劍問蒼天 - 第42章 絕地 - 翰墨軒

Bili watched for a while, and seeing that he did not appear to be putting on an act, she took a few steps to his side, looked him over twice, and — ignoring the look on his face — reached out and pressed and kneaded his arm.

Zhang Qingyue broke out in cold sweat at once. "What are you doing?" he said angrily.

But Bili was not angry; there was even a trace of apology on her face. "The bone in your hand is broken."

Zhang Qingyue snorted. Stubborn as he was, he said flatly, "The Blackwater Serpent broke it, not you. Go away."

Bili gave him a long look, said "Heh," and — to his surprise — truly said nothing more, but walked off and stood to one side, watching coldly, very much as though she expected a good show.

Zhang Qingyue had been in agony, but now he could not, whatever happened, lose face before this demon girl. So he forced himself to stand and examined himself: his body was covered in scrapes, but most were superficial wounds. Only his left hand was broken — which, all things considered, was a stroke of fortune in misfortune.

Even so, the pain of a broken bone was not easy to endure. He moved a few times, jarring the injury, and cold sweat broke out again.

Zhang Qingyue gritted his teeth. Following the general healing arts he had learned on Dazhu Peak of Canglan Mountain, he meant to splint his arm — but when he searched the ground, all he found were strange, jagged rocks; there was not a single straight stick of wood to bind his arm, and he could not help but fret.

Bili, standing to one side, suddenly spoke. "That staff of yours."

Zhang Qingyue started, then understood. The black iron staff was a chi long, just right for the purpose. He glanced at the girl, minded to say a word of thanks, but saw her face full of contempt for him, and swallowed the words. "I'd already thought of that," he said stiffly. "I didn't need you to say it."

Bili pursed her lips. "Then what were you scrounging around on the ground for?"

"I was looking for a way out!" Zhang Qingyue said angrily. "If I don't find one, are we really going to be trapped here till we die?" Then something struck him, and he started. Turning to Bili, he said, "That reminds me — did you see my senior sister from the same sect?"

Bili looked at his anxious face, paused a moment, then shook her head. "At a time like that, everyone was fighting for their lives. Who had time to notice anyone else?"

Zhang Qingyue fell silent, deeply worried. Lu Xueling had not yet recovered from the poison, and now had met with this disaster; her life might well be in danger. At the thought he gave a long sigh and lowered his head.

Bili's expression softened. Watching the young man bow his head and bind his injured arm to that ugly black iron staff, she could not help asking, "Are you and that senior sister of yours very close?"

Zhang Qingyue started, then shook his head. "No. But she is, after all, my... Why should I tell you!" He snorted, and suddenly coming to his senses, ignored her. He tore a strip from his clothes and, using his mouth to help his right hand, bound his left arm firmly in place. Then he looked again at the great pile of rubble at the cave mouth, and at last gave a sigh, turned, and walked deeper into the cave.

Watching Zhang Qingyue walk inward, Bili could not help saying, "Where are you going?"

Zhang Qingyue answered without stopping, "I'm buried alive in here, aren't I? I might as well see what's inside!"

Bili snorted. But somehow, in this dead, airless cave, she followed after all — as though with two people together, the panic was not so great.

Around the corner, Zhang Qingyue found before him a corridor much like the one he had just been in, though somewhat wider. The stone walls on either side still glowed, making the place quite bright, but the dust underfoot was very thick, so that every step left a clear footprint.