Chapter 73 — One
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 4 of 6
With that, as if unwilling to pursue the subject, he changed tack. "Brother Nether King, you are long since the master of the Nether King's sect, of equal standing with me. If you do not disdain it, just call me elder brother—pray do not go on calling me 'elder,' I cannot bear the title."
The Nether King laughed aloud, his manner easy, and sat down on the other side of the table. "Elder, that is not well said. Who does not know your virtue and prestige? This great undertaking—we are still counting on you to preside over it!"
The Poison God's face seemed to stiffen for a moment; at once he shook his head. "No, no."
The Nether King was about to say more when the young man across the table, having finished brewing two cups of tea, brought them over and said mildly, "Sect Master, Holy Envoy Qinglong, please take tea."
The Nether King and Qinglong reached out to take them; the Nether King looked the young man over a few more times—fine-featured and clear-eyed, though his complexion seemed a little pale. But one who could attend the Poison God here must surely be close to him.
The Nether King turned to the Poison God. "This is...?"
The Poison God smiled. "My closed-door disciple, taken ten years ago—Qin Wujiu. I saw then that his aptitude was good, and took him in. Wuyan, come and pay your respects to these two elders—they are personages of no small renown in our Holy Church; if you can win their favor hereafter, it will be worth more than a hundred years of bitter cultivation."
Qin Wujiu bowed his head slightly, his expression neither proud nor shy, his voice unchanged, still steady and gentle: "I have met the Sect Master and the Holy Envoy. I was remiss in courtesy just now; pray forgive me, both of you."
The Nether King chuckled and waved a hand; Qinglong laughed too. "For this young brother to enter the seat of the Poison God's teaching, his future is boundless—boundless indeed!"
The Poison God chuckled and said to them both, "The child knows no better; do not take offense."
The Nether King waved a hand, laughing. "Where did that come from?" He paused, then said, "But Elder, I came today in true sincerity, hoping you would preside over the great undertaking—that our four great factions join hands to wash away the old humiliation of Qingyun's great defeat and the Holy Hall's disgrace."
The Poison God was silent a moment, his face seeming somewhat bleak, and only after a long while said, "Brother, I am half a cripple now, truly unfit for great use. This time, when our four great sects secretly agreed to besiege Qingyun, I of course could not lag behind, else I should fail the Holy Mother Youming and the Ming King Tian Sha, and fail the successive patriarchs of the Holy Church as well. Only, as for the seat of presiding over the whole affair—I think that apart from your own great talent and strategy, brother, no one else could possibly fill it!"
The Nether King frowned and shook his head. "Elder, you overpraise me. Among the four sect masters I am the least in seniority—how could I bear it? Let it be thus: when the 'Jade Sun Master' of the Longevity Hall and the 'Fairy Sanmiao' of the Soul-Bewitching Sect arrive, we shall discuss it together."
The Poison God pondered a moment. "That will do as well. They should arrive within these few days; we shall gather then. This century-old shame of the Holy Church—this time we must exact it from the Canglan Sect."
The Nether King smiled, sat a while longer, exchanged a few idle words, and then took his leave with Qinglong. The Poison God did not press them to stay, and ordered attendants to see them out.
Leaving the Poison God's mansion, the Nether King and Qinglong merged into the crowds of He Yin City.
The Nether King suddenly gave a cold laugh. "This old monster truly grows harder to deal with by the day."