Chapter 33 — Down the Mountain
劍問蒼天 · Page 2 of 7
Zhang Qingyue stood staring as his master's figure became a crimson streak and vanished at the horizon, until a slap on the shoulder made him jump. He spun about to find Zeng Shuyan grinning at him. Looking around, he saw that the heads of the other peaks had all gone; only the two of them remained, and Lu Xueqi standing alone some distance off.
Zeng: "Lucky man. I was afraid you wouldn't make it through this time!"
Zhang Qingyue at once felt lighter in Zeng's company, and answered with a smile: "Yes, I was scared half to death myself."
Zeng Shuyan patted his shoulder, looked him up and down, and said in a low voice: "Why didn't you bring Little Grey?"
Zhang Qingyue made a bitter face. "Master brought me here first thing this morning. I never thought I'd be going down the mountain at once—I've brought nothing. How would I have thought of Little Grey?"
Zeng: "No matter. I can lend you clothes, or we can buy some once we reach Heyin City at the foot of the mountain." He winked at Zhang Qingyue and whispered: "Heh heh, we've made a fine bargain this time anyway."
Zhang Qingyue did not follow. "What?"
Zeng Shuyan's eyebrows wiggled; he shot a glance behind him and snickered. "A beauty for company!"
Zhang Qingyue was both annoyed and amused, but he still glanced toward Lu Xueqi. At that same moment, as though she had sensed it, Lu Xueqi looked their way as well. Their eyes met across the distance, and Zhang Qingyue felt her gaze like frost; he started and hastily looked away.
The two jested a while longer, and Zeng Shuyan was just whispering to him about how things would be on the road with Lu Xueqi when he suddenly saw Zhang Qingyue's smiling face stiffen, his gaze go fixed, staring past him.
Zeng Shuyan, puzzled, turned to look. Below the long flight of steps, a man came staggering up—past forty, his clothes fairly clean, but his face blank and his eyes dull, muttering broken scraps of words that ran into one another:
"It's raining, the sky's gone dark, stinking mother, immortal, immortal, heh heh, immortal..."
Under the eyes of Zeng Shuyan and of Lu Xueqi watching from afar, Zhang Qingyue walked over—very, very slowly, as though a long time passed before he came to the man's side.
As though he had walked up to the past itself.
"Uncle Wang Er, are you well?" He forced down his agitation and spoke low.
But the man's eyes seemed not to hold Zhang Qingyue at all. Still muttering, he shook Zhang Qingyue off and walked on, and soon vanished behind the great hall.
"Who is he?" Zeng said.
Zhang Qingyue watched the place where Uncle Wang Er had disappeared and said bitterly: "A madman!"
Zeng Shuyan read his face and wisely asked no more. After a while Qi Hao came out of the great hall, his face full of joy, and greeted the three of them.
Absently, Zhang Qingyue went over with Zeng Shuyan. After some discussion (Zhang Qingyue sat lost in thought and said not a word), they decided to go down the mountain first to Heyin City.
Zeng: "Senior Brother Qi, is that **Mirror the Sect Master gave you very formidable?"
Qi Hao laughed. "The **Mirror is our Canglan Sect's greatest treasure; of course it is formidable. My only fear is that my cultivation is insufficient! Heh heh, well then—this is the mountaintop, and no disciple save the heads of the seven peaks may fly a sword here. Let us go down to the sea of clouds and fly from there to Heyin City."
Lu Xueqi's face was expressionless; Zhang Qingyue nodded blankly; only Zeng Shuyan was all smiles, for to a fun-loving fellow like him, going down the mountain counted as a happy occasion.
On the road from the Canglan Sect to Heyin City, the Canglan Sect's four most "outstanding" disciples came flying on their swords. The others were effortless and at ease, but Zhang Qingyue could not help but struggle.