Chapter 77 — Five
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 4 of 6
"Master!" Qi Hao and Lin Jinghong of Longfeng Peak now had tears in their voices. But behind them, the presiding elders of the Canglan Sect who had gathered round Daoist Daoyan suddenly stiffened.
Wan Jiangu—that name, like something out of a nightmare, pressed down upon the Canglan Sect with its dense, dark shadow.
The corner of Daoist Daoyan's eye twitched. That name, which for a hundred years no one had dared utter in his presence, seemed to have stung him deeply. Xiao Yichen was supporting him, yet he was startled to feel the wounded body of Daoyan suddenly give a violent shudder—and even through the cloth he could sense it: the flame that had abruptly kindled within his master's body was fierce enough to sear!
Daoist Cangyan stood there in his mad frenzy, as though the foul breath pent up in his heart for all these years had finally found release; and for a time no one stepped forward to seize the murderer who had struck down the supreme leader of the Canglan Sect.
He pointed at Daoist Daoyan, then pointed at the images of the Three Pure Ones in the shadows behind the crowd, and cried aloud, "You—all of you—" his finger swept across Tian Buhui, Shui Yue, Zeng Shuchang, Shang Zhengliang and the other presiding elders of Qingyun—"answer me in good conscience! Whose seat is this, truly? Senior Brother Wan's of old—or his?"
No one answered. The younger disciples knew not what to do; but Tian Buhui and the others stood livid and silent.
Through the great hall echoed only Daoist Cangyan's maddened voice: "What—have you no words now? Does your conscience prick you? Hahaha—yes! Yes! Who among you does not know in his heart how it ought to be? And yet—who is it that sits in this seat today?"
Shui Yue, her face ashen, looked upon Cangsong—so unlike his usual self—and said slowly, "Brother Cangsong, more than a hundred years have passed in this matter. Why cling to it so?"
"Bah!" Daoist Cangyan now cared nothing for his own station; he spat viciously, a look of contempt on his face, and sneered, "A hundred years? Yes! I have endured a hundred years, and only today have I had the chance to right the wrong done to Senior Brother Wan. In those years, beneath the Canglan Sect, in the wild marches—you, you, and you!"
His finger stabbed from one to the next, pointing in turn at Tian Buhui, Zeng Shuchang, and Shang Zhengliang, and he sneered, "These hundred years you have sat comfortably in your seats—do you still remember how Senior Brother Wan once cast all caution aside to save our lives? Do you still remember who it was that shared his cultivation insights with us without stint, and brought our powers greatly forward? And you—"
He pointed abruptly at Shui Yue and said coldly, "Just now you dared call me obsessed? Heh—heh—in those years, who did not know you pined for Senior Brother Wan in secret? And he later saved you and loved you—yet I never thought you would stand by and watch him die, and now come to mock me!"
Shui Yue's face went stark white!
"And you, Tian Buhui!" As though he would vent every ounce of grievance in his heart, Daoist Cangyan laughed wildly and pointed at Tian Buhui. "Speak for yourself—how did Senior Brother Wan treat you, and how did you repay him?"
Tian Buhui stood livid, his hands clenched tight into fists; beside him his wife Su Wan was no less pale. Yet neither of them spoke a word, letting Daoist Cangyan laugh and rage and accuse.