Chapter 197 — True Wrath
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 2 of 7
Before he could finish the sentence, a chorus of "Ai ya! Ai yo!" burst forth. Xiao Yichen's body jolted and he came to an abrupt halt, and there at the vast doorway of the Yuheng Hall, against the backdrop of the mild, clear blue sky beyond, a dozen or so figures came tumbling in from outside, thudding one after another onto the floor. Not one of them could keep his feet; every one spun about, and a moment later they all went crashing down in a heap.
The Yuheng Hall erupted in an uproar.
"Hmph!"
A cold snort, and there appeared, pert and vivid, a slender, delicate figure standing in the great doorway of the Yuheng Hall—none other than Su Wan.
That single sound silenced the whole assembly in an instant. In the vast Yuheng Hall there was not a whisper more; every gaze was drawn to the woman who had so suddenly shown her fury.
Her hair, black and gleaming, was coiled in a bun, pinned aslant with a golden phoenix-in-flight hairpin set with a ruby eye, from whose beak hung a three-part tassel of glazed jade that swayed gently. Two willow-leaf brows, cold yet lovely, clear yet alluring; red lips pressed tightly shut, cheeks like snow, a pair of eyes incomparably bright and carrying a measure of anger. The loose garments she usually wore were gone; today Su Wan stood in plain white robes that clung close to her body, subtracting a measure of charm and adding a measure of fierce ardor. In one hand she gripped a dark-green immortal sword still in its sheath; the blade's light blazed, and though the scabbard remained upon it, layer upon layer of sword aura spread formlessly through the air, giving one the sense that the sword was sentient and yearned of itself to leap forth and slash wildly about.
The corner of Xiao Yichen's eye twitched several times in succession, and by instinct he felt a chill at his back.
Su Wan's face was like frost, her gaze cold as she swept it over the assembled company in the Yuheng Hall. Under that glance, for all her beauty, not a one dared meet her eyes.
From the corner of his eye Xiao Yichen looked at those young disciples now clambering up from the floor, groaning as they rose. Though some had bruised noses and swollen faces, their hurts were no more than flesh wounds; far from any injury to sinew or bone, blood was seldom even drawn. At this sight he was somewhat reassured—it seemed that Uncle-Master Su Wan, though for some unknown reason she had suddenly unleashed such thunderous wrath, still had some regard for the bonds of the same school and had not struck hard. Otherwise, judging by the talk of the elders in idle moments—"that woman is truly formidable"—these junior brothers of his would surely have suffered far worse.
Even so, Xiao Yichen suddenly felt a chill before his eyes: Su Wan's gaze had come to rest on him at last. Xiao Yichen gave a dry laugh, stepped forward, and made a cupped-hand salute, while stealing a glance at the dark-green immortal sword in her hand. "Uncle-Master Su, how is it you have such leisure today as to visit our Peak That Touches Heaven?"
Su Wan looked coldly at Xiao Yichen and gave a cold snort, paying no heed at all to his question and showing not the slightest inclination to return his salute. She stood there still, haughty in the extreme, her fair face frost-covered, and said in a frigid voice, "Enough nonsense. Bring Dao Yan out here for me!"
At these words the nearly hundred disciples of the Peak That Touches Heaven in the Yuheng Hall stirred at once, and Xiao Yichen's face too changed. Dumbfounded for a long moment, he said, "Uncle-Master Su, has something happened? My honored master has been in seclusion all this while. Ah, that reminds me—where is Uncle-Master Tian? How is it he has not come with you?"