Chapter 31 — Suspicion

So he raged in grief and indignation; a fierce fire burned endlessly in the depths of his heart. So he swore a grave oath to the demon gods of the Nine Hells: even if his body and soul were reduced to ashes together, he would kindle that one point of light—even if for it he must bury all the world with him.

That sliver of malevolence from ages past remained as defiant as ever.

Zhang Qingyue slowly opened his eyes.

Soft light fell upon his eyes; the familiar smell of his dwelling drifted through the room.

There seemed to be no one here.

He slowly sat up, and had just meant to raise a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow when a sharp pain shot through his shoulder, his chest, and his lower belly all at once; he gasped, and the pain turned his face white.

He sat on the bed and dared not move; a long while passed before the piercing pain slowly ebbed.

It must be afternoon now. The door stood ajar, the two windows propped open, and he could faintly see the still-green grass and tall bamboo in the courtyard. Little Gray, who always followed him, and Big Yellow, who always followed Little Gray, were both gone—had they found meaty bones again?

He smiled—at this empty room, he smiled to himself.

"Creak"—the door was pushed open, and the dignified, beautiful Su Wan came in. Zhang Qingyue stirred and called out, "Mistress!"—and before he could rise, his face twisted again.

Su Wan crossed quickly to the bedside and sat down. "Don't move, Xiaofan," she said softly.

Zhang Qingyue waited for the pain to ease before saying to Su Wan, "Your disciple did not know you would come—"

Su Wan shot him a reproachful look. "Half your life is gone, and you still have the presence of mind to remember that! Enough nonsense—sit still."

Zhang Qingyue gave a sheepish laugh. Su Wan examined him, then nodded. "Your external wounds have healed about as well as they can; it's the damage to your meridians that's too severe. You won't recover without resting quietly."

Zhang Qingyue said, "Yes. Your disciple has disgraced Master and Mistress. It's truly—"

Su Wan cut him off: "You've brought your master great honor, if anything. In nearly three hundred years, apart from the Seven Branches Martial Gathering your master himself entered long ago, Dazhu Peak has never had a finer disciple than you."

Zhang Qingyue flushed and lowered his head. "That—that was only your disciple's good luck."

Su Wan smiled faintly and patted his shoulder. Zhang Qingyue then remembered. "The matches are over, aren't they? Who took first place in the end—was it Senior Sister Lu?"

Su Wan shook her head slightly. "No. It was Qi Hao of Long Peak."

Zhang Qingyue felt, for some reason, a sudden pang of bitterness. "So it was Senior Brother Qi," he said quietly. "He truly is formidable—even Senior Sister Lu, with Tianxuan, fell to him."

At his words Su Wan seemed touched by some thought of her own; she sighed softly and changed the subject. "You were badly hurt this time. Your master spent great effort to save you. He said that for Lu Xueqi to work the True Art of the Divine Sword That Commands Thunder with Tianxuan—well, her cultivation was insufficient, but if that treasure of yours, the one that burned, hadn't blocked it for you, even the gods could not have brought you back."

Hearing this, Zhang Qingyue suddenly recalled something and looked around, but could not find the black, ugly dark iron staff.

Watching him, Su Wan said evenly, "Your master took that treasure of yours."

Zhang Qingyue started, then said quietly, "Yes." After a moment he could not help asking, "Master, he—"

Su Wan said, "You were unconscious five days and five nights; your injuries only steadied last night. This morning a message came from the peak lord of Receiving Heaven Peak summoning your master; he should be at Receiving Heaven Peak now."

Zhang Qingyue nodded slowly, unsure what he felt. He supposed there should be no problem—and yet, for the first time in two years, the dark iron staff had left him, and he could not shake a faint sense of loss.

Su Wan glanced at him; something strange seemed to flicker in her eyes, but she said, "You've only just woken—don't tire yourself, rest as much as you can. I've given orders that no one is to disturb you; Bishu will bring your meals."

Zhang Qingyue said, "Thank you, Mistress."

Su Wan nodded. "Then rest. I'll have Bishu bring your food in a while." She turned and walked out; just as she was about to pass through the door, she suddenly heard Zhang Qingyue call from behind:

"Mistress."

Su Wan turned. "What is it?"

Zhang Qingyue looked at her, seemed to hesitate, then said, "Mistress, I wanted to ask—do you know how Lin Jinghong of Long Peak fared in the matches? I was up on Receiving Heaven Peak at the time and truly had no chance to go ask him."

Su Wan looked at him again. "He made the final eight, but lost to his fellow disciple Qi Hao."

Zhang Qingyue was taken aback. "So he too—thank you, Mistress."

Su Wan shook her head slightly. "Rest now." She turned and went out.

Zhang Qingyue slowly lay back and gazed at the ceiling, saying nothing.

On Receiving Heaven Peak of Mount Canglan, within the Hall of Jade Balance.

Master Daoyan sat at the center, and the heads of the other six branches were all present as well; apart from them, there was no one else in the great hall.

All were silent. Master Daoyan, eyes lowered, was looking at a black iron staff he turned over in his hands.

"Brother Tian," Master Daoyan said, breaking the silence, "what do you make of it?"

Tian Buhui was silent a moment. "When Zhang Qingyue first came up the mountain, he had no such thing. Most likely in these years, by some stroke of fortune, he came upon such a treasure somewhere."

Cangyan Daoren said coldly from one side, "This staff can stand against Tianxuan—it is already of the rank of divine weapons. Yet search all the world, and I have never heard of such a treasure."

Tian Buhui's face darkened. "The lands of Shenzhou are vast beyond measure," he said coldly. "Who knows how many rare and wondrous treasures never seen by the world remain? You and I are, at best, frogs at the bottom of a well."

A flash of anger crossed Cangyan Daoren's face, and before he could speak, Master Shuijing of Xiaozhu Peak said icily, "We are frogs at the bottom of a well, certainly—but that black staff seethes with demonic aura when it works its arts. It is plainly an evil thing. I wonder why Brother Tian cannot see it?"

Tian Buhui gave a snort. "So a little black vapor makes it demonic? A few red threads make it evil? If that's the measure, then when I go back and blacken my face, will you all take me for a demon cultist and cut me down too?"

Master Daoyan frowned. "Brother Tian, don't talk like that. How does it become you to call yourself a demon cultist for no reason?"

Tian Buhui gave a cold humph, turned his head away, and said no more.

Master Daoyan sighed, set the dark iron staff on the tea table beside him, and said, "I asked you all here today to deliberate. First, in this Seven Branches Martial Gathering, the Dazhu Peak disciple Zhang Qingyue has come into possession of this strange treasure—of unknown origin, and of immense power. Second, we previously agreed to send the top four disciples to investigate the Ten Thousand Bats Grotto on Kongsang Mountain; the other three met with no objection from anyone. Only this Zhang Qingyue—"

The more Tian Buhui heard, the angrier he grew. He had himself been puzzled by Zhang Qingyue's sudden, startling progress in cultivation, and harbored doubts about the dark iron staff; but here in the Hall of Jade Balance, when no one else was named, it was his own disciple who was picked at and faulted on every side. How could he not be furious? His face dark, he sprang to his feet with a sharp rustle and cried aloud, "Eldest Senior Brother, what is it you mean to do?"