Chapter 63 — The Ghost King
劍問蒼天 · Page 3 of 6
Zhang Qingyue was filled with admiration. From outside the cave to this place was still a very long distance, and yet not only was Daoist Cangyan's voice perfectly clear, it made the surrounding rock walls thrum faintly. Such cultivation and attainment were truly extraordinary—far beyond his own reach.
The Demonic adherents looked at one another, and before long someone cried out in alarm: "This place is so well hidden—how could those righteous-path people have found it?"
At this moment Little Zhou suddenly said loudly: "Miss Bili, this is the moment of crisis. We fellow adherents came to this Flowing Waves Mountain at the Ghost King Sect's summons, and now this great peril falls upon us—what is to be done?"
At this the crowd chimed in: "He is right! Miss Bili, say something quickly!"
Bili drew a deep breath. At that moment the air outside the cave rang without cease with shrieking blasts, and it seemed the righteous-path adherents had gotten wind of them and were hurrying here from all sides. Her face dark, Bili stepped forward. "Fellow adherents, how the righteous-path people learned of our whereabouts, I myself cannot say. But now I, as the Ghost King's only daughter, am trapped here too, sharing this peril with the rest of you. Can it be that you still have doubts about the Ghost King Sect?"
At these words, most of the crowd fell quiet. Then the tall man standing beside Bili stepped forward and said in a deep voice: "Fellow adherents, this is a critical moment before our eyes. Why should we not unite and resist the strong foe together? If we join our strength and cut our way out, we need not necessarily lose to those hypocrites of the righteous path outside!"
The crowd nodded on every side. In truth, at such a moment there was no other way. The cave, vast as it was, was a blind alley with no other exit. Thereupon the Demonic adherents made themselves ready, raised a brave shout, and poured out in a swarm.
Before long, the sounds of magic treasures clashing and of men cursing and roaring rose outside, and in the cave that had been packed so full, only Bili of the Ghost King Sect and that man standing in the shadows whose face could not be seen were left.
Zhang Qingyue rejoiced in his heart, yet at the same time could not help feeling concern for Bili. Though he well knew she was a sorceress of the Demonic sect and no companion for the likes of him, still, having passed through life and death several times together on this journey, he had truly come to feel something different for this somewhat headstrong young woman.
Bili frowned and was about to turn and speak to the man in the shadows, when a glance out of the corner of her eye caught sight of a lone figure still standing in the gathering below, one who had not gone with the others to resist the foe. It was Little Zhou—and she had no idea when he had stayed behind.
This Little Zhou had again and again incited the others against the Ghost King Sect; how could Bili have any liking for him? Her face darkened at once, and she said with a cold laugh: "You do not go to aid our fellow adherents, but stay here—what do you intend?"
Little Zhou's face remained mild, and he showed not the least panic at the righteous path's army pressing upon them. He smiled and said: "I wished to stay and see whether the Ghost King Sect truly advances and retreats together with us, who have neither power nor influence—or whether it simply treats us as cannon fodder."
Bili's face went cold, and she was about to retort, when she suddenly heard the man standing in the shadows behind her say: "You are no disciple of our Holy Sect. What is your true identity?"