly pale, almost entirely drained of blood—especially the wound at his belly, where the blood that had congealed had at some point spread several times larger, staining nearly the whole lower hem of his robe black. The onlookers could not help but show worry on their faces.
Daoist Daoyan had clearly suffered grievous damage to his vital essence; once awake, he could not even speak at once. Tian Buhui hurriedly gave him three of the great rhubarb pills he had carefully refined; after a time, as the medicine took effect, Daoist Daoyan's color improved a little.
By then the elders and disciples had all gathered around, and Lin Jinghong, Zhang Qingyue, Lu Xueqi, and the others had also arrived; seeing the sect master so gravely wounded, they could not help but pale.
A short while later, Song Dayi, Qi Hao, and the others also returned.
Daoist Daoyan's spirit recovered somewhat; he opened his eyes and saw Tian Buhui and the others watching him with faces full of concern, and at once forced a smile. "I can still hold out. It's nothing."
Only then did Tian Buhui and the rest breathe easier; among them, some remembered the legendary ancient sword Shixian, yet Daoist Daoyan's hands were empty, and no trace of Shixian was to be seen. Outside the Yuheng Hall, the spirit beast, the water qilin, had not returned to the Bishui Pool either, but lay there prone—though near it, too, no shadow of the ancient sword Shixian could be seen.
Daoist Daoyan slowly looked about him, and his expression shifted slightly: of the Canglan Sect members standing around, nearly half or more were gone. Startled, he said, "After I left just now, here—what were the casualties here?"
Tian Buhui, standing nearest him, hesitated a moment, then said in a low voice, "Senior brother sect master, you had best recover from your wounds first..."
Daoyan cut him off: "Tell me now!"
Tian Buhui choked on his words, turned, and glanced around at the others, as though he too wished to confirm once more, and only then did he quietly recount the casualties to Daoyan.
In this battle the Canglan Sect had truly suffered grievous losses. Under the Demon Sect's assault, of the twenty-five elders, fourteen had been killed and four or five gravely wounded. Even among the Seven Peak Masters, apart from Sect Master Daoist Daoyan, Daoist Cangyan of Dragon Peak had betrayed them; Master Shang Zhenglang of Chaoyang Peak and Daoist Tianyun of Luoxia Peak had unfortunately perished; and the remaining Tian Buhui and Master Zeng Shuchang of Fenghui Peak were both haggard and covered in wounds. Only Master Shuijing of Xiaozhu Peak, having escorted Master Pucheng of the Fanyin Temple and the others to safety, had come through largely unharmed.
Daoist Daoyan swayed and nearly failed to hold himself upright again. The strength the Canglan Sect had once been proud of had been all but wiped out in this single battle.
Grief and fury showed on Tian Buhui's face as well; he said in a low voice, "Senior brother sect master, for a blood feud such as this we must have vengeance—but right now your health is what matters. You must not grieve too bitterly."
Daoyan gave a long sigh, closed his eyes, and stamped his foot. "I, Daoyan, have failed the generations of Canglan Sect founders!"