Chapter 99 — Old Friends
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 6 of 7
The man lifted his eyes to the sky and said slowly, "I remember it clearly. You were young and full of fire then, and you told me everything to my face—that my fate carried too much baleful energy, that it would bring harm to wife and child, and that without some way to break the curse I would surely lose my wife halfway through life and have no son to carry on my line. And now every word of it has come true." As he spoke, his voice grew bleak.
Zhou Yixuan lowered his head. After a long while he looked up again and said flatly, "We are both men with one foot in the grave now, so I will speak plainly to you as well."
The man seemed faintly surprised. "Say it."
Zhou Yixuan glared at him. "What I said back then was all nonsense, made up to fool you. I have despised fortune-telling and face-reading since I was a boy—why would I have had the patience to learn it? As for that Heavenly Dipper Divine Reckoning, it exists, to be sure, but what do I know of it? So all those words were only spoken to needle you, because I could not stomach that smug look on your face. Do not take them to heart!"
The man's whole frame shook. It seemed he had never expected such words to come out of Zhou Yixuan's mouth. After a long moment he suddenly shook his head and burst out laughing, loud and ringing, until he was bent double—not a trace remained of the majesty with which he had first appeared.
In the distance, Xiaowan and the Wild Wolf Daoist stood staring, dumbstruck.
After a while the man slowly checked his laughter, and his expression gradually returned to its calm and commanding cast. Yet in his eyes now there seemed a few more threads of bitterness.
Zhou Yixuan watched him in silence.
They stood side by side a good while longer. Then Zhou Yixuan said mildly, "Why have you come here?"
The man glanced at him. "Have you not always prided yourself on your cleverness? You tell me."
Zhou Yixuan snorted. "You are going to the Dead Marsh, aren't you?"
The man said leisurely, "That is right—I am going there. What, would you rather not come along and have a look? Old friend?"
Zhou Yixuan curled his lip. "Your reputation is too foul. If I walk beside you, people will wonder. I would rather keep my distance."
The man looked at him, then suddenly laughed in spite of himself. "On this ancient road to the end of the world, to meet an old friend is a rare stroke of fate. We meet today, and who knows when we shall meet again. Take good care of yourself."
Zhou Yixuan snorted. "This old man is living fine and has no wish to die. It is your enemies who outnumber the foxes on Huqi Mountain—save your worry for yourself!"
Xiaowan had waited a long time by the roadside. Then she saw her grandfather and the man coming toward her together, and hurried to meet them, falling in at her grandfather's side. The middle-aged man's gaze passed over her, then settled on the Wild Wolf Daoist behind her.
The Wild Wolf Daoist's expression changed, and slowly he lowered his head.
The man studied him a moment, then said abruptly, "You are the Wild Wolf Daoist who serves at Mingli's side, are you not?"
The fear on the Wild Wolf Daoist's face deepened. He hesitated a moment, then said in a low voice, "Yes."
Standing beside Zhou Yixuan, Xiaowan could not help asking softly, "Grandfather, who is he?"
Before Zhou Yixuan could answer, the middle-aged man—who seemed to have caught even that tiny whisper—turned and said with a smile, "What is this? Does the little girl not know me?"
Xiaowan was startled and shook her head in bewilderment.
The man smiled faintly. "Then you may call me Wan Rengui."
Xiaowan was taken aback.
The man gave Zhou Yixuan a long, deep look, then suddenly swept his sleeve and turned, striding away without a backward glance. With every step, an air of looking down upon the whole world spread slowly outward from him.