Chapter 92 — Dead End
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 6 of 7
In the distance, the righteous faction had only just settled in. This time Xiao Yichen had deliberately assigned several extra junior brothers to the night watch, a sign of how meticulous his mind was.
In a quiet spot nearby, Lu Xueling sat alone. Before long Wen Pei came back, sat down beside her, pursed her lips slightly, and whispered, "That Song Dayi is a real fool."
Lu Xueling's eyes moved, and she looked into the distance, where Song Dayi sat by the fire, his face awkward. Whatever Wen Pei had said to him just now, he kept stealing glances in their direction, his expression seemingly full of anxiety, yet he dared not come over.
A trace of amusement rose in Lu Xueling's eyes as well. She said to Wen Pei, "Elder Sister, you have been bullying him for years now. We so rarely get out, won't you be a little kinder to him?"
Wen Pei gave a little snort. She and Lu Xueling had always been close, and before this junior sister she never hid anything. With a light huff she said, "That one—he is simply too honest for his own good. I really do not know what is the matter with Uncle-Master Tian Buhui. Back then, when word had it he lured Uncle-Master Su Wan away from our Little Zhu Peak... no, married her—he was sharp as could be. How is it that the disciples he trained all turned out so dull..."
Lu Xueling smiled faintly and withdrew her gaze. After a moment, she suddenly said in a low voice, "You are right. In the early days, many of the disciples of their Great Zhu Peak were honest folk..."
As she spoke on, for some reason her voice gradually trailed off. Wen Pei was taken aback, looked at Lu Xueling, then suddenly sighed as well, patted her shoulder lightly, and said, "Do not think too much about it."
Lu Xueling said nothing, only bowed her head in silence.
That night passed quietly.
When day broke, Xiao Yichen gathered everyone together and said, "The Hall of Longevity has now been badly crippled, and we have no enemy without for the moment. Moreover, we have searched this Dead Marsh for days, yet found not the slightest word of that strange treasure. I wonder, brothers, whether any of you have thoughts on the matter?"
Fa Cheng pondered in silence, but Li Xun looked at Xiao Yichen and said, "Brother Xiao, can it be that you mean to enter that Inner Marsh, perilous beyond measure, and search there?"
Xiao Yichen was somewhat surprised, then nodded and said, "Precisely. Since we have come this far, we cannot give up halfway."
Fa Cheng frowned and said, "What Brother Xiao says makes sense, but deep in the Dead Marsh the marsh gas is a deadly poison, and I hear tell there are even more unimaginable demon beasts and venomous insects within, perilous in the extreme. For so many of us to go at once would be far too dangerous."
Xiao Yichen nodded at once and said, "Indeed. What Brother Fa Cheng says is just what troubles me as well. So I think it best that most of our junior brothers continue the search in the Outer Marsh, while a few of us, together with a few fellow disciples of high cultivation, enter the Inner Marsh. What say you two?"
Li Xun pondered for a good while, then nodded and said, "That seems the only way."
Fa Cheng nodded silently as well.
With the discussion settled, each went back to choose their people. Before long, the Burning Cloud Valley had chosen Li Xun and Yan Fei; the Brahma Chant Temple, Fa Cheng and Fa Jing; and as for the Canglan Sect, their number was somewhat greater—besides Xiao Yichen, Lu Xueling and Zeng Shuyan were both among them, and Lin Jinghong, who had cut such a striking figure the night before last, was included as well, at his own urgent insistence and with the others' newfound regard for him.
Thus eight in all, after settling affairs within their respective sects, set out under Xiao Yichen's lead, each summoning his magic treasure, and flew toward the Inner Marsh.