Chapter 41 — The Blackwater Serpent
劍問蒼天 · Page 3 of 6
As she spoke she made to move, and Zhang Qingyue hurried to brace himself — though inwardly he was groaning. Lu Xueling was leaning on him now, weak and strengthless, plainly badly hurt; most likely the poison was still in her. And this demon-cult witch before him was uncanny and unpredictable; if it came to a fight, he feared he would have no way to look after Sister Lu.
But alas, things in this world seldom go as one wishes. Zhang Qingyue's thoughts raced — and he suddenly realized that matters were going from bad to worse.
In the darkness another point of light kindled. This light was not like the girl in green's: though it shone, it was dark in hue, so that in the darkness one might almost have taken it for black light. Within that glow a dim figure walked out and halted beside the girl in green — a tall woman, all in black, her face veiled. It was the very companion who had walked with this girl in the Mountain-Sea Garden that day.
Then, under Zhang Qingyue's astonished gaze, one light after another kindled in the darkness. Some five more figures appeared, clad in yellow — the girl's attendants from the Mountain-Sea Garden that day, and now every one of them had come to this place as well.
Zhang Qingyue felt his throat go dry, and under the weight of so many eyes he could not help but feel a chill. Just then he heard Lu Xueling's faint, strengthless voice at his ear: "Go, quickly. None of these people are our inferiors in cultivation — you cannot fight them head-on!"
Zhang Qingyue turned his head. That pale, beautiful face was right beside his own, and on it there was no sign of worry or fear, as though she were speaking of the most ordinary thing in the world. Zhang Qingyue was struck dumb for a moment, then shook his head and pressed his lips tight together. He turned back once more to face those mysterious demon-cult folk who had appeared from nowhere.
"Bili, be careful," the veiled woman said, watching the two before them, her gaze at last coming to rest on the dark iron staff in Zhang Qingyue's hand. "There's something strange about that black rod."
Bili — the girl in green — said, "Aunt You, what have you seen?"
No expression could be made out on the face of the veiled woman she called Aunt You, but a note of puzzlement came through in her words: "That murderous aura — it's so like the one from just now. But how would one of the righteous path come by such a thing? They couldn't wield that bead either. And this — this is a short rod. What's going on?"
Bili gave a cold sniff. "Well, I'd like to see just how formidable this thing is!" She took a step forward, and at once the yellow-clad figures behind her stepped forward too. Zhang Qingyue saw that things looked ill; he wished to make a fight of it, but the odds were far too great against them, and he had no choice but to support Lu Xueling and retreat.
The black-clad, veiled woman seemed heavy with ghostly air; her whole person drifted straight forward through the darkness beside Bili, almost like a yin spirit herself, and in a voice only the two of them could hear she said, "The short rod in that boy's hand carries a fearsome murderous aura. Do you feel it?"
Bili glanced at Zhang Qingyue ahead of them, tense and on his guard, and nodded.
The veiled woman paused, then said, "Even so, I sense that the fierce power within that rod has most likely not yet been fully released — it seems to be held down by something. The way I see it, that rod very likely has some connection to our Holy Cult. The boy's identity is highly suspect. Think carefully before you act."
Bili frowned. "Aunt You, what do you propose?"
The veiled woman's tone turned flat and calm. "Just take them alive. Bring them back and let your father have a look. The Cult Master's wisdom embraces heaven and earth — he will surely recognize this thing."
Bili thought it over. "Very well."