劍問蒼天 - 第160章 隱者 - 翰墨軒

Behind the statues stood another altar table, far smaller than the one in front, with yellow cloth hangings draped at its sides that concealed most of it. Tian Buhui stood before this little altar and looked at it a while, but did not bow or make offerings. After a long moment, he reached into the cloth, felt about gently, and drew out a wooden spirit tablet from the edge of the altar. On it was carved, in neat and proper characters:

Spirit tablet of Senior Brother Wan Jiangu!

Su Wan watched as Tian Buhui wiped the dust from the tablet with his sleeve. The dust was not thick—clearly someone wiped it often. When it was clean, Tian Buhui placed the tablet reverently on the altar, took three slender sticks of incense from beside it and lit them, then bowed three more times before this tablet.

Su Wan's face was impassive. She said quietly, "Buyi, what are you doing? At a time like this, do you still hope Senior Brother Wan will watch over Qingyun?"

Tian Buhui said coldly, "Senior Brother Wan was, after all, born of Qingyun. For all his pride, he valued the sect above all else. If he knew of today's events, and if his spirit lingers on high, he would surely protect the lineage of Qingyun."

Su Wan fell silent. After a long while she shook her head gently and sighed.

Tian Buhui gazed at the tablet a while longer, then said slowly, "Let us go."

When the two of them emerged from the Shoujing Hall, Song Dayi and the other disciples were already waiting outside. Tian Buhui's gaze passed from Song Dayi all the way down to Du Biyan, and he nodded. Somehow, from the corner of his eye, he glanced once more at the quiet disciples' quarters in the distance, and in his eyes there seemed to linger a trace of helplessness.

Perhaps it was because the great calamity was at hand and battle was imminent; Tian Buhui looked to be in poor spirits and spoke little. Facing the disciples who had waited so long, he gave only a nod and said, "Let us go. To Jietian Peak."

In a flash of strange light, Tian Buhui took the lead, Su Wan close behind, and the disciples of Dazhu Peak hurried after. Across the heavy, dark clouds, several more brilliant streaks of light shot forth and vanished into the cloudbanks.

********

Xiao Yichen, Lin Jinghong, and the other Qingyun disciples were half dead with exhaustion, but at last, on this day as the sky hung between light and dark, they had escorted every last common folk of He Yin City onto the old road leading north. Meanwhile, from beyond the city walls, a scattered few more civilians still gathered and set off northward.

In the space of a single day and night, Xiao Yichen, Lin Jinghong, and the rest all looked to have grown thin, utterly spent, and every one of them was hoarse when they spoke.

Standing atop the walls of Qingyun City, gazing at the long line of people dwindling into the distance, Xiao Yichen finally relaxed. With a bitter smile, he said to Lin Jinghong beside him, his voice rasping, "We've finally seen them off."

Lin Jinghong let out a long breath as well, the tension that had gripped him easing for the moment. But his brow remained furrowed, unlike Xiao Yichen's complete relief; it seemed something still weighed on his mind. Xiao Yichen was a clever man and soon noticed the lingering gravity in Lin Jinghong's expression. Puzzled, he asked, "What is it, Junior Brother Lin? Do you feel something is still amiss?"

Lin Jinghong started, then shook his head. "You misunderstand, Senior Brother. It's not that I sense something wrong—I'm simply worried about this calamitous battle before us."

Xiao Yichen nodded and clapped him on the shoulder. "I know. Believe me, I feel the same. But evil cannot prevail over good, and heaven never seals every path. We are both of the righteous path; for the sake of all living things, when the day of battle comes, we need only do our utmost. There's no need to dwell on it."

Lin Jinghong smiled and nodded. "You're right, Senior Brother."