劍問蒼天 - 第212章 迴歸 - 翰墨軒

Wen Pei looked at her in astonishment. Lu Xueling's gaze drifted far away, she knew not where into the deep night, but the tone of her words could not have been clearer: "I have never been tormented, Senior Sister. Has the sect not always taught us to be free of attachments, to let the heart be at ease, to comprehend the workings of creation and seek long life? Is that not so?"

Wen Pei nodded. "That is so. In truth, in matters of cultivation, our Daoist tradition and the Buddhist path share certain similarities."

Lu Xueling laid her hand lightly on the bamboo frame of the windowsill. A cold gust of wind blew in, and she seemed to feel a chill; her body shrank slightly, but she remained standing, and on her fair palm beads of water quickly gathered, glistening.

"But what would I want with long life?"

Wen Pei's mouth fell slightly open, and her brows drew together.

"I know that the teachings handed down by our founding masters over the thousands of years of the Canglan Sect can never be wrong — that we mortals, seeking to escape the cycle of reincarnation, may through such cultivation perhaps attain long life. In the past, I thought the same, and so I cultivated with all my heart. But now—" Lu Xueling smiled faintly and low, as though speaking to the depths of her own heart: "If I must live all my years without feeling, without love, if I must make my heart blank as white paper to ascend as an immortal — then what use is such long life, and how could such an immortal state be what I want!"

Wen Pei stammered, "Younger Sister, wh-what are you saying?"

As though she had not heard Wen Pei, Lu Xueling went on of her own accord: "I know what you are thinking, Senior Sister. You are most likely calling me ignorant of the world, unaware of how treacherous this life is, and thinking that most of what my heart desires can never come to pass. And in truth, do I not know it too? If you speak of a heart in torment, I have indeed been tormented by it. But now I have come to see it clearly. People say the world will not suffer it, that it cannot be forgiven, and in the end I cannot do as he did and renounce the sect to take holy orders. But even so, I ask only that there be someone in my heart to long for, and I know as well that I am in his. So long as that is so, my heart is content."

Wen Pei gave a cold laugh. "Do you not know that there can never be any outcome for the two of you? Does that not matter to you either?"

For the first time, Lu Xueling's expression changed; a deep shadow seemed to pass quietly over her face, and only after a long moment did she say in a low voice: "Of course it matters to me. If it were possible, who would not wish to stay together always, who would not wish for it to last forever? It is only that, knowing clearly it can hardly be achieved, I have simply stopped thinking of it. In any case, who can say what the future holds? But this much I will never let go."

Wen Pei gazed deeply at the fair, clear-featured woman before her. In the night she was beautiful and serene as a lily, blooming in her solitude. She gave a soft sigh and said, "In any case, I knew long ago that I could not persuade you. Tomorrow morning, go and see our master."

Lu Xueling was startled and turned her head. "It is not that I am unwilling to pay my respects to our master, only that if I go, it will most likely anger her again."

Wen Pei shook her head. "Today our master privately bade me come and summon you. It concerns proper business — set your mind at ease."

Lu Xueling hesitated, then said, "The journey to the southern borderlands, the fall of the Beast Sovereign — the great threat to the righteous path is gone. What else could there be?"

Wen Pei hesitated a moment, then said, "The Demonic Cult has risen from the ashes."

Lu Xueling's body gave a start, and at the same time a fleeting, complex, and unreadable look crossed her eyes. "What?"