劍問蒼天 - 第72章 絕境 - 翰墨軒

Bili said flatly, "So that means the Canglan Sect's people are all staying there?"

Zhou Yixuan nodded. "Seems so!"

Bili fell silent again. After a long while she said, "Then—did you two happen to see that young disciple of the Canglan Sect who saved you once?"

Zhou Yixuan started, then understood. "You mean that youth called Zhang Qingyue, miss?"

Bili had not expected them to know Zhang Qingyue's name. She nodded. "What—you've seen him?" A note of concern appeared on her face.

Zhou Yixuan and Xiao Wan shook their heads together.

Bili was plainly disappointed. She looked as though she wanted to say more, but all at once seemed to lose interest. She waved her hand. "Go on, then."

To Zhou Yixuan and Xiao Wan it was music from heaven. They thanked her at once and hurried toward the mouth of the alley—but before they had gone more than a few steps, Bili spoke again behind them. "Wait."

Zhou Yixuan's heart skipped a beat.

Bili said slowly, "Just now, out on the street, you mentioned an ancient well of the full moon outside the Black Stone Cave. What did you mean by that?"

Only then did Zhou Yixuan relax. He hastily recounted the tale of the Well of the Full Moon, and concluded, "Yes—that's how it is. Legend says that on the night of the full moon, anyone who gazes into the Well of the Full Moon will see the person they love most!"

Bili's expression shifted. She said no more, standing lost in a daze. Zhou Yixuan was still wondering what other strange questions this ever-changing girl might have, when Xiao Wan tugged at him; seeing her frantic signals, he came back to himself. The two of them slowly edged toward the alley's mouth, and neither Bili nor the mysterious black-veiled woman beside her made any move to stop them.

After a long while, only Bili and the black-veiled woman remained in the quiet alley.

"Aunt You, who do you think he saw?" The words were barely out before Bili gave a bitter laugh of her own, a laugh steeped in sourness. "But why even ask? It must be that Ling'er—his senior sister. Or if not her, then that peerless beauty from Qingyun who wields the Divine Sword of the Heavenly Dipper. What am I?"

The mysterious woman whom Bili called "Aunt You" said mildly, "Don't be like that. These men—sometimes they simply don't understand their own hearts!"

Bili closed her eyes. After a time she opened them and said to the woman in black, a note of pleading in her voice, "Aunt You, I want to go see him."

The woman in black shook her head at once. "No."

Bili said plaintively, "Aunt You, his life and death are still unknown. I—I—I truly cannot let it go in my heart!"

The woman in black sighed softly. "Your father knew you'd do something reckless—that's why he told me I must keep an eye on you. Right now a great many experts of the Canglan Sect are gathered in that inn. If we go barging in, we'll surely not escape unscathed." Here her voice softened with compassion. "Yao'er, there's time yet. We will see him again, I promise you."

Bili stood there in a daze, and only after a long while said, "But—but he's violated all the great taboos of the orthodox path. Will they—will they just kill him—"

The woman in black frowned and shook her head. "Bili, pull yourself together. You're not usually this muddled. Zhang Qingyue is now suspected of ties to our Holy Church because he possesses the Blood-devouring Bead—and on top of that, he actually cultivates the Great Brahma Prajna of the Brahma Sound Temple. That is what truly matters. If the matter is not investigated thoroughly, the Brahma Sound Temple will never let the Canglan Sect off easily. I'm certain the Canglan Sect will take Zhang Qingyue back to Canglan Mountain, where Daoyan himself will look into it and render judgment, and give the Brahma Sound Temple an accounting. So for the time being, he won't be harmed!"

Bili bit down unconsciously on her pale lower lip. A long while passed, and still she gave no response.