劍問蒼天 - 第90章 螳螂 - 翰墨軒

This stretch of land, which by daylight looked perfectly flat, bore for some reason such an odd name. Only the villagers who had lived by the Dead Marsh for years knew that here, in the middle of a wide expanse identical to its surroundings—all tangled weeds and wild grass—there was in truth a vast, bottomless mud pit. The slime within it sucked with terrible force; let an ordinary person stray into it, and in a moment he would be drawn under, to rot silently and without trace in the depths of the marsh.

The Dead Marsh had earned its name precisely because such places—killing without a trace—were beyond counting within it.

Yet these young people of the righteous path were plainly no ordinary folk.

The dozen-odd disciples of the Canglan Sect had journeyed several days through the Dead Marsh, meeting along the way disciples sent by the Brahma Sound Temple and the Burning Cloud Valley. The three parties joined together, and as it happened each had acquaintances among the others.

The Brahma Sound Temple was still led by Fa Cheng and Fa Jing, and among the Burning Cloud Valley disciples were Li Xun and Yan Fei. Yet once they met, the relations between them were not quite the same. The Canglan Sect disciples under Xiao Yichen's lead got on harmoniously with the Brahma Sound Temple group, chatting and laughing, but the Burning Cloud Valley party kept a faint, unspoken distance from the other two great sects, as though deliberately holding itself apart.

The subtlety of it all was understood by each in his own heart, but on the surface they remained courteous and polite, and the three great righteous sects still worked as one, for the justice and morality of the world, to slay demons and eradicate evil and destroy the Demonic Sect.

That night the party camped near the Bottomless Pit. Once the bonfire was lit, and after repeated warnings to the younger disciples not to wander off, Xiao Yichen drew Fa Cheng of the Brahma Sound Temple and Li Xun of the Burning Cloud Valley aside and conferred with them in low voices.

At that moment Li Xun frowned slightly, a faint trace of disdain deep in his eyes, though his face still wore a genial look. He said in a low voice, "Senior Brother Xiao, aren't you worrying too much?"

Xiao Yichen smiled slightly and said, "If Senior Brother Li has any insight, pray speak. I am all ears."

Seeing that both Xiao Yichen and Fa Cheng were looking at him, Li Xun paused, then said, "In my view, ever since our three sects entered the marsh, we have swept all before us, and the disciples the Longevity Hall sent out have been routed again and again. And after that battle at Canglan Mountain years ago, the Longevity Hall's masters are dead or wounded; apart from Yuyang Zi still straining to hold things together, the rest are nothing to worry about. Yet you say that tonight we are in grave danger—is that not going too far?"

Xiao Yichen mused for a moment, then said, "What Senior Brother Li says is indeed reasonable. But in the Longevity Hall of the Demonic Sect, the sect master Yuyang Zi is a cultivator of the highest order—he alone is not to be underestimated. Moreover, from the time the Longevity Hall rose to rank among the Demonic Sect's four great factions, eight hundred years have passed. As the saying goes, a centipede dies but never falls down. And they are determined to have the treasure of the Dead Marsh; cornered, they may well turn desperate and lash out. Better that we be cautious."

Fa Cheng nodded and said, "What Senior Brother Xiao says is right. We should indeed take care."

Seeing them both speak thus, Li Xun could say no more. But he was proud by nature, and some of what he felt still showed in his eyes. He said coolly, "Then, by the two senior brothers' reckoning, what should we do tonight?"