劍問蒼天 - 第140章 殺機 - 清風書屋

In the Jade Balance Hall, Daoist Daoyan sat in the seat of honor, clad in a dark green Taoist robe, his long beard hanging over his chest. In the seats to either side sat the other peak masters of Qingyun. Ten years had passed since the battle at Canglan Mountain, and of the seven peaks of the Canglan Sect, three had since changed masters. Compared with the days when Zhang Qingyue and Lin Jinghong had first come to Qingyun, the scene had become one of familiar faces all replaced.

Apart from the seat of Cangyan Daoren of Dragon Spine Peak, which had been taken over by Qi Hao, the other two changed peaks were these: the seat of Shang Zhengliang, master of Sunrise Peak, had passed to his disciple Chu Yuhong; and the seat of Tianyun Daoren, master of Sunset Peak, had passed to his junior brother from the same peak, Feiyun Daoren. Among these three peaks, only Feiyun Daoren of Sunset Peak was of the same generation as Daoist Daoyan and the others, and could still put in a word or two here and there; the masters of Dragon Spine Peak and Sunrise Peak, by contrast, were rather awkwardly placed. Qi Hao of Dragon Spine Peak was at least one of the outstanding figures of the younger generation and was fairly familiar with the elders; but Chu Yuhong of Sunrise Peak had sat silently at the very back the whole time and had not spoken a single word from beginning to end.

As for those old-generation masters, Tian Buhui of Great Bamboo Peak, Master Shuijing of Little Bamboo Peak, and Zeng Shuchang of Wind-return Peak had not been seen for a long while either. Most of the masters who had once quarreled with them were gone now, and so the scene in the great hall carried a certain harmony it had not known before.

Behind Master Shuijing stood Lu Xueling and Wen Pei. After all this time apart, Lu Xueling's beauty was as clear and pure as ever, her face faint and revealing neither joy nor anger; yet for some reason she now gave off a faint chill she had never possessed before.

Wen Pei, for her part, stood obediently behind Master Shuijing as well, but her eyes were not nearly so obedient; every so often they would dart sideways, and most likely land on Song Dayi, who stood behind Tian Buhui. At such moments Song Dayi could never quite suppress a smile at the corner of his mouth, which made him look rather honest and simple, and Wen Pei would give him a scolding glance before turning away again.

Beside Tian Buhui, his wife Su Wan had come along as well, and was at that moment summoning Tian Lingsu, who had come with Qi Hao, to her side; mother and daughter spoke in low voices, and after so long apart they seemed to have no end of things to say.

Apart from Tian Lingsu, the one who had come with Qi Hao was his junior brother Lin Jinghong. He now stood at the back together with Zeng Shuyan, son of Zeng Shuchang, master of Wind-return Peak; the two had fought through the battle of the Dead Marsh together and could be counted as having formed a friendship.

This gathering at Qingyun was not a formal occasion, and most of those present were fairly relaxed; even the conversation between Daoist Daoyan and Tian Buhui, Zeng Shuchang, Master Shuijing and the others was quite casual, and apart from the ever-cold Shuiyue, most faces bore smiles.

When Li Xun of the Fenxia Valley walked into the Jade Balance Hall, this was the scene that met his eyes—except that a moment later, his gaze came to rest upon that woman of frost and ice, flickering like a flame.

Xiao Yichen stepped forward and said to Daoist Daoyan, "Master, Senior Brother Li Xun of Fenxia Valley has arrived."

Daoist Daoyan looked over with a smile. Li Xun walked to Xiao Yichen's side and made his obeisance to Daoist Daoyan, saying, "Li Xun, a junior of the Fenxia Valley, pays his respects to Daoist Daoyan."

Daoist Daoyan smiled slightly. "No need for such ceremony. Rise, quickly."