劍問蒼天 - 第25章 意外 - 翰墨軒

Su Wan nodded, and was about to say more when suddenly bells and cauldrons sounded together: the tournament had formally begun. Tian Buhui and Su Wan exchanged a look and nodded. "You all know where your matches are, I trust—it was plain enough on that red board. In a little while, when the fighting starts, your master's wife and I will be down below watching you. Don't make us lose face."

All answered at once. Tian Buhui nodded, and fell to talking quietly with Su Wan as they walked away. Tian Lingsu, who had come along with them, cast a glance around, then came toward Zhang Qingyue; his heart suddenly began to pound.

When she reached him, Tian Lingsu looked at Zhang Qingyue straight on, then all at once burst out laughing. She turned to the others and said with a smile: "Look how nervous Xiaofan is—there's sweat on his forehead!"

Everyone laughed, and Song Dayi laughed too: "I was comforting our little junior brother just now, but it seems to have done no good. It'll take our little junior sister to manage him."

Tian Lingsu spat at him in mock anger, then turned to Zhang Qingyue: "Xiaofan, I have a match soon too, so I can't go and cheer for you. You must do your best—and be careful in everything!"

Zhang Qingyue looked at her beautiful face so close to his, her breath sweet as orchid, a faint delicate fragrance seeming to reach him; a surge of feeling rose in his heart that he could not hold back. He nodded hard, yet for some reason could not get a single word out.

Tian Lingsu, plainly, had not thought so much of it. She smiled at Zhang Qingyue, went over to exchange a few words with her senior brothers, and after a moment the group scattered, here two and there three. Those with matches, it seemed, went off to the platforms and those without went to cheer on their fellow disciples—and no one at all thought to go with Zhang Qingyue. Perhaps everyone took him for a man with no hope whatsoever.

Zhang Qingyue stood where he was and watched his senior brothers walk away until they were far off. A sudden, unnameable ache rose in his heart. Slowly he walked over to the red board and read it through once more, carefully.

He and a Chaoyang Peak disciple by the name of Chu Yuhong had been matched at the farthest platform of all, the one at the Zhen position.

With a bitter smile, Zhang Qingyue set off. All along the way countless Canglan disciples hurried back and forth, chatting and laughing, and what he caught of their talk was mostly about the results of the day before. In yesterday's matches the few favorites everyone had agreed upon had all won with ease, and quite a few mentioned that the Long Peak line, apart from Qi Hao, seemed to have brought forth another young master; from a few scraps of description Zhang Qingyue guessed it must be Lin Jinghong. But most of the talk was of Lu Xueqi of Xiaozhu Peak. That beautiful girl who bore the divine sword Tianxuan—her unexpectedly profound cultivation was one thing; but yesterday, in full view of the crowd, she had struck and snapped her opponent's immortal sword outright, which seemed to have left a great many people most displeased. Yet it only made more of them want to watch her bouts, so her following rose rather than fell. And the long-vanished Tianxuan itself drew even more eyes: who knew how many people wished to look upon this relic of the great war between the righteous and the demonic a thousand years ago—even a few Canglan Sect elders were no exception.

Listening as he walked, Zhang Qingyue could not help calling to mind the frost beauty Lu Xueqi as she had looked the day before, and shook his head. Just then a shout came from ahead: "Qingyue!"

The voice was very familiar. Zhang Qingyue looked up and broke at once into a grin: Lin Jinghong was striding toward him. Zhang Qingyue went to meet him, saying with a laugh: "I was wondering why I couldn't find you anywhere—so this is where you'd run off to!"