劍問蒼天 - 第155章 拜祭 - 清風書屋

By the time Xiao Yichen flew back to Jietian Peak, night had already fallen. The peak was ablaze with lights, and the many senior disciples of the former Canglan Sect, together with the countless adherents of the righteous path who had poured into Qingyun in recent days, had made this place—once a paradise on earth—somewhat crowded and worldly.

Xiao Yichen, however, had no mind for such things. He went straight toward the Yuheng Hall at the summit, and after asking a young disciple of Qingyun within the hall where Daoyan Zhenren might be found, he made his way to the rear chamber, to the master's resting room.

Reaching a quiet corner of the rear hall, Xiao Yichen paused at Daoyan Zhenren's door, steadied himself, and was just about to raise his hand and knock when the master's voice came from within: "Is that Yicai? Come in."

Xiao Yichen caught his breath, then at once answered respectfully: "Yes." He gently pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The room was spacious, and all its furnishings bore a scholarly air. Beyond a simple table, chairs, and bed, the greater part was taken up by the bookshelves lining both walls, upon which many volumes—some already ancient—stood neatly arranged, plain evidence that their owner had read them countless times.

Daoyan Zhenren sat beside the writing desk, an old scroll in his hands, reading. Seeing Xiao Yichen enter, he smiled slightly. "Back only now?"

Xiao Yichen made a deep bow. "Yes, Master."

Daoyan Zhenren nodded. "How went the business?"

Xiao Yichen said, "The heads of the seven peaks raised no objection; all said they would defer to Master's judgment. Only Uncle-Master Tian of Dazhu Peak..."

Daoyan Zhenren's brows drew together. "What? Does Junior Brother Tian see matters differently?"

Xiao Yichen hastened to say, "No—Uncle-Master Tian did not object either. He merely entrusted this disciple with a few words to report to Master."

Daoyan Zhenren looked slightly taken aback. "What words? Speak."

Xiao Yichen then repeated Tian Buhui's words. Daoyan Zhenren listened in silence, saying nothing. Stealing a glance at him from where he stood, Xiao Yichen saw his master's face shift through a complexity of expressions, as though he too were turning something over in his mind.

Just as Xiao Yichen was wondering what occupied his master's thoughts, Daoyan Zhenren said suddenly, "Yicai, what do you make of your Uncle-Master Tian as a man?"

Xiao Yichen was startled, unable to guess his master's meaning. He glanced at him but could discern nothing out of the ordinary, and so could only answer cautiously, "Well... this disciple thinks Uncle-Master Tian is... a rather good man."

Daoyan Zhenren smiled, plainly not much concerned with his disciple's evasive answer. He said leisurely, "Yes, he is a good man. Heh—and for all the figure he cut in those days, it is remarkable that someone with a discerning eye should have seen something uncommon in him..."

Daoyan Zhenren's words broke off abruptly, and a stillness settled over the room. Xiao Yichen shifted slightly, vaguely uneasy. After a moment Daoyan Zhenren said, "You have been running about all day and must be tired. Go back and rest."

Xiao Yichen nodded, bowed, and slowly withdrew.

Daoyan Zhenren watched the figure of his prized disciple vanish from sight, pondered a while, then glanced at the pitch-black sky beyond the window. He rose slowly and walked outside, and soon his figure had melted into the darkness of the Canglan night.

Though it was deep in the night, in the secluded ancestral hall on the rear mountain of Jietian Peak the eternal lamp still burned, like a ghostly fire in the dark. The old man who tended the hall had not yet gone to sleep; he stood now before the altar table that enshrined the spirit tablets of the past masters of the Canglan Sect, gazing at those names in the shadows.

Far off, there came the low chirring of insects.

In the silence, it was as though there were also the sound of a heartbeat!