Chapter 214 — The Secret

How long passed, she did not know, but Master Shuijing suddenly gave a start and came out of her reverie. She smiled bitterly, as if mocking herself, then said to Lu Xueling, "Ah, we will speak of these things another time. Last night I had Wenpei call you here—did she tell you what it is about?" Lu Xueling shook her head. "Elder Sister said nothing. She only told me to come see you at dawn and said that if there was anything, you would tell me yourself." Master Shuijing nodded silently. "Just so. That girl Wenpei knows a little, but not much after all; better that I tell you." Lu Xueling's heart gave a slight jolt; she saw that Master Shuijing's face was somewhat grave, as though some difficult matter weighed upon her heart, and could not help saying, "Master, is something troubling you? If there is any way your disciple can help, please command me; I will do my utmost." Master Shuijing nodded with a faint smile. "Of course I trust you. It is only that at present there is indeed a great matter, one that concerns the very fate of our Canglan Sect, and yet it must not be known to too many outsiders—including our own disciples. I thought it over and over, and among my disciples you alone have the best cultivation and judgment, and so I called for you." Lu Xueling's brows lifted slightly in surprise. "Master, has something grave happened to our sect?" Master Shuijing gave a bitter laugh. "Would that it were not so." "What has happened, Master?" Master Shuijing was silent a moment, as if weighing her words, then said slowly, "Your sect-uncle the Sect Master, and Tian Buhui of Great Zhu Peak—the two of them went missing together some days ago." Lu Xueling's whole body shook. "They went missing together?" Master Shuijing said calmly, "That day some disciples of the Changmen saw Tian Buhui come to Receiving Heaven Peak and go straight to the Ancestral Hall in the back mountain. Everyone knows that in these days your sect-uncle the Sect Master is almost always in the Ancestral Hall, and since then no one has seen either of them." Lu Xueling frowned deeply, plainly much alarmed. Master Shuijing paused, then went on, "After this happened, because the implications were so great, Xiao Yichen, who now manages affairs at Receiving Heaven Peak, did not dare to cover it up, but neither did he dare make it public; he only quietly informed the heads of our several lineages. I went afterward to the Ancestral Hall to look, but to my surprise it had already..." Lu Xueling started. "What has happened to the Ancestral Hall?" Master Shuijing shook her head. "The main hall is all but destroyed. At a glance one can see it was wrecked by the magic power of a fierce duel." "What?" Lu Xueling cried out involuntarily.

Master Shuijing gave a cold laugh. "The Ancestral Hall is where our Canglan Sect enshrines the masters of every generation. That the two of them should dare trade blows in such a solemn place—it is utterly lawless. And there is something even more serious." Lu Xueling, still startled, was startled anew; she truly could not imagine what could be more serious than the destruction of the Ancestral Hall, and could not help pressing, "What else?" "Yesterday Xiao Yichen came hurrying to me." Master Shuijing's face grew grave, and a deeper worry showed in her eyes. She said slowly, "By his account, ever since Senior Brother Daoyan went missing, his efforts to investigate had come to nothing, so he thought to examine what his master had left behind and see whether anything might be discovered. But in that search he found a grave matter." Lu Xueling fixed her eyes on Master Shuijing.

Master Shuijing closed her eyes, as if somewhat weary, and said, "Xiao Yichen discovered that our sect's ancient sword, the Immortal-Slayer, has also vanished." Lu Xueling was struck dumb. Master Shuijing opened her eyes. "I know you are a clever one and will understand the implications and the mystery in this. Though the Immortal-Slayer is already damaged, this matter is too grave—and most outsiders do not know the sword is damaged. If word got out, the trouble would be great indeed. Moreover, within the Immortal-Slayer there is in truth a secret of the utmost magnitude, one of even greater consequence. Through the ages only the sect master of our Canglan Sect and a very few others have known of it. Should it ever leak out, the consequences are unimaginable." Lu Xueling said in astonishment, "Beyond being our sect's divine weapon, does the Immortal-Slayer hold some other secret?" Master Shuijing was silent, saying nothing for a long time. Lu Xueling did not dare speak either; she stood with hands at her sides. After a while she said in a low voice, "Your disciple was rude; I lost my composure just now." Master Shuijing shook her head silently. After a long moment she said, "It is not that I blame you. It is only that the implications here are grave and the whole affair extremely complicated..." She paused again, as if deliberating, and after a moment said, "In truth, by rights, even I, head of the Little Zhu Peak lineage, should not know of this. It was only because of the great upheaval a hundred years ago that a few of us came by accident to know a thing or two of what happened." Lu Xueling said in amazement, "A few of you? Do you mean that besides you, Master, others know of this tremendous secret?" Master Shuijing said calmly, "In that great upheaval of those years, counting those involved afterward, there were five. Besides me, there were Senior Brother Daoyan, Tian Buhui, Junior Sister Su Wan..." Lu Xueling was listening intently when she noticed Master Shuijing had stopped. She counted silently and could not help saying, "Master, that is only four. Who is the fifth?" Master Shuijing sighed; a faint melancholy passed over her face. "He is a sect-uncle of yours, by the name of Wan Jiangu."