Chapter 58 — Heartbreak
劍問蒼天 · Page 1 of 7
He slapped himself across the face. Zhang Qingyue stood where he was, unable to keep from breathing a little hard, and only after a long while did his mood slowly settle. Then he shook his head with a bitter smile and said to himself, "Zhang Qingyue, oh Zhang Qingyue, who do you think you are? A nobody disciple of the Canglan Sect, not even worth ranking, and you dare stand here questioning the doctrine handed down by the founders—what a fool you are. The Canglan Sect has passed down its teachings for over two thousand years, revered by all under heaven; naturally, then, it must be right. How could the likes of you presume to doubt it?"
At that thought his mood at once eased. There was a certain self-comfort in it, perhaps, but it worked well enough. He stopped turning the question over and lay down at ease.
Yet he had barely settled when suddenly, above this island that had been so silent that only the sound of the tides and the sea wind remained, a shriek tore through the air—shrill to the extreme.
Zhang Qingyue sprang up at once and looked up. There in the night sky, a white beam of light streaked across like a summer meteor, dazzling beyond compare—and behind it, astonishingly, followed several more beams, their colors red, yellow, and white in turn.
A glance told him this was cultivators riding their swords in aerial combat—and plainly, the one in front was fleeing while those behind gave chase.
In this desolate place, where no soul had dwelt, someone was now fighting in the sky. It must surely be the righteous sects clashing with the demon cult. Zhang Qingyue had been searching these vast eastern seas for days, his heart already anxious; at the sight he was overjoyed. Either way, one side must be the righteous, so he hesitated no longer. He pointed a spell seal, and the black-iron staff rose into the air; he mounted it and soared skyward.
Bearing Zhang Qingyue aloft through the boundless night, the black-iron staff gave a drawn-out *wu...* as it rushed up. But none of those in the sky seemed to have imagined anyone could be on this desolate little island below. The fleeing man ahead took it for an ambush; the pursuers behind instinctively took it for a trap set by their foe. Both sides shouted at once—the white light ahead spun about, and the red, yellow, and white lights behind turned as well—and all of them came striking at Zhang Qingyue.
Zhang Qingyue was greatly alarmed, cursing inwardly, and found himself in the predicament of an enemy before and behind. But those magic treasures flew with such speed that there was no chance for him to explain. He brought himself up short in midair, then dropped headfirst like a stone.
Those four in the sky, of two factions, seemed all to be masters, reacting with great speed. In but a moment they saw the situation clearly; each halted their treasure an instant in the air, then unexpectedly all followed him down, clinging like thorns to the bone, giving chase without letup. Yet among the two factions, a few let out soft cries tinged with doubt—clearly they had realized their opponent also meant to strike down this intruder without mercy.
Only poor Zhang Qingyue was the innocent scapegoat, suddenly pursued by four magic treasures, and one slip would leave his body and head in different places. Hearing the wind grow tighter and tighter at his back, Zhang Qingyue gritted his teeth and knew there was no dodging it. Halfway down he twisted about, and saw those four beams shrieking toward him like lightning and thunder. With a great shout, the black-iron staff blazed with dark-blue radiance and he held it across his body, taking the blow head-on.
With a great *boom* that carried far across the calm sea, the four beams rebounded, and Zhang Qingyue, together with the black-iron staff, was smashed down from the sky, striking the water with a *splash* that sent spray leaping high.