劍問蒼天 - 第194章 足跡 - 翰墨軒

Lu Xueling glanced at him, slightly taken aback—Zeng Shuyan's face was now utterly serious and grave, wholly unlike his usual self. "What is it?"

Zeng Shuyan drew a deep breath, looked around, then said in a low voice, "Senior Sister Lu, tell me honestly—is the sect's Ancient Sword of Immortal Slaying truly damaged?"

Lu Xueling's face went white in an instant; a keen light flashed in her eyes as she stared at Zeng Shuyan. Even the Tianxuan Divine Sword in her hand—that autumn-water pale blue radiance—seemed to give off a formless humming, stretching forth in an instant, then slowly withdrawing again.

Zeng Shuyan's expression shifted slightly; he felt that the white-robed woman before him had been ice a moment ago and was now in an instant a needle of the most acute and terrible sharpness. He could not help stepping back and smiled bitterly in a low voice. "Senior Sister Lu, there's no need for that."

Lu Xueling stared at him coldly. "What do you mean by asking that?"

Zeng Shuyan smiled faintly. "I am, after all, a disciple of Qingyun. How could I not care about such a thing? Senior Sister Wen Pei turned back to the mountain at short notice—I doubt it was for anything but to report this matter to our elders, no?"

Lu Xueling said nothing, only watched him coldly. Zeng Shuyan nodded. "All right, all right, Senior Sister Lu—you see, I mean no ill. It's only that certain things here are deeply suspect, and there's been little chance along the way. Now is as good a time as any to speak of them."

Lu Xueling glanced at him. "What things?"

Zeng Shuyan coughed once and lowered his voice. "What sort of man do you take Yun Yifeng, Valley Master of Fenxia Valley, to be?"

Lu Xueling's brows knitted. "What do you mean?"

Zeng Shuyan smiled faintly. "Put it this way—do you take Valley Master Yun for a simple-minded man? Or else a man who hates evil as his enemy, who takes the righteous path of the world as his own charge, and who therefore keeps not the slightest guard against Qingyun disciples, who are of that same righteous path?"

Lu Xueling gave a hum and said nothing, but the scorn on her face was plain, showing she wholly rejected Zeng Shuyan's propositions. Zeng Shuyan was not offended; he had clearly expected such a reaction long before, and went on: "Since we both know Valley Master Yun is neither a man of warm-hearted zeal nor a simpleton, then for him to have so abruptly put the question of the Immortal Slaying's damage to the three of us there in the Shanhe Hall—isn't that very strange?"

Lu Xueling drew a deep breath and watched Zeng Shuyan without a word. Zeng Shuyan looked a little awkward. "Well, I know it's hardly proper to speak so of a revered elder behind his back, but look—when you think it over carefully, these things really are strange—"

"There's nothing improper about it," Lu Xueling cut in flatly, her voice clear and cold, as though she could not be bothered with Zeng Shuyan's slightly gaping mouth. "Say what you mean to say—what is there to scruple over? From Canglan Mountain to now, I've seen nothing to suggest he's a good man!"

"Uh—" Zeng Shuyan was both startled and amused, and for a moment could not speak. Never in his dreams had he imagined that Lu Xueling, ever the model of propriety, would outdo him and come right out with contempt for a revered elder. But on reflection, between this matchlessly beautiful woman and that revered elder and his disciples, there did seem to be no small store of grievances.

Looking at Lu Xueling's face, Zeng Shuyan felt a chill at the back of his neck for no reason, and a suspicion crossed his mind that he might have stirred up a hornets' nest unawares. He coughed and hastily changed the subject. "This—er—well, let's set aside his character for now. What I mean is, in this matter, Valley Master Yun has at least several points that are quite out of the ordinary—"