劍問蒼天 - 第26章 運氣 - 翰墨軒

Zeng Shuyan gave a cry of "Aiya!" and put on a great show of disappointment. Watching him, Zhang Qingyue could not help but suspect that this fellow, who claimed to have come to watch his match, had really only come hoping for a glimpse of Xiaohui.

"Hua!"

From somewhere in the distance there suddenly came a great clamor, plain and clear even at this remove. Looking up, they saw that far off at the center, beneath the "Qian" platform, the Canglan Sect disciples were gathered in a dense crowd, wave upon wave of astonished exclamations rising from them.

Before Zhang Qingyue could make sense of it, Zeng Shuyan cried: "Oh no, oh no! I was so busy watching you I forgot the most important thing!" And with that he seized Zhang Qingyue and ran.

Zhang Qingyue had no idea what was going on. "What is it?" he asked as they ran.

Zeng said: "That's where Lu Xueqi is fighting!"

Zhang Qingyue could not help but smile—and at the same time felt a stir of emotion in his heart. He turned his eyes to this friend he had known only two short days. Just now, beneath that cold and lonely platform, he had seen none of this man's elders or senior brothers; only this one person had stood at his side, alone amid a crowd of Chaoyang Peak disciples.

A warmth slowly welled up in his heart.

"Senior Brother Zeng," he said, "thank you for coming over to watch me just now."

Zeng Shuyan, in mid-flight, faltered a step, slowed, and glanced back at Zhang Qingyue. Then he laughed. "Ha ha, it was nothing, nothing at all. If you're so grateful, why not just give me Xiaohui—"

"Let's hurry!"

Zeng Shuyan dodged aside, shook his head, and ran after Zhang Qingyue, who was already flying like the wind, muttering a few indistinct words under his breath as he went.

When the two drew near, they found the crowds of Qingyun disciples already dispersing, most of them visibly agitated and arguing heatedly among themselves. They looked up at the platform: it stood empty, but the wooden stage was scarred and battered—clearly the match was already over.

Zeng Shuyan's eyes darted about. He hauled Zhang Qingyue this way and that, weaving through the crowd, and within moments he had found what he was after: the cluster of Fenghui Peak disciples.

Zeng Shuyan hurried over to them, and when the Fenghui Peak disciples saw who it was, they all burst out laughing. One tall fellow, whom Zhang Qingyue vaguely remembered, grinned and said: "Junior Brother, didn't you say you absolutely had to watch Lu Xueqi? How did you vanish into thin air?"

Zeng said: "It's just that I—er—had something to take care of, that's all. Never mind that, quick, tell me how it went!"

A thick-browed man beside him said: "No need to tell—you can guess. With Tianxuan in her hand, even Senior Brother Duan Lei of the Changmen's Jietian Peak would be no match!"

Zeng said: "Even Senior Brother Duan lost to her?"

Zhang Qingyue asked Zeng quietly: "Is that Senior Brother Duan Lei very formidable?"

Zeng said: "He is. Duan Lei is one of the finest figures to come out of the Changmen in recent years. There was a great deal of talk that he would take the championship at this Seven Peaks Tournament."

The tall fellow shook his head. "What good did it do him? You didn't see it—the divine sword Tianxuan is simply too powerful. A few flickers of blue light, a few peals, and Senior Brother Duan was beaten." Here he seemed to feel he had not said enough, and sighed. "You won't believe it even if I tell you—right to the very end, Lu Xueqi never once drew Tianxuan from its sheath."

Zeng said: "Then what was the point of the match? Who is left who can stand against her?"

The tall fellow shook his head. "It's not so cut and dried as that. A divine thing like Tianxuan carries near the same power whether drawn or not. No—it's the cultivation Lu Xueqi herself has achieved that is truly extraordinary."

Zeng said: "Senior Brother Gao, how do you know all this?"