Chapter 109 — The Mystic Fire Altar

Ming Li steadied himself and then noticed that behind the golden gleam in Little Grey's eyes there seemed to be a trace of panic. He drew a deep breath, and the corner of his mouth curved into a smile. "It's all right," he said softly.

Little Grey seemed to understand its master's words. It blinked, then slowly closed its eyes, and after a moment, as though that inexplicable pain were gradually receding, the strength in its claws slowly diminished.

Standing in the darkness, Ming Li slowly gathered Little Grey into his arms.

The night was cold as water.

Darkness lay ahead, and the figures of a man and a monkey flickered gently in a shadowed corner of the night.

Who knew how long he stood there; Little Grey lay quietly in Ming Li's arms as though asleep. And Ming Li paid no heed at all to this being the perilous ground of the Burning Cloud Valley—he simply stood in the darkness, gently holding the monkey.

Suddenly the little body in his arms stirred, and its head lifted. Ming Li looked down and saw that the golden gleam in the monkey's eyes had vanished, and it had become its usual lively, nimble self.

Ming Li's heart eased, but before he could say anything, Little Grey seemed to struggle a little, then stretched out an arm and pointed toward one of the paths outside. Ming Li was startled and looked up. After a moment, two figures indeed came walking along that path—and they were people Ming Li knew.

Li Xun and Yan Fei.

Ming Li frowned. He had known these two ten years ago; both were talents of the highest caliber. Though the world had changed much in those ten years and they had not met since, for cultivators ten years passed in the blink of an eye. Their features and bearing were almost exactly as they had been ten years before, though judging by their movements, their cultivation was likely far beyond what it once was.

The two came walking slowly, seemingly conversing. As they drew near, Yan Fei was heard to say, "Senior Brother, why did those monsters suddenly come charging in?"

Li Xun frowned, plainly not quite understanding either. But his face was cold as he said coolly, "Those uncivilized beasts—who can know what they're thinking! If you ask me, since these fish-men dared violate the valley, we should make sure none of them ever return. Why bother troubling Uncle-Master Shangguan again?"

Yan Fei said softly, "Senior Brother, don't be angry. The Valley Master thinks deeply and plans far ahead; there must be something in this we cannot yet know. When we first dealt with these savage tribes, it was Uncle-Master Shangguan who displayed his divine powers and overawed them in one stroke. Those savages regard him as a celestial being; so long as he appears, those monsters will surely depart obediently. The Valley Master told us to invite Uncle-Master Shangguan out—this must be the reason."

Li Xun snorted. "Naturally I know all that. But what I don't understand is why, with the Burning Cloud Valley's eminence, we must bow and scrape to these monsters. And now we're to invite Uncle-Master Shangguan out as well—if word of this gets out, won't the Burning Cloud Valley become the laughingstock of the orthodox world?"

Yan Fei smiled faintly. "Senior Brother, these savages must still have some use, which is why the Valley Master tolerates them somewhat. When the time comes..." Here she suddenly stopped, but her eyes rested on Li Xun as though they held a thousand more words.

Li Xun curled the corner of his mouth; a hint of defiance showed on his handsome face, which from a distance only added to his elegance. But he said nothing more, only sighed softly, and he and Yan Fei slowly turned onto a small path beside them, vanishing into the night after a moment.

In the shadows, a gaze sharp as a knife watched their receding backs. Ming Li's thoughts raced. So the ones who had invaded the Burning Cloud Valley tonight were none other than the fish-man tribe he had been investigating. He recalled the night three days ago, when he had overheard Lü Shun talking with that fish-man in the dark; that tall fish-man seemed to be the head of a tribe.

It seemed tonight's affair was most likely vengeance: the fish-man chieftain had been sniped by Jinpingyue, and the remaining fish-men had come in fury to retaliate. At the thought, Jinpingyue's figure flitted through Ming Li's mind once more, and his wariness of the woman deepened another degree.

He stood in the shadows a moment, then seemed to reach a decision and glanced at Little Grey in his arms. Little Grey blinked, then suddenly stirred and darted up onto his shoulder with a grin—it appeared fully recovered.

Ming Li relaxed and smiled faintly. "Let's go see what sort of figure this Uncle-Master Shangguan is. How about it?"

Little Grey gave two squeaks and waved a paw, pointing toward the path Li Xun and Yan Fei had taken.

Ming Li smiled soundlessly in the dark. His figure rose suddenly, swift as a ghost, and he was gone down the quiet little path.

In the distance, a Burning Cloud Valley disciple was walking this way when he suddenly felt his eyes blur—it seemed a ghostly shadow had flickered across the road ahead leading to the valley's vital ground, the Mystic Fire Altar. When he looked again in earnest, there was nothing to be seen. He could not help but pause, then shook his head, muttered a word, and continued on his way, giving the matter no further thought.

The little path was secluded, and unexpectedly long, clearly showing that Uncle-Master Shangguan's abode was very remote. Ming Li had not gone far along it when he could no longer see any other buildings around him; both sides of the road were given over to trees, grasses, and flowers. The night wind blew, and beneath the faint moonlight in the sky the tree shadows swayed like dancing demons and monsters, betraying a hint of the uncanny.

Ming Li carefully made his way along the path. After walking a good while, he saw no forks such as there had been outside; evidently this path led straight to Uncle-Master Shangguan's dwelling.

The Burning Cloud Valley covered an enormous area, and this little path, twisting and turning, led deeper still into the valley.

Suddenly a white, square object appeared beside the road ahead. Ming Li's gaze sharpened; looking closely, he saw it was a stone tablet carved with two lines of characters:

Mystic Fire Restricted Ground

Disciples Halt Here

Ming Li's brows knit—not because he hesitated before what might be some mysterious place of the Burning Cloud Valley, but because the two words "Mystic Fire" had quietly stirred something in his heart.

He could not help glancing at his right arm. Beneath the cloth, the Mystic Fire Mirror lay quietly upon his arm.

He was dazed a moment, then gave a cold laugh and stepped past the stone tablet.

The tablet looked ordinary enough, but it seemed to mark a boundary. After passing it, for some reason, though the path still wound on as before, the trees and grasses along both sides were noticeably sparser.

First the green grass on the ground gradually vanished, then the low shrubs, and at last even the once-dense trees on either side grew sparse. Not only did the ground begin to crack, but the remaining few trees had turned sere and yellow in trunk and branch, as though the region were parched beyond measure, the earth scorched.

Could this have something to do with those two words, "Mystic Fire"?

On his shoulder, Little Grey gave a low cry and stirred, seeming uneasy. Ming Li patted it gently, and it gradually quieted. The surroundings were indeed very strange, yet this did not look like any important place of the Burning Cloud Valley—otherwise, why had he not encountered a single guard along the way?

Ming Li turned these thoughts over as he followed the path around the last bend.

Suddenly, even a man of his composure could not help but shudder. Before him opened a great clearing, and a wave of heat came rushing at his face from some unknown quarter.