Chapter 87 — Physiognomy
劍問蒼天 · Page 5 of 6
Zhang Qingyue said, "That golden wolf-tooth club treasure you brought out today—its bearing was solemn, and the incantation seemed to belong to the Buddhist tradition. I have heard that Buddhism has no such instrument as a wolf-tooth club, yet I always felt it looked like a Buddhist treasure. Am I right?"
A look of admiration flashed in Shi Tou's eyes. "Xiaofan, you are worthy of the Canglan Sect. A disciple of a great sect indeed—broad of experience and keen of eye."
Zhang Qingyue flushed.
Shi Tou went on, "My Vajra Sect is thin in numbers; for several generations it has passed down a single line. My master, the Venerable Great Strength, met me years ago in a remote little village and said my nature was plain and my frame stout and powerful—just the sort to excel in the arts of his Vajra Sect—and so he brought me to the path of cultivation. He told me that traced back far enough, the Vajra Sect does indeed have some connection with Buddhism, but the years are too many and no one remembers it now. Moreover, the incantations have passed down generation by generation and long since grown quite different; they cannot be compared at all with the true Buddhist cultivation of the Brahma Voice Temple today."
Here Shi Tou paused, and a simple smile came over his face. "But my master also said that though our cultivation is humble, we are also free of the Buddhist precepts that bind. A cultivator should naturally do deeds of merit for the world; so when one meets a demon running rampant, one should raise a hand."
Zhang Qingyue felt admiration. "Ah, your master is truly a man of high virtue!"
Shi Tou nodded. "Yes. My master is very upright."
Zhang Qingyue smiled and said nothing, but something stirred in his heart, and for no reason he thought again of that day's talk with Wan Rengui. He thought to himself: A man like Shi Tou's master—if he knew that the treasure I carry is such an evil thing, would he ever allow his disciple to keep company with me?
And for that matter, the elders of the Canglan Sect themselves would surely loathe such an evil thing to the bone!
Then what of me, who bears this evil thing?
Am I truly already one of the demonic path...
Zhang Qingyue fell silent. Shi Tou took it that he was gathering himself as the Black Stone Cave drew near, and paid it no mind, but searched his own person all over, making ready for a great battle with the demon.
The sky at last went dark.
When the first star quietly poked its head out at the edge of the sky, the two of them reached the edge of a small wood.
Shi Tou drew a deep breath and said to Zhang Qingyue, "The town head told me the Black Stone Cave is in these woods. The cave yields black stone in plenty; in past years the townsfolk often came here to quarry it for road-building, though of course they come no more. They say the cave runs down deep beyond measure. We must be careful."
Zhang Qingyue nodded, thinking to himself: however deep it goes, it cannot be deeper than that abyss of the dead beneath the Ten Thousand Bats Ancient Grotto on Kongsang Mountain. The two of them settled their gear and were about to step into this dangerous place when, all at once, from some thirty feet away came a faint cry tinged with alarm:
"Aiya!"
Both of them started, and turning to look, Zhang Qingyue was immediately taken aback: two figures came running from the right, one old and one young—none other than the grandfather and granddaughter who had read his fortune that very day. The little girl looked fine enough, but the old man was gasping for breath, with not a trace left of that otherworldly, crane-boned air about him.
Zhang Qingyue went to meet them and barred their way. "You two—what happened?"