Chapter 35 — The Ancient Grotto

It took the four of them a long while to climb free of the mountain of bat corpses, and even then they were in a wretched state: their clothes were smeared with dark, filthy blood, and the stench alone was enough to turn the stomach.

All four were disciples of the Canglan Sect, and as a rule they kept themselves clean; [Lu Xueqi] of Xiaozhu Peak, in particular, was fastidious by nature. What they faced now was worse than three cuts from a blade.

They hurried off without a moment's pause, each wanting only to put as much distance as possible between themselves and that heap of loathsome bat carcasses. They walked a good long way in one breath and came to a stretch of rock that was more or less level. There the four of them beat at their clothes and tidied themselves for a long while, but all they managed to brush off was a bit of debris; the stains of bat blood and the reeking stench would not be driven away no matter what they did.

[Zhang Qingyue] and the other two men were more or less bearable, but [Lu Xueqi]'s face, cold at the best of times, was now like frost and snow. She scrubbed furiously at her garments, rubbing and kneading with all her strength, plainly resolved not to rest until every trace of that disgusting filth was gone from her body.

Only the bloodstains seemed especially thick and sticky, and soon [Qi Hao], [Zeng Shuyan], and [Zhang Qingyue] had all given up the effort. Only [Lu Xueqi] kept at it, white-faced and unyielding. The three men exchanged glances; even [Qi Hao], the most seasoned of them, now wore an awkward expression and did not know what to say.

Just as the four stood in silence and only [Lu Xueqi] frowned and scoured at her clothes, a few whistling cries suddenly came from the sky. They looked up and saw four streaks of light flash across the horizon — two yellow, one white, one azure. A moment later the four streaks descended before them, flickered, and resolved into four figures.

Of the two on the left, both were monks. The one standing slightly behind was tall and powerfully built, with thick brows, huge eyes, and a face full of heavy flesh; he radiated a fearsome authority even without anger. Had he not been wearing a monk's robe, one might have taken him for a bandit who robbed travelers on the road. But the other cleric standing before him was a young monk a full head shorter, utterly unlike him: fair-skinned, with bright eyes, dressed in a moon-white robe. He looked somewhat frail, yet somehow inspired no thought of contempt.

The two on the right were a young man and a young woman — the man handsome, the woman delicate and lovely. Standing side by side they made a most fitting pair, like the golden boy and jade maiden before the immortals' throne.

These four looked toward the Canglan disciples, and at the sight of the blood and filth on them all frowned slightly. The young, fair-skinned monk was the first to invoke the Buddha's name. "Amitabha. Might the four benefactors be disciples of the Canglan Sect?"

The four of Qingyun exchanged a glance, and [Qi Hao] stepped out from among them and returned the greeting. "Indeed. This one is [Qi Hao]. And you gentlemen are—?"

The young monk smiled faintly. "This humble monk is [Facheng] of the Fanyin Temple; this is my junior brother, [Fajing]. The two beside us are outstanding disciples of the Fenxia Valley, [Li Xun] and [Yan Fei]."

The towering [Fajing] rumbled a greeting in a muffled voice, but [Li Xun] and [Yan Fei] of the Fenxia Valley both wore proud expressions and merely gave slight nods, as though that sufficed for courtesy.

[Qi Hao]'s brow furrowed, and he promptly ignored the two from the Fenxia Valley, addressing [Facheng] instead. "Ah, I have long heard the name of Senior Brother [Facheng] of the Fanyin Temple — acclaimed throughout the orthodox cultivation world as a talent seen but once in a thousand years. Meeting you today, I find the reports were no flattery at all!"

[Facheng] smiled faintly. "Senior Brother [Qi] overpraises me. This humble monk is dull by nature; only my honored master, [Pucheng], did not cast me aside, and bestowed upon me the true dharma, hoping I might do some small good for the people of the world. I would never presume to be named in the same breath as the senior brothers of the Canglan Sect."

[Qi Hao] laughed heartily and waved his hand again and again. "Senior Brother [Facheng] is far too modest. Come, let me introduce my junior brothers and sister." With that he presented the three others, and they exchanged greetings accordingly. Yet for some reason, [Zhang Qingyue] felt that when [Qi Hao] introduced him, [Facheng]'s eyes seemed to brighten, and he looked at him a moment longer than at the rest.

By now [Li Xun] of the Fenxia Valley, who had been left standing aside ever since the conversation began, had turned rather sour of face. When [Qi Hao] finished the introductions, he suddenly spoke in a cold voice: "Senior Brother [Qi], your Canglan Sect has always set itself up as the leader of the orthodox path, with Daoist true arts unmatched under heaven. Yet today, at first sight, every one of you is in such a sorry state?"

The faces of all four Canglan disciples changed. [Zhang Qingyue], seeing that insufferably lofty air of his, felt his dislike deepen. From the corner of his eye he noticed that [Lu Xueqi] had at some point stopped wiping at her clothes; her jade face was frost-covered as she looked coldly at the two from the Fenxia Valley — though mostly her gaze was locked with that of the beautiful woman called [Yan Fei].

[Qi Hao], long practiced in the ways of the world, felt a flicker of anger but quickly recovered himself. With a chuckle he said, "I will not deceive you, gentlemen. Last night I and my three fellow disciples came to this place hoping to locate the Ten Thousand Bats Ancient Grotto, but instead we ran into countless bats..."

At these words the faces of [Facheng] and the other three shifted. The great, tall [Fajing] glared wide-eyed and said in his rough voice, "Hm. So it was the countless beasts in the Ten Thousand Bats Ancient Grotto — savage and cruel, and very hard to deal with."

[Qi Hao] was sharp as they came. At once he understood that these four had likely arrived a few days earlier and had also run into those headache-inducing creatures. His thoughts raced — and then he heard [Zeng Shuyan] give a long laugh behind him and step forward, smiling at [Fajing]. "Senior Brother [Fajing], by that account, you too have encountered those blood-drinking bats?"

[Fajing] nodded; he seemed a straightforward sort. "We did. There were far too many of them, so we had no choice but to withdraw."

[Zeng Shuyan] gave an "ah" and sighed. "I will not deceive you all: last night we too encountered those bats. We meant to rid the people of a plague, but from morning to night, no matter how we strove, they could not all be killed — in the end we could only drive the beasts back into their grotto, and we came away covered in filth. Alas, what a shame, what a shame!"

He turned back to look at [Qi Hao], and the two exchanged a smile. Together they said, "What a shame! What a shame!"

Everyone's expression shifted — though not alike. [Li Xun] of the Fenxia Valley gave a snort, his face full of disdain; the lovely [Yan Fei] seemed somewhat abashed, yet disbelief was plainly written on her face as well. [Facheng] of the Fanyin Temple smiled and said nothing; [Fajing]'s face showed admiration. [Zhang Qingyue] was struck dumb for a moment, and glanced at the two men grinning so radiantly.

After a moment [Facheng] smiled and said, "In this affair on Kongsang Mountain, the elders of our three sects intended for us of the younger generation to gain some tempering. Now that our numbers are complete — though the senior brothers of the Canglan Sect have had a hard journey — perhaps we should rest a day, and at first light tomorrow enter the Ten Thousand Bats Ancient Grotto to investigate. What say you?"