Chapter 192 — Hidden Wounds

Under that cold gaze, which seemed capable of killing, Jin Pingyue showed not the least fear or thought of retreat. On the contrary, she smiled faintly, and in her eyes there seemed a hidden excitement, as of provocation. Her gaze flickered as she said, "You are afraid. Is that not so?"

Ming Li rose abruptly and said in fury, "Afraid of what? Say one more foolish word and I will not be so courteous—"

"You are afraid you will forget Bili!" Jin Pingyue suddenly lifted her voice, clear as ice split and snow cut, and thrust it into the invisible space between them.

Ming Li's mouth, opened in anger, suddenly froze as though locked in place; no sound would come. It was as if he had been struck at his vital point. Jin Pingyue, too, fell abruptly silent. In the echo of that ringing challenge, which seemed still to circle around them, the surrounding world had gone still, without the slightest sound.

At this moment the sky was a deep blue, the distant ranges rolling away; a wind seemed to come from the horizon, and the woods and grasses began to rustle.

It was already afternoon. The wind brushed past cheeks and through hair.

The sunlight grew lazier still. The two faced each other in silence; neither spoke.

Jin Pingyue looked at the man before her, something flickering ceaselessly in her eyes—pity, perhaps, and perhaps a cold smile.

After a long while, she reached up and tucked a strand of hair, blown loose by the wind across her brow, gently behind her ear, her voice softening as she said mildly, "For the sake of a feeling from all those years ago, even you no longer dare trust yourself—are you afraid that at some careless moment you will forget her?" Her smile, too, seemed faint, like a wildflower swaying gently in the wind. "Desperately repressing yourself, constantly reminding yourself—who in all the world knows that Ming Li, the first great general of the Ming Wang Sect whom everyone fears, is such a pitiful creature?"

Ming Li's face shifted through a range of expressions, pale and livid by turns. Suddenly he drew a long breath, raised his head to the sky, held it a moment, then slowly let it out. When he looked back, his countenance was calm as before, with no trace of sorrow or joy—only utter indifference.

"And what manner of person are you, to speak to me so? And what of yourself?" he said mildly, a hint of mockery in his eyes, as though he had in an instant forgotten that momentary lapse.

Jin Pingyue smiled. "Me? I am no one at all—only a woman who happens to be at your side just now."

Ming Li paid no heed to the barb hidden in her words and turned his head away. Just then the grass nearby parted; a gray shadow flashed, and out sprang Xiaohui. It bounded back to Ming Li in two or three leaps. A closer look showed the monkey clutching a good many wild fruits in its hands, and still chewing busily even with its mouth full—no wonder its familiar "zhi zhi" cries had not been heard.

Ming Li picked it up and held out his hand. Xiaohui grinned, baring its teeth, and placed the fruits it had gathered in his palm. They were bright red and most charming; though none were large, they looked plump and full, and very tempting.

Ming Li put one in his mouth and took two bites. The flavor was a little tart, but the flesh was juicy and sweet—a rare treat. He nodded, set a few aside, glanced at Jin Pingyue, and held them out. "Xiaohui is born with a knack for telling poison from safe. The fruits it gathers can all be eaten."

Jin Pingyue did not take them at once. Her gaze turned over the hand extended before her, and suddenly her face brightened in a smile. "Sharing your food with me like this—surely you have no misgivings left in your heart?"

Ming Li frowned and gave a humph. His palm turned and closed into a fist, about to withdraw—but at that very moment Jin Pingyue reached out swiftly and caught his hand in hers. Smiling, she said, "I want them, I want them."

Ming Li's expression shifted slightly. He looked at Jin Pingyue, then slowly opened his fingers, revealing the few wild fruits.

A soft palm's skin; far off, a faint wisp of something scarcely there, drifting through the wind. Jin Pingyue's gaze now seemed suddenly soft as rippling water, flowing gently, gently, as she reached out slender, pale fingers and picked the wild fruits from Ming Li's palm, one by one.

Her delicate nails brushed, as though carelessly, over the coarse skin of his palm—warm, and carrying an odd chill.

She gazed at the man before her, slowly and lightly let go of his hand, then smiled, put one wild fruit to her lips, took a few bites, and said with a smile, "Delicious."

Her smile was the fairest flower of that midday hour, enough to stir the heart.

Ming Li looked at her and said not a word.

Jin Pingyue's smile grew more bewitching still. "What is it? Not a single word—you look like a simpleton."

Ming Li watched Jin Pingyue laugh behind her hand, his own face betraying nothing. Only after a moment did he suddenly say, "The Violet Radiance Blade is a weapon of the utmost yin and malevolence. That you could cultivate it to the stage of 'Gathering Yin into the Abyss' and fuse it with your own meridians—that is truly remarkable."

"Pop"—the few wild fruits in Jin Pingyue's hand burst in an instant. Before even their juice could spatter, they had been frozen solid by the strange, chilling yin energy suddenly released, and dropped to the ground.

The gentle smile on Jin Pingyue's face vanished in an instant; her gaze turned to a blade, fixed deep upon Ming Li.

Ming Li, however, seemed not to notice at all, and said mildly, "It is only that although you possess a pure yin constitution and share a natural affinity with the spirit of the Purple Radiance Blade, the cold yin qi within you is too abundant. A solitary yin cannot flourish, yet you insist on cultivating; the yin qi seeps into your body, and your meridians and blood are all injured by it. With this magic treasure your power is surely formidable, but if in the future you wish to advance another layer and take another step upon the path of cultivation, I fear it will be harder still."

Having spoken, he paid no heed to the exceedingly ugly expression Jin Pingyue now wore, turned, and walked away, calling out as he went. The monkey Xiaohui, which had been eating wild fruit off to one side, leaped over, scrambled up onto his shoulder in a few bounds, and he continued striding toward that distant scorched-black peak.

Only Jin Pingyue remained where she stood, watching that receding figure, then slowly raising her right hand and gazing at it in silence. In the sunlight, that pale, slender, and beautiful palm gleamed like translucent jade, yet from its deepest recesses, faint but unmistakable, one could still see a dim, unnatural pale blue, spread like the finest blood vessels through the depths of the muscle's grain.

Jin Pingyue's face was calm as water. Suddenly she gave a cold snort, said nothing at all, and set off straight in the direction Ming Li had gone. As she lifted her foot, she ground the wild fruits that had been frozen into ice blocks heavily to pieces.