Chapter 48 — The Town
劍問蒼天 · Page 2 of 9
Mockery showed on Wan Ren Gui's face, and the air of authority and menace in his brow gradually emerged, so that he seemed altogether another man. But Zhang Qingyue's mind was in turmoil, and he did not notice. Wan Ren Gui said, "Tell me, sir—boars and sows, black pigs and white pigs, are they not all pigs?"
Zhang Qingyue had not expected such a remark to come from him. He started, then said, "Naturally."
Wan Ren Gui went on: "Then lions and goats, fierce tigers and rabbits—they slaughter one another. Are they not all living beings? Is there a division of orthodox and evil among them?"
Zhang Qingyue dimly sensed what he was driving at, but still did not quite understand, and could only say, "Yes."
Wan Ren Gui gave a cold hum. "Then tell me again, sir—those you call the orthodox way and the evil way, are they not all men?"
Zhang Qingyue was struck dumb. He wanted to retort, but at his lips found he had nothing to say, and could only answer again, "Yes."
Wan Ren Gui's face was solemn, and he looked at him deeply, until Zhang Qingyue's heart began to quail, before he said slowly, "Young Master Zhang, your Canglan Mountain possesses a wonder of the world, a treasure that shakes the ages and guards the mountain—the ancient sword Immortal-Slayer. Do you know of it?"
By now Zhang Qingyue's feelings were almost entirely in the grip of this Wan Ren Gui whom he had met for the first time, and he nodded unconsciously. "Yes."
Wan Ren Gui's face suddenly darkened, and he said sternly, "Then do you also know how many living souls that Immortal-Slayer sword slaughtered in the great war between orthodoxy and evil a thousand years ago? How many lives it destroyed? If one reckons the treasures of the world today, the one that has truly killed the most and carries the heaviest aura of malevolence is surely that ancient Immortal-Slayer sword you worship as a god!"
A great roar filled Zhang Qingyue's head, and he staggered back a step unbidden, as though struck full in the face by a fist. At the same time, he seemed to feel something deep in his heart—some place sacred and inviolable since childhood—give a faint, clear echo, and for the first time a small crack appeared in it.
The sunlight was brilliant, pouring down from the crown of the great tree, filtering through the dense leaves into tiny scattered flecks of gold that fell upon the ground and, as the leaves swayed ceaselessly, danced gently like mischievous children.
Now and then a few flecks of light fell upon the youth.
Zhang Qingyue crouched on the ground, and before him lay the dark iron rod, resting quietly, ugly and misshapen in the shadow. What Wan Ren Gui had said was in truth not so very different in meaning from what Bili had told him that day in the Kongsang Mountains, but coming from his lips it struck Zhang Qingyue quite otherwise. Deep in his heart, a figure seemed to laugh softly and coldly: He is right. He is right.
Wan Ren Gui sat calmly to one side, drinking tea that had long gone cold. In the distance, the aged tea-stall keeper glanced this way, then turned his eyes away again, wholly unaware that the youth here was like a raging sea in his heart!
How long passed, none could say, but at last Zhang Qingyue's face slowly subsided from its anxiety, struggle, and pain. He reached out slowly, took up the dark iron rod from the ground, and rose to his feet. Facing Wan Ren Gui, he said coldly, "Who are you, really?"
Wan Ren Gui had now returned to his easy manner, all the menace gone from his brow, and said with a faint smile, "I? I am Wan Ren Gui—nothing but an ordinary man who wanders the world."
Zhang Qingyue stared at him, his grip slowly tightening on the dark iron rod. "How would an ordinary man know so much? Are you a fiend of the demon cult?"
Wan Ren Gui showed no particular reaction, only looked at him and said mildly, "Does the division of orthodox and evil truly matter so much to you?"
Zhang Qingyue drew a deep breath and said heavily, "Yes!"