劍問蒼天 - 第114章 脫困 - 清風書屋

Her voice broke off abruptly. Her whole body lay prostrate on the ground, utterly still. In that moment all around seemed to fall silent, yet in her mind it was like a raging sea, and a sliver of light flickered amid those waves—now visible, now hidden. She strained with all her might to seize it, to remember it.

Slowly she raised her head and cautiously looked toward the statue of the Ming King of Heavenly Slaughter on her right, again and again, while a thought shouted in her heart: 'No, no—this statue is missing something...'

She looked it over and over, scarcely daring to breathe. At last her gaze came to rest on the empty right hand of the statue.

She sprang to her feet, unable to contain her joy any longer, and cried aloud, "The Heaven-Opening Axe—yes, that's it! Where has the Heaven-Opening Axe gone?"

According to the legends of the demon cult, the Holy Mother of the Dark was the deity who nurtured the countless living things, while the Ming King of Heavenly Slaughter was the fierce god who split heaven from earth and held dominion over punishment—quite different from the giant god Pangu of ancient lore who opened the sky. Legend held that the Ming King of Heavenly Slaughter wielded a "Great Axe of Heaven-Opening," and thus when later ages carved his statues, they invariably bore this great axe. But the statue before her had an empty right hand. Bilu knew well that within the demon cult, the Ming King of Heavenly Slaughter was one of the two great honored gods—no one would deliberately show him disrespect. And the Blood-Refining Hall, which had built this Blood-Drip Cave, had itself been a faction of the demon cult. There had to be a reason.

Zhang Qingyue had returned to the stone chamber and sat on the platform in silence, just then lost in thoughts of the old friends on Dazhu Peak, when Bilu suddenly rushed in, her face alight with joy. Seeing him sitting there, she cried, "If you want to live, come quickly!"

"What?" Zhang Qingyue was startled, but then he saw Bilu sweep like a gust of wind into the treasure chamber on the right. He hesitated a moment, but in the end the longing for life won out over his doubts, and he followed her in. He had barely set foot in the chamber when he heard Bilu give a cheer of delight. He saw her laboriously picking up a massive axe forged of iron from a heap of scrap metal; from the way she struggled, it had to be exceedingly heavy.

Zhang Qingyue ran over to help her support the great axe, and indeed found it extremely heavy—even the two of them together could barely manage it. "What are you doing?" he asked in astonishment.

Bilu did not waste words. "If you want to live, help me carry this iron axe to the statues."

Zhang Qingyue drew a sharp breath. "You—what are you going to do?"

Bilu could not be bothered to explain. She dragged the axe and started walking, but after only a few steps her strength gave out and she was gasping for breath. Zhang Qingyue shook his head and sighed, but in the end he went over, and together, with immense effort, they finally dragged the axe into the stone chamber where the statues stood. Then Zhang Qingyue rolled his eyes and, with the greatest reluctance, heard Bilu say that they actually had to fit this heavy thing into the hand of that evil god.

Zhang Qingyue had been deeply suspicious from the start, and now, hearing that they were to do something for the demon cult's evil god, his spirits sank at once. But he could not prevail against Bilu; watching her sweating profusely, struggling alone there, his heart softened. He thought that before they died, he might as well grant her one wish, so he stepped forward and did his utmost to help.