Chapter 35 — The Ancient Grotto
劍問蒼天 · Page 1 of 6
It took the four of them a long while to climb free of the mountain of bat corpses, and even then they were in a wretched state: their clothes were smeared with dark, filthy blood, and the stench alone was enough to turn the stomach.
All four were disciples of the Canglan Sect, and as a rule they kept themselves clean; [Lu Xueqi] of Xiaozhu Peak, in particular, was fastidious by nature. What they faced now was worse than three cuts from a blade.
They hurried off without a moment's pause, each wanting only to put as much distance as possible between themselves and that heap of loathsome bat carcasses. They walked a good long way in one breath and came to a stretch of rock that was more or less level. There the four of them beat at their clothes and tidied themselves for a long while, but all they managed to brush off was a bit of debris; the stains of bat blood and the reeking stench would not be driven away no matter what they did.
[Zhang Qingyue] and the other two men were more or less bearable, but [Lu Xueqi]'s face, cold at the best of times, was now like frost and snow. She scrubbed furiously at her garments, rubbing and kneading with all her strength, plainly resolved not to rest until every trace of that disgusting filth was gone from her body.
Only the bloodstains seemed especially thick and sticky, and soon [Qi Hao], [Zeng Shuyan], and [Zhang Qingyue] had all given up the effort. Only [Lu Xueqi] kept at it, white-faced and unyielding. The three men exchanged glances; even [Qi Hao], the most seasoned of them, now wore an awkward expression and did not know what to say.
Just as the four stood in silence and only [Lu Xueqi] frowned and scoured at her clothes, a few whistling cries suddenly came from the sky. They looked up and saw four streaks of light flash across the horizon — two yellow, one white, one azure. A moment later the four streaks descended before them, flickered, and resolved into four figures.
Of the two on the left, both were monks. The one standing slightly behind was tall and powerfully built, with thick brows, huge eyes, and a face full of heavy flesh; he radiated a fearsome authority even without anger. Had he not been wearing a monk's robe, one might have taken him for a bandit who robbed travelers on the road. But the other cleric standing before him was a young monk a full head shorter, utterly unlike him: fair-skinned, with bright eyes, dressed in a moon-white robe. He looked somewhat frail, yet somehow inspired no thought of contempt.
The two on the right were a young man and a young woman — the man handsome, the woman delicate and lovely. Standing side by side they made a most fitting pair, like the golden boy and jade maiden before the immortals' throne.
These four looked toward the Canglan disciples, and at the sight of the blood and filth on them all frowned slightly. The young, fair-skinned monk was the first to invoke the Buddha's name. "Amitabha. Might the four benefactors be disciples of the Canglan Sect?"
The four of Qingyun exchanged a glance, and [Qi Hao] stepped out from among them and returned the greeting. "Indeed. This one is [Qi Hao]. And you gentlemen are—?"
The young monk smiled faintly. "This humble monk is [Facheng] of the Fanyin Temple; this is my junior brother, [Fajing]. The two beside us are outstanding disciples of the Fenxia Valley, [Li Xun] and [Yan Fei]."
The towering [Fajing] rumbled a greeting in a muffled voice, but [Li Xun] and [Yan Fei] of the Fenxia Valley both wore proud expressions and merely gave slight nods, as though that sufficed for courtesy.
[Qi Hao]'s brow furrowed, and he promptly ignored the two from the Fenxia Valley, addressing [Facheng] instead. "Ah, I have long heard the name of Senior Brother [Facheng] of the Fanyin Temple — acclaimed throughout the orthodox cultivation world as a talent seen but once in a thousand years. Meeting you today, I find the reports were no flattery at all!"