Chapter 152 — Unfilial
劍問蒼天 · Page 5 of 6
Master Shuijing gave a long sigh, her eyes full of the weariness of years, as though this disciple had called to mind the past, and even her own expression held a measure of sorrow. Slowly she turned and walked to the window, gazing at the green bamboo swaying still in the wind. She wondered only whether the one from those years ago still remembered this place.
"Get up," Master Shuijing said mildly.
There was no sound behind her; plainly Lu Xueling was still kneeling on the ground.
Master Shuijing did not press the matter. "Qi'er, you have always been clever as ice and snow. Some things I thought you would understand even if I did not say them."
Lu Xueling knelt behind her without moving. Master Shuijing went on, "This entanglement between you and that Zhang Qingyue—for you it is a doomed bond. Do you know that?"
Lu Xueling gave a faint response, her voice barely audible. "Yes."
Master Shuijing said slowly, "And moreover, Zhang Qingyue has now betrayed the orthodox path and fallen to the demonic through blood-devouring. His deeds these ten years past—need I say more to you? Let me speak plainly: your affair with him is by now the talk of every corner of the land, and even your sect master, Senior Uncle Daoyan, has learned of it. It is only that these elders, first, have been mindful of your youth and ignorance, and second, have pitied your rare talent and the difficulty of your cultivation—and so they have given you chance after chance. Do not persist in your delusion!" Toward the end Master Shuijing's words came faster and faster, and her voice grew steadily sterner.
Lu Xueling's face grew ever paler, yet somehow her body quieted, no longer trembling faintly as before.
Master Shuijing's expression slowly softened. She turned, raised Lu Xueling to her feet, and said gently, "Qi'er, you are my most beloved disciple. Among your fellow disciples—indeed among the younger generation of all seven branches of the Canglan Sect—your gift for the cultivation of the Dao is the highest, and your future truly knows no limit. My hopes for you are great. Do you know that?"
Lu Xueling said softly, "Yes, Master."
Master Shuijing looked at her. "With your gifts, the position of head of Xiaozhu Peak will naturally be yours in time. Then you will be revered by all, calmly comprehending the way of heaven. Is that not what you once dreamed of?"
Lu Xueling was silent, only lowering her head slightly. On her lovely face, aside from its pallor, there was only the slowly shifting light in her bright eyes—where, at some point, the mist of tears had vanished.
Master Shuijing sighed. "Go back and think it over carefully."
Lu Xueling stood before her. Hearing this, she did not at once turn to leave, but slowly raised her head and looked at the master who had raised her with her own hands.
"What is it, Qi'er?" Master Shuijing asked.
"Master," Lu Xueling called slowly, "I have wronged you."
Master Shuijing shook her head and sighed. "What foolishness is this?"
Lu Xueling's expression seemed somehow amiss; on her usually cold face there appeared a rare flicker of agitation, and even her breathing slowly quickened. Master Shuijing noticed at once, frowned, and looked at her. "What is it, Qi'er?"
It was as though great waves had risen in Lu Xueling's heart, so that her face shifted like wind and cloud. But at last she said slowly to Master Shuijing, in a low voice, "Master, you are right. I have indeed been foolish. Between Zhang Qingyue and me—I know it too—there was never any possibility. It is a doomed bond."
A flicker of sorrowful pity crossed Master Shuijing's eyes, and she said gently, "Qi'er, repent and all is not lost. If only you cut the threads of feeling, there is nothing so terrible about it. At the least, there is still your master, still Xiaozhu Peak, still the Canglan Sect to take you in."