劍問蒼天 - 第154章 故居 - 清風書屋

Tian Buhui gave a bitter smile and shook his head. Just then he suddenly sensed something; his brows knitted, and he looked outside the Shoujing Hall. From far off came the sound of something cleaving the air. Tian Buhui pondered a moment, steadied himself, and walked out.

A streak of white light flashed across the sky above the Great Zhu Peak, swift as lightning, shooting straight toward the summit. In an instant it was before him, landing six feet away, and the dazzling white radiance swayed and scattered, revealing the figure of Xiao Yichen of the Jietian Peak of the Canglan Sect.

Xiao Yichen turned, a faint smile on his face, and cupped his hands. "Greetings, Uncle Tian."

Tian Buhui nodded. "Hm. What brings you here? Is something the matter?"

Xiao Yichen smiled and nodded, but then glanced around and said with some surprise, "Uncle Tian, why is it so deserted here? Where are your other junior brothers? I do not see a single one of them."

Tian Buhui thought to himself, "If you could see them, that would be a fine ghost story indeed; who knows where each of them has hidden himself." But on the surface he was as unconcerned as could be. "They are all at their studies, and so have not come out. This place of mine is not like your Jietian Peak, bustling with people; it is common enough not to see a soul."

Xiao Yichen paused, catching a note of displeasure in Tian Buhui's tone, but he was a man of considerable depth, and put on an air of not having noticed at all. He smiled and said, "Oh, I see. Uncle Tian, I have come today at the command of my honored master to pay you a visit; there are a few questions he wishes to consult you about."

Tian Buhui frowned, taken aback. "Consult me? Consult me about what? Senior Brother Daoyan is a scholar of heaven-deep learning, his achievements in the arts beyond mortal reckoning; what could he possibly have to ask of a worthless junior brother like me?"

Xiao Yichen smiled faintly and said nothing, only looked at Tian Buhui. Tian Buhui understood. "Then let us speak inside." He turned to walk into the Shoujing Hall, Xiao Yichen following behind him. Suddenly Tian Buhui halted, whirled around, and looked toward the disciples' quarters.

Xiao Yichen found it odd and glanced that way too, but saw nothing. He could not help asking, "What is it, Uncle Tian?"

Tian Buhui hesitated, then shook his head. "Nothing. My eyes played tricks on me. How could he possibly..." He coughed once and said mildly, "Let us go in and talk."

Xiao Yichen was baffled, and could not help glancing that way again, but he saw only rows upon rows of houses in neat array, silent and still, looking altogether too normal. He thought no more of it and followed Tian Buhui into the Shoujing Hall.

After the two figures vanished into the Shoujing Hall, a hushed stillness once more settled over the summit of the Great Zhu Peak. How long passed, no one could say, when suddenly a shadow flickered along the corridor of the disciples' quarters—none other than Ming Li. He gazed silently toward the Shoujing Hall for a moment, then turned and, along the winding corridors he once knew so well, walked slowly inward.

Perhaps because it was the afternoon hour, none of the other disciples on the Great Zhu Peak were anywhere to be seen. In his memory, what he had most often heard here in the old days, besides the clear laughter of his young junior sister Tian Lingsu, was the slightly dejected outcry of Du Biyan, for he must have lost a bet again. Then the hearty laughter of the eldest senior brother Song Dayi and the others would ring out, the other senior brothers would join in the teasing, and that youngest, most inconspicuous little disciple—surely he too must have been smiling knowingly in some corner?

Once upon a time—the days of old turned gently over amid the slow sound of his footsteps, those bygone matters seeming carved into every brick and tile, every pillar and stone, every terrace and tower here, echoing all around him.