Chapter 27 — Self-Esteem

The two walked on a few more steps. Zeng Shuyan was busy studying Little Grey in his arms, while Zhang Qingyue seemed weighed down with thoughts, silent and withdrawn. After a while Little Grey apparently could endure Zeng Shuyan's inhuman gaze no longer. It gave a few angry cries and swiped at him with its claws. Zeng Shuyan, seeing how docile Little Grey had been all this time, had let down his guard, and was caught off guard by the ambush. This time he truly couldn't dodge; a few scratches appeared at once on his fair, clean face, and the pain made him let go.

Free again, Little Grey leapt for joy—but instead of returning to Zhang Qingyue, it darted to the ground and raced forward. Three bounds and two leaps brought it to a pair of people coming toward them, and with a "swoosh" it sprang onto one of them.

Zhang Qingyue was startled. He looked up and saw a young woman standing amid the drifting white clouds, her smile like a flower, her garments stirring lightly, a crimson silk sash at her waist—pure and lovely beyond compare. It was Tian Lingsu. Joy surged through his heart, and he was about to speak when suddenly his blood ran cold, chilling him to the depths of his heart. Beside Tian Lingsu stood a graceful, elegant man, handsome and distinguished—and who else could it be but Qi Hao?

Tian Lingsu was startled too. On ordinary days Little Grey clung only to Zhang Qingyue; she had never expected it to change temperament today and fawn on her instead. It was a great surprise. In truth, she was rather fond of this clever little monkey, and she stroked Little Grey and called out with a smile, "Xiaofan, what are you doing here?"

Zhang Qingyue's face was blank. He said quietly, "A friend and I came out for a walk."

Qi Hao, standing beside Tian Lingsu, glanced at Zeng Shuyan, the corners of his mouth turning up. He cupped his hands and said, "Junior Brother Zeng, we meet again."

Zeng: "Senior Brother Qi. Hello."

Tian Lingsu looked between them in surprise. "You two know each other?"

Qi Hao smiled. "Junior Brother Zeng is the beloved son of Uncle Zeng of the Fenghui Peak. His family learning runs deep, his cultivation is profound—he's a formidable rival for us in this Sevenfold Convergence."

Zeng: "Senior Brother Qi, your name resounds throughout Qingyun. Among the young disciples of the Canglan sect, you are naturally held foremost. How would I dare be so bold?"

Qi Hao laughed heartily. "Junior Brother Zeng flatters me far too much. I couldn't possibly deserve it, couldn't possibly."

Tian Lingsu noticed something strange in Zhang Qingyue's expression and came over. "Xiaofan, what's wrong?"

Zhang Qingyue shook his head. "Senior Sister, tomorrow you're to fight Xueqi of the Xiaozhu Peak. You must be careful!"

Tian Lingsu smiled faintly and glanced over at Qi Hao, who smiled and said nothing. She returned his smile, then turned back to Zhang Qingyue. "I know. As it happens, Senior Brother Qi's cultivation is deep and he's a warm-hearted person. Since we get along so well, he made a point of asking me out to give me some pointers on tomorrow's match."

Zhang Qingyue lowered his head. After a long while he said, his voice rough, "Senior Sister, tomorrow I happen to be fighting Senior Brother Peng of the Fenghui Peak at the same time, so I won't be able to cheer you on. Be careful!"

Tian Lingsu said carelessly, "It doesn't matter, Xiaofan. Father and Mother both said they'd come watch my match. And besides—" She cast Qi Hao a tender look and went on, "Senior Brother Qi will be watching too. With his profound cultivation and his guidance, I definitely won't lose."

Qi Hao laughed from a distance. "Now that I can't promise."

Tian Lingsu turned back and shot him a glare, then couldn't help laughing outright. Her jade-white skin outshone the frost and surpassed the snow, faintly tinged with a delicate pink, radiant beyond measure—it nearly made a person stare and forget themselves.

But Zeng Shuyan, standing to one side, clearly saw Zhang Qingyue's eyes and face darken in an instant, until scarcely a trace of life remained in them. He could not help frowning.

Night had deepened, and the cold moon hung high in the sky.

Above the sea of clouds, not a sound stirred. A solitary figure wandered in the cold moonlight, drifting through the faint, ethereal mist, walking on and on with no destination.

Without realizing it, he had walked onto the Rainbow Bridge and come again to the edge of that bay of jade-green water. The surface was like a mirror, not a ripple stirring, mirroring the stars scattered across the sky as though they had all fallen into the water.

A fine hour, a fine scene—beauty beyond all telling.

Yet this man seemed to notice none of it. He stood blankly at the water's edge, gazing at the surface, as though recalling something. After a long while his body suddenly shuddered, his hands clenched tight—he looked in great pain.

Then he slowly turned his head toward a patch of dark woods beside the Rainbow Bridge and walked slowly toward it.

Moonlight fell on Zhang Qingyue's face, and there was something desolate in it.

Should he stand forever in this dark corner, quietly watching others' happiness while tasting his own pain?

From somewhere in the distance, the faint sound of footsteps approached.

The darkness lay quietly in ambush among these woods.

"It's so late—why has the master summoned us?" As the voice sounded, six figures appeared. Zhang Qingyue, hidden in the shadows, was badly startled: these were the six peak masters of Canglan Mountain aside from the Jietian Peak, and Tian Buhui was among them. The one speaking was Shang Zhenglian, master of the Zhaoyang Peak.

Cangyan Daoren, walking at the front, said, "I hear our master has already tested the Spirit Venerable today with the spirit-communication art. I fear something has been discovered. He wants us to go discuss it."

The "Spirit Venerable," the water qilin, was the guardian spirit beast of the Canglan sect, a matter of immense consequence. At this, everyone fell silent, their faces grave, and after a moment they had walked far off.

Only after these exalted personages had been gone a long while did Zhang Qingyue dare to come out from the woods. He glanced instinctively at the jade-green pool: the water was calm as ever. The Spirit Venerable had evidently long since gone to sleep in the water.

He raised his head and stared blankly at the cold moon, about to go back, when his hand reached into his robe and drew out that black rod of dark iron. Zeng Shuyan's words that day had shaken him deeply and left him full of doubt and alarm—yet at this moment no other thought remained in his mind. Only the image of Senior Sister Ling'er standing beside Qi Hao, so well matched, floated before him.

His heart had been pierced as though by needles all this while, and by now it had gone numb, hollow and empty, as if his three souls and seven spirits had all scattered away.

Slowly he raised the dark iron rod. Beneath its dark blue-green surface, fine blood-red threads were clearly visible, like capillaries, spread all across the rod, even into the pearl at its tip.

Is this my blood?

Zhang Qingyue thought this faintly in his heart. At the moment he had heard Zeng Shuyan's words, he had almost immediately felt the urge to throw this dark iron rod away—but what followed, Qi Hao and Tian Lingsu together, had struck him a far heavier blow, so that he cared nothing at all for this so-called evil thing.

"Hmph!" He gave a low, bitter laugh. "Even if it is an evil thing, it's a treasure of peerless power. When have I ever had the fortune to deserve such things? What keeps me company but an ugly rod of dark iron?"

A cool sensation rose slowly from the dark iron rod and wandered through his body, as though consoling him.

"A treasure? A treasure?"