Chapter 11 — The Deep Valley
劍問蒼天 · Page 5 of 6
Zhang Qingyue watched and wondered, but Tian Lingsu was busy dodging obstacles and watching the monkey's tracks, her whole mind concentrated; how could she spare thought for such things? Seeing the grey monkey close at hand, she was overjoyed. With a sharp cry she drove the silk straight in, plunging into the clearing and swooping at the monkey.
Just as she was about to seize it, Zhang Qingyue felt a thunderclap in his head; his body swayed of its own accord, and a wave of nausea rose from his five organs and rushed to his brain, and in an instant he was shaking all over. Zhang Qingyue was greatly alarmed and at a loss—when suddenly his chest grew warm, and a current of warmth spread out, guarding his heart veins and then dispelling the nausea.
Instinctively Zhang Qingyue looked down at his chest, and felt that the warmth came from the deep purple bead Puzhao had given him. At the same moment, Tian Lingsu ahead suddenly trembled twice as well; her body went limp, and she fell.
The two of them had been in midair. Once Tian Lingsu lost control, the Amber Vermilion Silk halted at once, and the two of them tumbled straight down from the sky.
Zhang Qingyue rolled several times on the ground, bruised and aching, but he paid that no mind. Before he was even on his feet he shouted, "Senior sister! Senior sister, are you all right?"
Tian Lingsu lay face down ahead of him, motionless, her face stark white, cold sweat beading her brow. She had fainted.
Zhang Qingyue paled with fright, guessing it had much to do with that strange feeling just now. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he scrambled up, ran to Tian Lingsu's side, and shook her, calling several times—but she gave no response.
Zhang Qingyue looked around. Centered on the emerald pool, within three zhang not a blade of grass grew, while beyond three zhang the trees were lush. He clenched his jaw, fought down the nausea that rose again and again, hoisted Tian Lingsu onto his back, picked up the Amber Vermilion Silk where it had fallen, and walked outward.
That distance of a zhang or two would have been nothing at all ordinarily, but under the repeated assaults of nausea it was unbelievably hard going. At last he struggled clear of the three zhang and came to a great pine; at once the nausea vanished without a trace.
Zhang Qingyue set Tian Lingsu down and gasped for breath, then looked toward the pool. The grey monkey was still there, no longer moving, its face full of pain, gazing their way with an air of desperate pleading.
Zhang Qingyue frowned; in the end he could not bear it. He stood and walked back in. After only a few steps the nausea returned, and at the same time the warmth rose again in his chest, holding the discomfort at bay.
Zhang Qingyue walked slowly to the monkey's side, sweat streaming down his face. The grey monkey, seeing him come near, did not stir—it seemed pressed so hard it could scarcely breathe. Zhang Qingyue drew a deep breath, bent down, gathered the monkey into his arms, turned, and walked out. The grey monkey was very docile now, lying quietly in his embrace.
With great effort he got out again and came to the still-unconscious Tian Lingsu, and the nausea vanished with it. Zhang Qingyue set the grey monkey down and dropped to the ground, gasping. The monkey too heaved a sigh of relief and lay flat on the ground, its eyes darting about, yet it did not flee—it only looked at Zhang Qingyue.
Zhang Qingyue opened his collar and took out the bead hung on a red cord to examine it closely. Its original deep purple surface had turned pale violet, and the blue qi within seemed to have been provoked by something, for it now swirled ten times as fast, spinning without cease and dashing against the bead's surface on every side. As before, each time the blue qi struck, the Buddhist true word "卐" appeared to block it. And that warmth which had just now saved Zhang Qingyue had come from precisely these true words.