Chapter 191 — The Leak

Even so, Zeng Shuyan, Wen Pei, and their companion were not people who had no sense of their own place. They knew well what Yun Yifeng's position and stature were, and that he should receive them in person was in truth rather a condescension. At once the three stepped forward; after making their respects, Zeng Shuyan said, "How could Senior Yun come to meet us in person? It is we juniors who should have come to pay our respects. You do us far too much honor."

Yun Yifeng smiled slightly, his face most kindly, and said, "What sort of talk is this, good nephew? Your martial uncle Daoyan the Immortal, and your father, Senior Brother Zeng Shuchang—I have known them both for well over a hundred years. What need is there for such ceremony? How are the two of them keeping?"

Zeng Shuyan answered respectfully, "Our Sect Master and my father are both well, and both elders bade me come and pay my respects to Senior Uncle Yun as soon as I reached the southern border."

Yun Yifeng laughed heartily and nodded. "Since we parted at Qingyun, the days have flown by in a blink, and this old man has truly found himself missing a few old friends." As he spoke, he turned his smiling gaze past Zeng Shuyan's shoulder; his eyes passed briefly over Wen Pei, then came to rest on the cold, indifferent face of Lu Xueling.

As though sensing Yun Yifeng's gaze, Lu Xueling raised her eyes. Yun Yifeng was looking at her with a face full of smiles, and beside him stood another man, his expression a tangle of complicated feelings, wearing what seemed a faint bitter smile as he too looked her way. It was Li Xun.

Lu Xueling said nothing, and lowered her head slightly.

Yun Yifeng smiled faintly, shifted his gaze away, and said, "Why are the several of you still standing? The ties between our two sects are no ordinary matter—we are one family. Do sit down."

Zeng Shuyan and the others begged pardon for their presumption, and took seats below.

Yun Yifeng spoke with the three of them a while longer. Learning that Wen Pei, like Lu Xueling, was a disciple of Master Shuijing of the Xiaozhu Peak, he asked a few more questions about Master Shuijing, and Wen Pei answered them one by one. After that, Yun Yifeng turned to speak with Zeng Shuyan again. Throughout, he seemed to understand that Lu Xueling was unwilling to talk, and never once addressed a question to her; Lu Xueling for her part was glad to be left in peace, and sat silently to one side.

Yet the other Fenxia Valley disciples in the Shanhe Hall, Li Xun included, let their gazes drift toward Lu Xueling most of the time, whether by design or not. The woman in white, pure as snow, seemed in her cold and aloof bearing to possess some strange magic, so that all the brightness of the hall quietly gathered upon her.

Meanwhile Yun Yifeng asked Zeng Shuyan with a smile, "After that great battle of the day, your Senior Brother Daoyan defeated the Beast Lord for the sake of all living things under heaven, turning back the tide when it was already at the flood—his merit is beyond measure. But when this old man left Qingyun, his wounds seemed not yet fully healed. How is Senior Brother Daoyan's health these days? He is the leader of the righteous path now, the hope of all."

Zeng Shuyan answered with a smile, "Thank you for your concern, Senior Uncle Yun. Our Sect Master is well in every way. So long as the people of the world may escape calamity, it is nothing for the Canglan Sect to suffer a little hardship."

Yun Yifeng's smile grew kindlier still. He picked up the teacup from the small table beside him and took a sip; then his eyes flickered faintly, as though a thought had only now idly occurred to him, and he said with a smile, "By the way, I have heard a rumor of late, and since you have come here just now, good nephew, I may as well ask you about it."

Zeng Shuyan smiled and said, "Pray speak, Senior Uncle Yun. This disciple will tell you all he knows and hold nothing back."

Yun Yifeng nodded, and deep in his eyes a keen light flashed once more. Slowly he said, "I heard by chance not long ago that after that great battle at Qingyun, when Senior Brother Daoyan had defeated the Beast Lord and his foul kind, there was still fighting to be had on Canglan Mountain—and that in the end, word came out that the Canglan Sect's supreme treasure, the 'Ancient Sword of Immortal Slaying,' had been broken and destroyed. Is there any truth to this?"

At these words, in an instant a solemn hush fell over the whole of the Shanhe Hall, and not a sound was to be heard; while Zeng Shuyan, Wen Pei, and Lu Xueling rose to their feet all at once, their faces changed, and looked at Yun Yifeng. And the other Fenxia Valley disciples, Li Xun among them, were staring at Yun Yifeng in astonishment as well.

Only Yun Yifeng himself seemed as though nothing had happened, as though what he had just asked was no great matter that stirred the whole world, but the most ordinary trifle of family life. He calmly raised his teacup and took another sip.

Then, kindly and gently, smiling, he asked the three of the Canglan Sect, "Well then—is it true?"

In the Shanhe Hall there was a silence like death...