劍問蒼天 - 第49章 妖狐 - 翰墨軒

Zhang Qingyue stood blank for a moment, then stared at Zhou Yixuan and said, "Then what you told me this afternoon, about the road ahead being fraught with danger—that was a lie too?"

Zhou Yixuan's eyes darted, and before he could speak, Bili's laughter rang out from the side; she could not help herself. "So you actually fell for his tricks!"

That laugh at once melted the frost from her face. Zhang Qingyue felt thoroughly awkward, thinking that standing up for the man this time had been truly worthless—and worse, he had lost face before Bili. He set his face and made to walk away.

Zhou Yixuan was frightened out of his wits and cursed his luck inwardly. Shi Tou, seeing the awkwardness, reminded Zhang Qingyue, "Brother Zhang, why don't we go in? The real business is what matters."

Zhang Qingyue agreed, and ignoring the others, turned to enter the woods with Shi Tou. Bili was taken aback a moment, then said from the side, "This forest is thick with demon aura. What are you two going in there for?"

Zhang Qingyue said, "We are going in precisely to destroy the demon."

With that he tugged Shi Tou and strode quickly in. Shi Tou glanced back at the old man and his granddaughter, and at Bili, then followed. The clearing fell silent at once. Bili turned back with a cold face, and Zhou Yixuan instantly clapped his hand to his chest in a warding gesture—whether it would actually ward anything off was another matter.

But Bili did not strike. She pondered a moment, then said to Zhou Yixuan, "Do you know what they have gone in there to do?"

Zhou Yixuan started. He had been in the little town that afternoon and naturally knew the whole business, so he said, "I do. There is a black stone cave in the forest, and in it lairs a three-tailed demon fox. They have gone to rid the town of it. Why?"

Bili gave a cold hum, her gaze dropping slightly, and murmured, "With the little cultivation he has, and still he—"

Zhou Yixuan saw that she seemed to be standing there lost in thought, and thought to himself, what a fine opportunity this is—how could I let it slip? He tugged at Xiaowan's hand and began to creep away. By the time Bili came back to herself, the two were already far off, nothing but their backs visible.

Still, with Bili's abilities, overtaking them would have been easy enough. But she seemed to have no such intention. Instead she turned around and gazed at the forest before her, growing ever darker and deeper in the moonlight, and stood staring, lost in a trance.

Zhang Qingyue and Shi Tou entered the woods. The trees were tall and straight, their branches and leaves thick, blocking out the moonlight, and the forest was all gloom. As they walked on, silence closed in on every side, and from deep in the woods there seemed to rise a thin mist like gossamer.

The two exchanged a glance, and Shi Tou said in a low voice, "Careful."

Zhang Qingyue nodded. Both summoned their treasures and went forward with minds on guard.

After walking a while longer, they saw ancient trees towering to the sky and felt gusts of yin energy—they had clearly reached the depths of the forest. Just then they heard floating toward them through the mist that drifted among the trees a woman's voice, gentle and somewhat plaintive:

On the little pine ridge, the moon like frost,

We drift like willow catkins, and the flowers too are grieved.

Ten-odd years, three thousand years,

If only we part yet do not forget each other.

The woman's voice was sweet and low, crooning softly. No shadow of a figure could be seen, yet a breath of sorrow came faintly toward them. Zhang Qingyue and Shi Tou exchanged a look, both their faces changing. Deep in the night, in this desolate and unpeopled place, it was most likely some demon or spirit. They went cautiously toward the sound.

The thin mist drifted lightly, and gradually wrapped their two figures in as well.