Chapter 74 — Two

Du Biyan started and turned, and could not help but stare: Zhang Qingyue had come out of the room at some point and was standing behind him. The monkey Little Grey clung to his shoulder, grinning and looking at him cheerfully; Big Yellow, however, had not followed, and was most likely still asleep.

"Ah—little junior brother!" Du Biyan said. "Is something the matter?"

Zhang Qingyue glanced at him and said slowly, "Sixth Senior Brother, I would like to walk in the back hills."

Du Biyan was taken aback, and inwardly rather troubled. Since their return to the mountain, Tian Buhui had not directly ordered anyone to watch Zhang Qingyue, but their master's wife, Su Wan, had quietly instructed them all.

Yet looking at his junior brother's haggard face—normally so honest and unassuming—Du Biyan truly could not bear it; still, he dared not defy the will of the sect in any way, and after a long pause he stammered, "Little junior brother, you—you know how things are now... I, I..."

Zhang Qingyue lowered his head silently and said softly, "Tomorrow the sect leader, Uncle-Master Daoyan, will have me brought to Jietian Peak. I wanted to see the old places once more."

Du Biyan's body gave a start; his mouth fell slightly open, and suddenly, for no reason he could name, his eyes grew hot. The youth standing before him seemed to have become again the ordinary child who had first come up the mountain years ago, when at the dinner table he had bet with him over which of the master's family would be first into the kitchen...

But the command of the sect was not something he dared defy. Just as he stood there in his dilemma, he heard footsteps, and the two of them turned to see Tian Lingsu approaching, a complicated expression on her face.

It was the first time in three days that Zhang Qingyue had seen Tian Lingsu. Her face was rather pale, as though she too were somewhat worn, no doubt uneasy these past days; yet in that sunlight she was still as beautiful as ever.

Zhang Qingyue lowered his head.

Tian Lingsu walked up to the two of them and addressed Du Biyan, though the corner of her eye kept straying to Zhang Qingyue. "Sixth Senior Brother, my father says Xiaofan won't do anything foolish. Let him go."

Du Biyan was startled, and Zhang Qingyue's body seemed to tremble as well; he turned slowly to look toward the Hall of Guarded Stillness, but saw only the deep recesses of the hall—nowhere the figure of Tian Buhui.

Zhang Qingyue slowly bowed toward the Hall of Guarded Stillness, and in a low voice that seemed to carry a catch in it, said, "Thank you, Master."

Tian Lingsu stood to one side, as though she too wished to say something, but in the end said nothing; she pressed her lips together and turned back.

Watching her walk away, Du Biyan said, "No wonder junior sister had such a row with Senior Brother Qi Hao of Long Peak this morning."

Zhang Qingyue was startled. "What?"

Du Biyan said, "Senior Brother Qi Hao came by this morning. After he finished speaking with Master and Mistress, junior sister pulled him aside; before long, it seemed she had said something that put Senior Brother Qi Hao in a very difficult position, and junior sister lost her temper." He paused, glanced at Zhang Qingyue, and went on, "I expect she was asking Senior Brother Qi Hao to plead your case with Uncle-Master Cangsong—that's why they quarreled so."

Zhang Qingyue gave a low, bitter laugh, not knowing what to say; he shook his head and walked off toward the back hills.

Du Biyan watched his back from behind; the monkey Little Grey clung to his shoulder, reaching up now and then to grab at his head in play, a rather comical sight. But at the thought of the fate awaiting Zhang Qingyue come tomorrow, he could not help but knit his brows in worry and heave a heavy sigh.

Zhang Qingyue had not walked the mountain path from Dazhu Peak to the back hills in a long time. Along the way the roadside was lush with green, birdsong rang out in bursts, drifting now and then from afar.

The mountain breeze met him and brushed his face, bringing a touch of coolness; following this winding little path, it was as though he had returned to former days.

So here, truly, nothing had changed at all! Even the white clouds drifting far off across the mountainside of Dazhu Peak seemed exactly as they had been all those years ago.

The monkey Little Grey was overjoyed; it leaped down from Zhang Qingyue's shoulder at once, chittering as it darted into the grass beside the path, then suddenly scrambled up a great tree and swung back and forth among its branches.

Watching it, Zhang Qingyue could not help but smile faintly, recalling the scene of how he had first met Little Grey; it seemed the weight pressing on his heart eased a little in that moment.

On he walked, and on, Little Grey darting excitedly among the treetops above his head; but Zhang Qingyue's gaze gradually came to rest only on what lay ahead—that stretch of emerald bamboo grove, growing clearer by the moment.

How many memories were frozen here!

He stopped at the edge of the grove.

The mountain wind came, and countless black-jointed bamboos danced in the wind, rustling loudly, as though welcoming an old friend home.

Zhang Qingyue drew deep breaths of the fresh, sweet, free air that belonged in all the world to this place alone.

Then he walked in.

The emerald grove was as dense as ever; in the soil beneath those tall, green bamboos, countless shoots had broken through the earth and were growing freely.

Without thinking, he came again to the place where he had once done his bamboo-cutting lessons, and saw that the slender black-jointed bamboos of those days now seemed to have grown a ring thicker.

Bamboo shadows swayed, bamboo waves rustled, as though crowding around him.

The past surged up like a tide into his heart.

He stared blankly at everything around him, as though in a trance.

"Zhang Qingyue!"

Suddenly, a soft call, faintly tinged with delighted surprise, rose from deep within the bamboo grove.

Zhang Qingyue started as though struck. That voice was so familiar—and yet it was the last voice on earth he had ever expected to hear in this place. He wheeled about at once and looked toward the sound, and his breath caught in his throat: there, amid the shadows of the bamboo, stood Bili in a gown of water-green that melted into the colors around her, smiling, watching him with a gaze full of tenderness and something near to infatuation.

"You—how did you get here?" Zhang Qingyue faltered at last, after the two of them had stood gawking at each other like a pair of fools for a long while.

Bili came slowly toward him, even the light in her eyes a gentle smile, and said softly, "I came to see you, of course."

A surge went through Zhang Qingyue's heart; unconsciously he bit down on his lower lip, and only after a long moment managed, "But if anyone found out—you'd be in terrible danger!"

Bili shook her head. "I don't care. I just wanted to see you."

Zhang Qingyue felt a jolt. It was the first time he had ever heard Bili put her feelings so plainly. As though she had noticed his astonishment, a flush rose to Bili's cheeks, and she went on, "Your Canglan Sect has stood untroubled as a mountain for over a hundred years—they let their guard down long ago. I slipped up the mountain without anyone noticing."

Zhang Qingyue nodded silently, but then it came to him that everyone in the orthodox path knew by now that Bili was the daughter of the Infernal Sovereign, master of the Netherworld Sect. If he were seen talking with her here, the consequences needed no guessing.

Bili was clever enough to read the hesitation on his face at a glance, and the smile faded from her lips, replaced by a shadow of dejection. "If there's something worrying you," she said quietly, "I'll just go."