Chapter 44 — The Book of Heaven

Bili knelt and, with great solemnity and a face full of reverence, knocked her head three times against the ground. Only then did she rise, steal a glance at Zhang Qingyue, and see him standing motionless, his eyes fixed elsewhere, his brow faintly furrowed. She said nothing of it, only remarked coolly, "Let's go."

When they had first entered the tunnel together, Zhang Qingyue had actually felt a certain warmth and closeness toward this young woman. But now, at the sight of those two evil deities, he remembered at once the gulf between their sects, and the teachings of his masters since childhood. His expression cooled of itself, and he gave a slight nod. "Fine."

Bili glanced at him, then walked deeper in. Zhang Qingyue followed behind her. This time they did not go far before entering another spacious place. But unlike the stone chamber outside, this one had not been finished or furnished; it was a cavern of hanging stalactites and jutting strange rocks, where the stalactites took a thousand bizarre shapes and were of every hue under the sun. Before the two of them, at the mouth of the cave, stood a great stele, on which were carved, in bold, flying strokes: "Heaven and earth are not benevolent; they treat all things as straw dogs."

Each of those ten characters was nearly half a man's height. The strokes were archaic, the force of the brush vigorous, running straight like dragons and serpents, so that the words seemed about to burst out at the viewer and roar at the heavens.

At first Zhang Qingyue noticed nothing. But after gazing at them a moment, his head suddenly swam, and he found himself involuntarily taking a step backward.

Startled, he hastily steadied his mind. The characters were still there on the stele, not stirring in the least; it was only that their sheer power was truly frightening.

Alarmed, Zhang Qingyue saw that Bili had already gone around the great stele and was walking deeper into the cavern, so he followed. Beyond the stele, strange stalactites were everywhere. The two of them wound their way through that forest of stone for a while, and then Bili, who was in front, suddenly stopped and gave a soft, startled cry.

At almost the same instant, Zhang Qingyue suddenly felt the dark iron staff he used to brace his arm begin to glow with a strange light — and above all, the pearl at the staff's head blazed with an extraordinary blue radiance. But this time it was gentle, as though it had met an old friend, a familiar face not seen for many years, and glowed with unending remembrance and longing.

Astonished, Zhang Qingyue looked ahead. Past Bili's shoulder he saw what had startled her: at the bottom of the cavern was a smooth stone wall, and on either side of it a tunnel leading off to some unknown place. But beneath the wall lay a slab of green stone, and upon it — incredibly — sat a skeleton, in the posture of one sitting quietly in meditation.

And the pearl on the dark iron staff was now pointed straight at that skeleton, shedding its soft blue light.

Bili stood in front, unaware of the strange look on Zhang Qingyue's face and the change in the staff in his hand. After her first fright, she quickly steadied herself.

She was, after all, of the Demon Sect — how could she fear a mere skeleton? She stepped forward and examined it carefully, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Turning her head, she smiled at Zhang Qingyue. "Who knows, perhaps this is none other than the Blackheart Old Ghost, who held the world in awe eight hundred years ago!"

Zhang Qingyue naturally had no fondness for anyone of the Demon Sect. He gave a cold snort. "Let's hurry and see if there's a way out."

Bili shot him a glance and pressed her lips together. "If you want to look, look yourself."

Zhang Qingyue was taken aback, and rather than swallow his pride, he snorted and, to his own surprise, turned and walked straight into the tunnel on the left.

He had not gone two steps before he was shaking his head at himself in the dark. How was it that before this Demon Sect girl he could not keep his temper, flying off at the least provocation? Doubtless she was watching him now, mocking him, laughing at him.

But think as he might, once he had taken the step he could not turn back. He walked on a few paces, and there was no sound behind him; it seemed Bili had not followed. Zhang Qingyue felt, he knew not why, a faint sense of loss — then at once cursed himself for a worthless fool, pulled himself together, and proceeded cautiously deeper into the tunnel. The passage he now found himself in was no different from the way they had come in, only far deeper and quieter; looking far ahead, all was dim murk, and the road seemed longer besides. He truly could not fathom how the men of the Blood Refining Hall of the Demon Sect in those days had ever carved out such a vast work.

He walked on thus for some time, and then Zhang Qingyue suddenly became aware that the way ahead was gradually brightening. His heart leaped; he quickened his pace, and saw at the end of the road a soft light spilling out, piercingly clear amid the darkness, like gentle tentacles luring the people of the world.

Zhang Qingyue drew a deep breath and stepped into that light.

Bili watched Zhang Qingyue's figure vanish into the tunnel, and stood blank for a moment, her face darkening. Her father was a man of high rank and great power in the Demon Sect; from childhood she had been treated like a princess, and no one had ever dared defy her.

Who would have thought that here, in this dead-end place, she would meet a young fellow of the righteous path — not old in years, but grand in temper — and that she could not help but be angry.

As it happened, Zhang Qingyue had been a good-natured youth back on Canglan Mountain. Why he should clash at every turn with Bili, apart from the barrier between their sects, was more than he himself could have explained.

Of all this Bili naturally knew nothing, but that Zhang Qingyue had crossed her again and again was plain before her eyes, and it rankled badly. Yet at present they were both trapped in a place of no return, and it would not do to teach the boy a lesson by force. She could only give a cold snort and store it away in her heart. But that Bili should humble herself and follow after Zhang Qingyue — that was utterly impossible.

Almost without thinking, she turned and walked into the tunnel on the right.

After a few steps, Bili felt that this was much the same sort of road as the tunnel outside, only with fewer glimmering things along the rock walls, so that the passage seemed a little dim.

Fortunately the road was not long. Soon Bili came to its end and stepped once more into a stone chamber.

It was a chamber of middling size. Along one side stood many racks; on the other lay a heap of refuse, mostly iron implements — sabers, swords, spears, and the like — most of them broken and battered. Most conspicuous was an axe flung carelessly on top, all over rust and rather huge, yet still intact; the whole of it looked as though it had been cast of iron.

Bili gave it two glances and lost interest. She turned to the racks, looked them over briefly, and her face first lit with great delight — but before long it changed, against her will, to disappointment.

On the racks, shelf by shelf, were labels. Some of the writing was long since blurred, but some could still just be made out, and every one of them made the heart leap: names such as "Five Peaks Divine Halberd," "Moon-Watching Cord," "Parting-From-Man Awl."

Bili had grown up in the Demon Sect, and her father was a man of rare genius, learned in things ancient and modern; with such a family education, she knew very well that these were the peerless magical treasures and secret relics spoken of in the legends of the Demon Sect. How could she not be delighted? Unfortunately, on these racks there were for the most part only labels and no objects — a joy in vain.