劍問蒼天 - 第223章 重逢 - 翰墨軒

Tian Buhui let out a long breath, and a smile spread across his face.

But Lu Xueling was, after all, a woman of meticulous mind. She mused for a moment, then looked at Tian Buhui and said, "Uncle Tian, what you meant just now—are you saying he... can return to Qingyun?"

Tian Buhui gave a snort. "Ten years ago, when the truth came out on Canglan Mountain, Old Seven fled. I've turned it over in my mind many times since, and I can only conclude that Old Seven truly had no part in any of it—he did nothing wrong at all, and yet through some perverse twist of fate he was driven out of Qingyun for no reason anyone can explain. In my whole life I've taken only seven disciples. Worthless as each of them may be, if you think I could simply pretend none of this ever happened, muddle-headedly act as though I'd never taken the boy, and wash my hands of him—that is absolutely impossible."

It was as though Lu Xueling, long lost in darkness, had suddenly glimpsed a faint thread of light ahead. At that moment she was truly both startled and overjoyed.

Tian Buhui went on, "I know that if this is actually done, there will likely be many complications. But for these ten years I've kept watch over Old Seven, and in the end his conscience is still intact—I've never heard of him committing any monstrous or unjust deeds."

Lu Xueling said hurriedly, "That's right, I've kept watch too, and I've never heard of him doing anything disreputable after joining the demon cult..." As she spoke, she noticed Tian Buhui watching her with a half-smile, and her face flushed hot; her voice trailed off.

Tian Buhui nodded. "So you've had a heart in this too. These ten years can't have been easy for you, I imagine."

Lu Xueling was silent.

Tian Buhui coughed a few times, seeming a little short of breath, then said, "In short, so long as he still acknowledges me as his master, then his affairs—no." He glanced at Lu Xueling and smiled faintly. "Your affairs—I can never simply leave alone."

Lu Xueling's pearly teeth pressed lightly against her lip. After a moment she lowered her head slightly and said in a low voice, "This disciple thanks you, Uncle."

Tian Buhui nodded, but could not help coughing again for a spell. That sudden burst of talk, sprung from a moment's glad impulse, seemed to have left him elated but weary, and the faint layer of black qi on his face looked, if anything, a shade heavier.

Lu Xueling could not help feeling some concern. "Uncle Tian, you shouldn't talk so much for now. Rest and recover a little first."

With that, she looked up at the sky and added, "By the look of it, dawn is two hours off at most. When it comes I'll hurry back to Canglan Mountain and tell Master and Uncle Su Wan."

Tian Buhui nodded and closed his eyes again.

Lu Xueling drew a deep breath and settled the restless, flustered emotions still stirring in her heart, and closed her eyes as well. Yet at the same time, at the corner of her mouth, a faint smile still quietly unfurled.

A smile of small happiness—hers, and hers alone!

Far off at the edge of the sky, a faint star poked its head through the heavy clouds, like a young girl's innocent eyes. A moment later the wind blew, a dark cloud drifted over, and once again it was covered.

Beneath the clouds, two streaks of light faintly traced across the sky, heading this way.

Zhou Yixuan hurriedly led Xiaowan and the Wild Wolf Daoist away from that abandoned mortuary—a place that had brought them nothing but ill luck—and made straight for the main road. Zhou Yixuan was old, yet his steps were now far quicker than a young man's; Xiaowan and the Wild Wolf Daoist could barely keep up.

After what seemed a long while, the great road ahead finally grew clear. Xiaowan, somewhat breathless, scolded, "Grandpa, aren't you tired? Why are you walking so fast?"