Chapter 119 — The Pursuit
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 3 of 6
Yun Yifeng smiled faintly. "But I wonder what was in his heart ten years ago, on the Heaven-Reaching Peak of Canglan Mountain, when he struck at that disciple named Zhang Qingyue with the Immortal-Slaying Ancient Sword? I fear by then it was already: rather kill the wrong man than let one go!"
Shangguan Lue was silent.
Yun Yifeng laughed softly, then said, "Go. As for matters here, you had best continue to take charge."
Shangguan Lue hesitated, then asked, "And as for Ming Li..."
Yun Yifeng's voice came clear from behind the screen.
"Rather kill the wrong man than let one go!"
A muscle twitched in Shangguan Lue's face. He nodded. "Yes."
With that, he turned and left.
Soon his figure vanished into the hidden passage; moments later came the low sound of the mechanism, clearly as he opened the secret door and went out.
In the silent stone chamber, Yun Yifeng's laughter suddenly rose, tinged with desolation and something like mockery: "You push every notion onto Xun'er, saying it was his conjecture—do you think I don't know? Three hundred years ago you failed in your duty and lost the Xuanhuo Mirror, and three hundred years later, Junior Brother—ah, you still have not grown much!"
"Heh heh, heh heh..."
The bleak, forlorn laughter echoed slowly through the cold stone chamber.
Leaving Tianxiang Lodge, Shangguan Lue walked out through that gate and, for some reason, found himself drawing a breath of relief—he, with his cultivation, could not help it.
He steadied himself, pondered a moment, then walked on. By the winding ways he knew so well, he came at last before a hall of rather imposing appearance, its plaque bearing three characters:
Hall of Mountains and Rivers.
The name, paired with that tall and magnificent hall, did carry a certain flavor of looking down upon the world—who could say whether the founders of Burning Cloud Valley, when they built this hall to receive guests, had in their hearts the thought of one day reigning supreme over all under heaven?
So Shangguan Lue mused as he walked slowly inside.
People were seated within. Apart from the Burning Cloud Valley disciples standing to one side, the guests were chiefly orthodox cultivators who had come to pay their respects, a dozen or so in all, and Li Xun sat among them keeping them company.
In Shangguan Lue's eyes, the most important of them were none other than the two seated at the head.
Lu Xueling.
Facheng.
These two outstanding disciples of the two great renowned sects of the age were here representing the houses behind them, and so, though younger than some of the elders present, they sat in the places of honor.
Facheng still wore his moon-white monk's robe, a kindly smile on his face, conversing with Li Xun and answering with perfect grace. Li Xun, who had known Facheng a good while, seemed glad enough to see him, and their talk was lively—yet amid the laughter and conversation, his gaze kept straying to Lu Xueling, seated beside Facheng.
Shangguan Lue took it all in. When the company saw him enter the hall, they rose one by one. Shangguan Lue returned their greetings with a smile, walked to the seat of honor, and his gaze too could not help but pass over Lu Xueling and Facheng.
The two bowed to him together. Lu Xueling remained silent as ever; Facheng smiled and said, "Many years have passed, yet Uncle-Master Shangguan's health is as sound as ever. Truly rare."
Shangguan Lue shook his head and laughed. "Old, old—good for nothing now." With that he gestured for them all to be seated.
His thoughts turned. In recent years Facheng's fame had stood at high noon within the Brahma Sound Temple and among the orthodox world, and all sides had concluded he was the heir to the temple's abbacy; so his coming in place of Master Pucheng was no surprise.