Chapter 57 — To Sea
劍問蒼天 · Page 2 of 6
Not long after he left, Bili, holding the blue-green oiled umbrella, also came up and stood on the walkway, gazing in the direction he had gone, silent and saying nothing.
Just then, in the darkness behind her, the shadows suddenly shifted, and out walked a woman dressed entirely in black, her face veiled in black gauze as well, and came to her side.
Bili turned her head. "Aunt You," she said faintly.
The woman in black glanced in the direction Zhang Qingyue had gone and said, her voice calm and without emotion, "Let's go. Your father is waiting for you at Liubo Mountain."
Bili nodded slowly.
At dawn, Zhang Qingyue, who had barely managed to fall asleep, was loudly woken by Shitou: "Brother Zhang, get up, quickly!"
Zhang Qingyue forced his eyes open and saw Shitou full of vigor and high spirits—clearly he had slept very well the night before.
He gave a bitter smile, said nothing, and got up, rubbing his bleary eyes as he went to the basin nearby to wash his face. Shitou sat on his bed and laughed. "Brother Zhang, I'm not criticizing you, but you're so young, and a cultivator besides. After a night's sleep you ought to be full of energy. Why do you look like you haven't slept all night?"
Zhang Qingyue thought to himself, "With you around, who could sleep?" But on the surface he could only smile bitterly and nod.
After the two of them finished washing up, Shitou pulled Zhang Qingyue along, intending to call Bili and set off together. Zhang Qingyue frowned inwardly, truly unwilling, yet unable to say so plainly to Shitou. To their surprise, they knocked for a long while with no answer, and when they asked the innkeeper, they learned that Bili had settled her bill and left late the night before, having even paid for the two of them as well.
Shitou was taken aback and shook his head in puzzlement. Zhang Qingyue stood to one side, turning it over in his mind. From what Manager Wang said of the time, she must have left not long after he and Bili had parted.
In truth, Zhang Qingyue had been worrying all along about what to do if Bili insisted on following him to Liubo Mountain. Yet now that she had suddenly slipped away without a word, he felt a pang of emptiness.
Shitou, standing nearby, happened to come over to discuss matters with Zhang Qingyue, but at that moment Manager Wang looked at him a few more times and suddenly said, "May I ask, sir, is your name Shitou?"
Shitou started. "That's right. How did you know?"
Manager Wang's face lit with pleasure, and he took a letter from beneath the counter. "A guest left this with me early this morning, saying it was for a burly young man named Shitou. That must be you, sir."
Shitou took the letter and saw his own name written on the envelope, and opened it. Zhang Qingyue, regaining his senses, also looked over. As Shitou read, his brow furrowed, and he blurted out, "Master!"
Zhang Qingyue was startled. "What's happened to your master?"
Shitou shook his head. "I don't know, but this letter is in my master's hand, telling me to go at once to the Earth God Temple west of the city to see him. Brother Zhang, it seems we must part for now."
Zhang Qingyue nodded. "That's fine. Go ahead. I'm anxious to reach Liubo Mountain and see my master and the others as well."
Shitou laughed. "Once I've seen my master and told him about this, most likely the old man will go to Liubo Mountain too. We'll meet again then."
Zhang Qingyue had spent no small amount of time with him and felt a measure of closeness, so he smiled and said, "Good!"
Shitou nodded and turned to go.
Zhang Qingyue saw him to the inn's entrance and watched his tall figure vanish into the crowd. He stood there dazed for a moment, then turned and set off east alone.
After they had all gone far, inside the main hall of the Haiyun Tower, Zhou Yixuan and his granddaughter Xiaowan finally came slowly out.