劍問蒼天 - 第159章 寂寞 - 清風書屋

The great bird came down beside that umbrella, and only then could one see clearly: a wooden pole had been bound to the umbrella's shaft to lengthen it, and the whole had been wedged between the rocks. Beneath the umbrella sat a youth in gorgeous silken robes, holding a wine flask and cup and pouring himself drink after drink. Beside the youth, looking somewhat drowsy, the vicious beast Taotie lay sprawled upon the rock; now, seeing the great bird descend, Taotie merely opened its eyes a slit, glanced over, and closed them again.

The surrounding beasts gave uneasy hisses and growls. The great bird landed on the ground, croaked twice from its throat, and with one sweep of its huge wings sent a dozen or so of the beasts that had been standing there tumbling away, setting off a fresh chorus of startled roars and angry cries, though not one beast dared step forward to challenge it. The bird cast a glance about it, left and right, its manner haughty, as though it held all these beasts in contempt; then it turned its head to face the youth, and in an instant it seemed to become especially deferential.

"Croak, croak-croak..." The great bird croaked a stream of sounds at the youth beneath the umbrella, and the youth seemed in fact to understand the bird's speech, for he nodded slowly. The bird called a few more times, then stood where it was; after a moment it stretched out its beak and preened the feathers on its body. The rain pouring from the sky had long since soaked it through, and after a few such strokes it quickly gave up the effort, raised its head to glance at the night sky, and slowly tucked its head beneath its wing to shelter from the storm.

The rain fell harder and harder. The youth drained cup after cup without pause, only now and then falling into a reverie, staring fixedly into the distance for a moment, then silently lowering his head and drinking again. Yet no matter how much strong liquor he drank, his face never showed the slightest trace of intoxication.

At last the flask was emptied, and it slipped gently from his hand in the wind and rain, falling to the mud-soaked ground. The youth rose slowly, and the beasts around him stirred in a wave, betraying the utmost terror. Yet in the youth's eyes all these countless monsters seemed as nothing; he gave them not the slightest thought. His eyes, in that moment, gazed silently at the horizon, where black clouds hung heavy and wind and rain moaned.

Taotie gave a low cry and rose to stand beside him.

The youth was silent; he turned and gently patted Taotie's head, and after a long while said, "Do you feel it too, Taotie—this loneliness?..."

Taotie growled low, but in the end no one could know its meaning. The youth raised his head and looked at the sky, for a very long time, and spoke not another word.

********

At the summit of Canglan Mountain, on Tongfeng Peak, the heavy rain that had fallen all night was still coming down without pause. The cultivators of the righteous path, headed by the three great sects, had gathered in the Yuheng Hall for council, and the sound of argument rose again and again. And at the head of the hall, in the seat of honor, the three great masters—Daoist Yanyan of the Canglan Sect, the Venerable Pucheng of the Brahma Sound Temple, and Yun Yifeng of the Fenyia Valley—were also conferring in low voices. All three had their brows tightly knit, plainly heavy with care, anxious over this catastrophe of beast demons before them.

Suddenly hurried footsteps sounded outside the Yuheng Hall. The assembly started, and Xiao Yichen, senior disciple of the Canglan Sect, strode quickly into the hall. He paused a moment, nodded a greeting to the righteous cultivators gathered around, then walked briskly straight to Daoist Yanyan and spoke softly at his ear.