Chapter 81 — Nine
劍問蒼天 · Page 4 of 7
The Nether King's face gradually darkened, and at last he shook his head with a sigh. "A golden opportunity, and you... ah!" With that he heaved a long sigh, and his whole face seemed to show nothing but dejection as he slowly walked back to where his own Nether King Sect disciples stood.
Qinglong, Yousi, and the others came forward to meet him. Qinglong was about to say something, but the Nether King gave a faint bitter smile and said in a low voice, "Not worth planning with, not worth planning with!"
Then he sighed and said, "Enough. We will speak of it another day; today ends here. We return to the mountain... hmm, where is Bili?"
At these words both Qinglong and Yousi started. Yousi's face was veiled in black gauze, so her expression could not be seen, but her voice betrayed deep shock: "At the Yuheng Hall, while we were fighting the Canglan Sect, Bili told the two of us she was going to look for you. Could it be..."
The Nether King's face changed drastically. "I have not seen her since we came up the mountain."
Qinglong cried out, "Is she still on Canglan Mountain?"
In an instant beads of sweat appeared on the Nether King's brow, and then he said resolutely, "Yao'er is my own flesh and blood; I cannot abandon her. I am going back up Canglan Mountain."
Qinglong said urgently, "Sect Master, absolutely not—this, this, this is truly..."
The Nether King's eyes flashed; a thousand thoughts raced through his mind in an instant, and he suddenly turned and addressed the Poison God and the assembled Demon Sect host in a loud voice: "All of you, my mind is made up! To wash away our Holy Sect's century-old humiliation, the Nether King Sect would sooner be shattered to pieces than fail the Holy Mother and the Radiant King. At this moment the Canglan Sect is dead and wounded, and that old thief Daoyan lies near death—he cannot possibly unleash the Shixian Sword Formation again. The Nether King Sect will charge back up the mountain now! If we succeed, it is by the Holy Mother and Radiant King's protection; if we are overwhelmed, then let us die atop Canglan Mountain—and when we bow before the Holy Mother and Radiant King in the underworld hereafter, we shall have no cause for shame!"
With that, the Nether King did not look at the others again; he was first to leap up, and sure enough made for Canglan Mountain. Qinglong and Yousi exchanged a glance and immediately followed close behind, and then the Nether King Sect's disciples, without further word, followed one after another, leaving only the Poison God and the great Demon Sect host standing dumbstruck, rooted to the spot like wooden chickens.
After a good while, the Poison God and the others came to their senses, but before they could speak, they heard a growing clamor and commotion rising among the Demon Sect disciples behind them. The Poison God and the rest groaned inwardly and turned to look, and saw that on the faces of most of the Demon Sect followers there was now an angry, agitated look.
Atop Jietian Peak on Canglan Mountain, a heavy atmosphere now hung over everything; the crowd had gathered around Daoist Daoyan, murmuring words of comfort.
Lin Jinghong and Zhang Qingyue stood to one side, tidying Uncle Wang Er's clothes and brushing the dust from him. Uncle Wang Er seemed to have some vague recollection of the two of them; he stood stock-still and let them fuss over him, while his eyes remained fixed on the water qilin outside, and he chuckled foolishly.
Zhang Qingyue looked at him, and a pang struck his heart; he could not help but recall old matters of years past, and gave a long sigh. Lin Jinghong heard it and was moved in kind, feeling it as if it were his own; he reached out and patted Zhang Qingyue on the shoulder.
The two exchanged a glance and saw the sorrow in each other's eyes; for a moment neither spoke.