Chapter 58 — Heartbreak

The foe was strong, and the righteous dared not be negligent. After deliberating with the Brahma Sound Temple and the Burning Cloud Valley, Daoist Zhenren Daoyan, head of Qingyun, dispatched elite disciples from four of the sect's seven branches—Dragon Peak, Chaoyang Peak, Great Zhu Peak, and Little Zhu Peak—led by Daoist Cangyan of Dragon Peak and Tian Buhui of Great Zhu Peak, supported by several elders, bringing dozens of Qingyun disciples, and together with the Brahma Sound Temple, the Burning Cloud Valley, and a few other righteous wandering immortals, they had all come to Liubo Mountain.

Tian Buhui, catching sight of Zhang Qingyue, was taken aback; there was some joy in his face, though he kept it in check. But his wife Su Wan had fewer reservations—her face full of smiles, she drew Zhang Qingyue aside and questioned him without end.

Zhang Qingyue was grateful at heart, and looking at his master's wife he nearly burst into tears again; he forced them back and gave a rough account of what had happened. But mindful of Bili's identity, he left out Bili and the Blooddrop Cave entirely, saying only that he had been trapped in the mountain's belly for days on end and, by great fortune, had found a secret passage and escaped.

The others listened and sighed one after another—truly a narrow escape from death. Among the Great Zhu Peak disciples who had come this time were Song Dayi, He Dachuan, Du Biyan, and Tian Lingsu, and from their mouths Zhang Qingyue learned that of the eight who had been in the Ten Thousand Bats Grotto that day, Facheng and Fajing of the Brahma Sound Temple and Li Xun and Yan Fei of the Burning Cloud Valley were all safe and sound, and Qi Hao and Zeng Shuyan too had escaped with fright but no harm.

The most perilous had been Lu Xueqi, who had fallen into the Death Spirit Abyss with Zhang Qingyue. She had been gravely poisoned by the red-eyed boar demon, wounded again in the struggle with the yin-spirit tree demon, and then, in the great "tidal wave" of the primeval demon beast the Blackwater Mystic Serpent that came suddenly upon them, her whole body was dashed senseless by the monstrous waves and she had fainted below the Death Spirit Abyss. But by the blue guardian light of the Heaven's Dipper divine sword, Qi Hao and the others, who had risked the descent into the Death Spirit Abyss to rescue them, actually found Lu Xueqi just as she was being surrounded by countless yin spirits, and snatched her back from the very halls of Yama.

Lu Xueqi had barely come to her senses then when she said that Zhang Qingyue was still alive, and also below the Death Spirit Abyss. But the others searched for days without a clue. Lu Xueqi's poison was not yet cleared, her grave wounds not yet healed, yet for some reason she still insisted on finding Zhang Qingyue. After several days she could hold out no longer, and the others, against her fierce objections, had no choice but to give up the search and bring Lu Xueqi back to Canglan Mountain.

This time the Canglan Sect had come east in force, and of Zhang Qingyue's old acquaintances, all but Zeng Shuyan had come.

Tian Lingsu said with a grin, "If senior sister Lu Xueqi knew you were safe and sound, she'd be beside herself with joy. You don't know—that day below the Death Spirit Abyss, when she couldn't find you, how frantic she was!"

Zhang Qingyue was taken aback; Lu Xueqi's face rose in his mind, and he recalled how below the Death Spirit Abyss she had saved him time and again, and gratitude welled up in him. "Senior sister Lu, out of regard for our fellow discipleship, I naturally..." He got halfway through when something struck him, and he turned to Tian Lingsu: "Sister, you weren't there then—how do you know senior sister Lu was frantic?"

Tian Lingsu stuck out her tongue, made a face, and laughed: "I heard it from senior brother Qi Hao."

Zhang Qingyue froze. Looking at sister Ling'er's sweetly smiling face, suddenly the heart that had been seething ever since their reunion went cold.

The next day, the righteous and the demon factions clashed again.

In the midst of the fighting, a virtuous monk of the Brahma Sound Temple saw the trees laid waste and the wild boars, hares, wild dogs, and wild snakes of the forest slaughtered—could not but sigh deeply and chant the compassionate rebirth spell. When he had finished, with a "Amitabha," he waved a Buddhist finger, and a magic treasure burst forth with earth-shaking force. The demon cult figures dodged aside, and with a boom another hillock was obliterated, and lives were slaughtered once more—so again he chanted the rebirth spell.

"Baldy thief, dead monk, if you've got the guts shut your mouth and come fight to the death! All day long gibber-jabbering your damned spells—if you don't curse us to death you'll nag us to death!"

"Amitabha. Benefactor Wild Dog, your sins are deep and heavy; if you do not turn back, I fear after death you shall fall into the Avichi Hell!"

"Bah, bah, bah! Baldy thief, are you even a monk? Cursing me right to my face!"

"..."

Zhang Qingyue, listening from behind, found the voice quite familiar; looking closely, it was indeed the grotesque-looking Wild Wolf Daoist from the Ten Thousand Bats Grotto of Kongsang Mountain that day. He now stood at the front of the demon cult ranks, face furious, spittle flying, finger stabbing at a Brahma Sound Temple monk as he cursed. And Elder Nian, Lin Feng, Liu Gao, and that beautiful young woman were all standing among the demon cult figures as well.

Zhang Qingyue was just thinking that these fellows had come here too when he heard someone behind him chant a Buddha's name: "Amitabha. Greetings, junior brother Zhang!"

Zhang Qingyue turned and saw acquaintances: Facheng and Fajing of the Brahma Sound Temple. Of the eight in the Ten Thousand Bats Grotto before, these two monks of the Brahma Sound Temple had always been friendly with him, and Facheng especially had looked on him with particular favor. And from Tian Lingsu he had also learned that though it was this Facheng who, against Lu Xueqi's objections, had made the decision to leave the Death Spirit Abyss that day, his grief at doing so was said to be such as could not be feigned for any sake.

Zhang Qingyue had been grateful ever since hearing it, and now, seeing it was Facheng and Fajing, he hastened to salute: "Greetings, senior brothers."

Facheng looked him over carefully, let out a long breath, and a smile rose to his face. "The ancients said, 'Heaven surely protects the good.' Now I believe it. Junior brother Zhang has escaped great calamity—cause for rejoicing; blessing must follow."

The tall, broad Fajing stood behind his master, a head shorter than he, and boomed in his deep voice, "Junior brother Zhang is blessed indeed!"

Zhang Qingyue was grateful at heart. "Thank you both for your concern, senior brothers."

Facheng nodded with a smile, then glanced at the field of battle, where the Wild Wolf Daoist had already begun dueling that Brahma Sound Temple monk. He reached out and patted Zhang Qingyue lightly on the shoulder. "We'll talk again when there's time."

Zhang Qingyue answered hurriedly, "Yes."

Facheng had taken two steps when he turned back again and said to Zhang Qingyue with a faint smile, "Junior brother Zhang, when you have time you should go look in on benefactor Lu Xueqi of your sect. She has been worried about you, you know—very worried!" His face held a hint of mystery as he exchanged a smile with Fajing, and the two went off together.

Zhang Qingyue was stunned a moment, then could not help looking toward the Little Zhu Peak contingent of the Canglan Sect nearby. This time the Little Zhu Peak's Master Shuijing had not come; the female disciples were led by the eldest senior sister, Wen Pei, and took their orders from Daoist Cangyan and Tian Buhui. Lu Xueqi was standing among them right now.