Chapter 43 — The Blood-Dripping Cave
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 3 of 6
After a couple of laughs, Bili took out a portion of dry rations from her bosom and handed it to Zhang Qingyue. "I think you'd better hurry up and help me figure out how to open the Blood-Dripping Cave!" she said soberly. Zhang Qingyue snorted, turned his head away so as not to look at the rations, and said flatly, "You think a portion of dry rations can buy me off? Dream on!"
Bili was taken aback. Her eyes flickered, and then she smiled slightly. "You're wrong. I meant that we're trapped in a dead end now—if we don't find a way out, we really will die here. But there's a Blood-Dripping Cave right before us. If we can find the way into it, there may be another way out as well!" Zhang Qingyue thought it over and had to admit there was some sense in it. To survive, finding this so-called Blood-Dripping Cave was as good a hope as any; otherwise there was truly nothing but to wait for death.
But he was stubborn by nature and refused outright to touch the rations Bili held out. He stood up and looked at the red stones again. Bili was not angered; she only watched his figure and smiled faintly, then rose as well and looked up at the ceiling.
The seven red stones, arranged like a ladle, lay there within the rock of the cave roof. Apart from their crimson color, they were utterly indistinguishable from the surrounding stone. Zhang Qingyue looked for a long while and found nothing at all. He was tempted to go up and knock on them one by one, but recalling that Bili had already tried every method up there, he gave up the idea.
The two of them began by gazing upward, then, when they grew tired, sat down on the ground; and in the end Zhang Qingyue, casting aside all propriety—for a man about to die might as well—actually lay down on the ground and stared at the ceiling. Who knew how much time passed, and still nothing was discovered; at last he drifted into a drowsy sleep.
How long he slept in that haze, he did not know. When Zhang Qingyue awoke and opened his eyes, he saw that Bili was still staring fixedly at the seven red stones with wide, bright eyes.
At that moment Zhang Qingyue felt a measure of admiration for this woman. He sat up, but no sooner had he moved than his stomach gave another "rumble, rumble." He must have been desperately hungry; it gave its owner no face at all.
Apart from the dripping of water, the cave had held no other sound; the "rumble, rumble" now rang out and carried straight to Bili's ears. She turned her head.
Zhang Qingyue was mortified beyond words. A man might die, but he must never lose face. He turned his head to the other side so as not to look at Bili, though his face still felt hot. He gave a sheepish dry laugh, walked over to the little pool, and bent to scoop up some clear water in the hope of easing his hunger and thirst.
The clear water in the pool must have been mountain spring welling up from underground; it was icy cold, crisp and refreshing, and seemed even to carry a faint sweetness. But after two mouthfuls, Zhang Qingyue's hunger only grew fiercer.
Water, after all, could not fill a belly. Zhang Qingyue gave a soft sigh and stared blankly at the water's surface. He watched the droplets fall from the rock of the ceiling, strike the water, and send out layer upon layer of ripples spreading in circles. And beneath the surface was mirrored his somewhat haggard face, faintly red…
Faintly red?
Zhang Qingyue started. How could there be red in his reflection? He looked closely, and sure enough, there were several red patches on the face reflected in the water. But then he realized something was off. He looked carefully, then raised his eyes to the rock wall, and saw that it was the red stones in the cave ceiling reflected in the water, overlapping with his own reflection—that was what caused it.