劍問蒼天 - 第140章 殺機 - 翰墨軒

Within the Jade Balance Hall, Daoist Daoyan sat upon the principal seat, clad in a robe of dark green, his long beard hanging down over his chest. In the seats to either side sat the other peak masters of Qingyun. Ten years had passed since the battle at Canglan Mountain, and of the seven peaks of the Canglan Sect, three had seen their masters replaced. Compared with the days when Zhang Qingyue and Lin Jinghong had first come to Qingyun, the scene had changed utterly; the people were not the same.

Apart from the seat of Daoist Cangyan of Dragon Ridge Peak, which had been taken by Qi Hao, the other two changed peaks were these: the seat of Shang Zhenglian, master of Sunrise Peak, had been taken by his disciple Chu Yuhong, and the seat of Daoist Tianyun, master of Sunset Peak, had been taken by his junior brother of the same lineage, Daoist Feiyun. Among these three peaks, only Daoist Feiyun of Sunset Peak was of the same generation as Daoist Daoyan and the others, and could still put in a word or two here and there in the conversation. The masters of Dragon Ridge Peak and Sunrise Peak, by contrast, were rather awkwardly placed. Qi Hao of Dragon Ridge Peak was at least among the foremost of the younger generation and was fairly well acquainted with the various elders; as for Chu Yuhong of Sunrise Peak, he sat in silence at the very back and never spoke a word from beginning to end.

As for the older generation of peak masters—Tian Buhui of Great Bamboo Peak, Master Shuijing of Little Bamboo Peak, and Zeng Shuchang of Windward Peak—they too had not been seen for a long while. And since several of the peak masters who had once quarreled with them were now mostly gone, the scene in the great hall had taken on a harmony it had not known before.

Behind Master Shuijing stood Lu Xueling and Wen Pei. After some time apart, Lu Xueling's beauty was as clear and pure as ever, her face placid and revealing neither joy nor anger—only, for some reason, there now emanated faintly from her person a slight chill that had not been there before.

Wen Pei, for her part, stood obediently behind Master Shuijing, though her eyes were not nearly so obedient; every so often she would shoot a sideways glance to one side, and most likely catch sight of Song Dayi standing behind Tian Buhui. At such moments Song Dayi could not keep a smile from creeping onto his lips, and he looked rather simple and honest. Wen Pei would shoot him a reproachful glare, then turn away again.

Beside Tian Buhui had come his wife, Su Wan. She was at that moment summoning Tian Lingsu, who had come along with Qi Hao, to her side, and mother and daughter were speaking in low voices. After so long apart, the two seemed to have no end of things to say.

And who had come along with Qi Hao, besides Tian Lingsu, was his junior brother Lin Jinghong. He now stood at the back together with Zeng Shuyan, son of Zeng Shuchang, master of Windward Peak. They had once fought side by side through the battle at the Dead Marsh, and so a friendship had grown between them.

This gathering at Qingyun was not a formal occasion, and most of those present were fairly relaxed. Even the conversation between Daoist Daoyan and Tian Buhui, Zeng Shuchang, Master Shuijing, and the others was rather light in nature. Apart from the ever-cold Shuiyue, most faces wore smiles.

When Li Xun of the Burning Cloud Valley walked into the Jade Balance Hall, this was the scene that met his eyes. Yet a moment later, his gaze came to rest upon that woman of frost and ice, flickering like flame.

Xiao Yichen stepped forward and said to Daoist Daoyan, "Master, Senior Brother Li Xun has arrived."

Daoist Daoyan looked over with a smile. Li Xun walked to Xiao Yichen's side, bowed to Daoist Daoyan, and said, "Li Xun, a junior of the Burning Cloud Valley, pays his respects to Daoist Daoyan."

Daoist Daoyan smiled faintly. "Enough, rise quickly."