Chapter 190 — Anomaly

The party soon walked from Yuheng Hall to the rear mountains and came to the three-forked crossroads before the Ancestral Shrine. Suddenly Qi Hao, walking a little behind, gave a cry of "Eh?" in a tone of some surprise, and quickened his steps forward. Following his gaze, the others saw that before the gradually revealed Ancestral Shrine stood a young man, standing quietly and motionless, his eyes fixed on the depths of the shrine, his back to Qi Hao and the rest.

Qi Hao frowned and called out, "Is that Junior Brother Lin?"

The young man's figure trembled, and he turned around. It was Lin Jinghong.

At the sudden sight of Qi Hao, a flash of joy crossed Lin Jinghong's face, but then he saw the many people following behind Qi Hao, among them the heads of every vein of the Canglan Sect, and he was taken aback, astonishment written plainly on his face.

"Senior Brother Qi, how did you come here... and all you uncles and senior brothers, why have you all come to this place?"

Qi Hao approached Lin Jinghong and smiled. "On the way here just now, I was wondering whether I might find you here. It has been many days since we two brothers last met."

Lin Jinghong was clearly delighted to see Qi Hao as well, and said with a bright smile, "Indeed, I have missed you greatly, Senior Brother."

"By the way," he said, glancing at the others, then lowering his voice to ask Qi Hao, "Senior Brother, why have you come here with these uncles and senior brothers, the vein heads?"

Qi Hao glanced toward the Ancestral Shrine behind Lin Jinghong, frowned, and said, "Junior Brother Lin, that... hmm, the Sect Master—is he inside this Ancestral Shrine?" For some reason, when Qi Hao spoke, he did not deliberately lower his voice; rather, he seemed to want those behind him to hear every word.

The smile on Lin Jinghong's face slowly faded as well; clearly he too sensed something amiss. But faced with these uncles and senior brothers of such long-standing prestige, he still answered honestly, "The Sect Master is indeed inside the shrine."

A faint stir ran through the group behind Qi Hao, quickly subsiding. Then Zeng Shuchang's voice, flat and slightly aged, said, "What is Senior Brother the Sect Master doing inside? Is he in seclusion?"

Lin Jinghong seemed startled. "Seclusion? What seclusion?"

Qi Hao's expression changed, and Tian Buhui, his face shifting as well, took a step forward, but Zeng Shuchang at once held him back. Zeng Shuchang gave Tian Buhui a look and shook his head, then glanced at Qi Hao. Qi Hao understood, and frowning, asked Lin Jinghong, "Junior Brother Lin, this—have you been on Jietian Peak all this time of late?"

Lin Jinghong nodded. "That is right."

Qi Hao pondered a moment, as though weighing his words, then said slowly, "While you have been on Jietian Peak, have you seen... well, or heard of anything unusual?"

Lin Jinghong thought it over, his gaze sweeping across the faces of those present, and his eyes gradually brightened, though his expression scarcely changed. He answered honestly as before, "To report to Senior Brother, though I have indeed been on Jietian Peak all this while, in recent days I have been almost entirely within this Ancestral Shrine, keeping vigil and mourning for the departed elders, so I have heard nothing of what goes on outside." He paused, looked at Qi Hao, and said, "Senior Brother, has something happened?"

Qi Hao was at a loss for a moment, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "No, nothing has happened. By the way, why are you standing out here in broad daylight? Are you not supposed to be keeping vigil inside the shrine?"

Lin Jinghong glanced toward the dark depths of the Ancestral Shrine and said, "It was the Sect Master who told me to stand here. Every time he comes, he has me stand outside alone, and then he enters the shrine by himself."

At these words, Zeng Shuchang and the others all changed countenance slightly, and Qi Hao's brows knitted as well. "Then the Sect Master—is he still inside now?"

Lin Jinghong nodded. "Yes, he is inside the shrine."

Qi Hao nodded, stepped back a few paces, and said no more.

Zeng Shuchang, Tian Buhui, and the others exchanged glances, yet for a time no one moved. After a moment Tian Buhui gave a snort and strode forward. Reaching the entrance of the Ancestral Shrine, he did not step up onto the stairs, but called out clearly from below the stone steps, "Senior Brother Daoyan, this is Tian Buhui. Master Shuiyue, Immortal Tianri, Zeng Shuchang, and the vein-head nephews of two other veins have all come to see you. Are you there?"

His voice rang out loud and full, and at once carried through the woods. In the dim distance, it seemed that deep within the darkened shrine even the little points of incense flame flared up sharply for a moment before slowly settling back to normal.

After a moment, a voice came from the darkness, coldly: "What is it?"

Tian Buhui and the other elders and vein heads all started. The voice carried a heavy air of gloom, with a faint savagery beneath it—nothing at all like the clear, upright tone of Immortal Daoyan in former days. Yet every one of them had known Immortal Daoyan for over several hundred years, and the instant the words reached their ears they recognized them: this was indeed the voice of Immortal Daoyan.

Could this Daoist immortal, who had once led the righteous path of the world, truly have met with some misfortune?

At that thought, the faces of Tian Buhui and the others all changed.

Tian Buhui cleared his throat, drew a deep breath, and called out once more in a clear voice, "Senior Brother, we few have heard that you are unwell of late, and so have come especially to visit. Pray permit us to enter and pay our respects."

Immortal Daoyan's voice was silent for a moment; when it came again, it was accompanied by a cold laugh, piercing to the bone: "See me? Does seeing me require all six vein heads to come together? I see your intent—you mean to force me from my place and covet the seat of Sect Master!"

At these words, it was as though thunder had crashed out of a clear sky; every face changed. Even Tian Buhui involuntarily fell back several steps, his face full of blank astonishment. He turned to look, and saw that even Master Shuiyue and the others, who in former days had ever been composed and aloof, wore expressions of disbelief.

Zeng Shuchang's eyes were full of concern. He stepped forward and called out clearly, "Senior Brother the Sect Master, where do such words come from? We who are your junior brothers and sisters have for several hundred years never harbored such a thought—not in the past, not now, and never in the future. We have come today only out of concern that something may be wrong with your health. We have no other intent whatever; Senior Brother must not mistake us."

Immortal Daoyan's voice suddenly rose, and he laughed coldly: "Zeng Shuchang, of the six vein heads, you have always been the deepest schemer. That day you had long since sensed what Cangsong of Longji Peak was plotting, yet you kept silent and said nothing—do you think I did not know?"

Zeng Shuchang's face changed drastically, and Tian Buhui, Master Shuijing, Immortal Tianri, and the others all turned in astonishment to look at him.

Master Shuijing stared at Zeng Shuchang and after a long while said, "Is this true?"

Zeng Shuchang smiled bitterly and shook his head. "This—where do such words even come from?"

Master Shuijing was about to press further when suddenly the countless dim incense flames within the Ancestral Shrine flared up of their own accord, without any wind. In the darkness nothing could be seen clearly, yet somehow it made one feel that deep within that darkness, something strange had given a roar.