劍問蒼天 - 第103章 魚怪 - 翰墨軒

Zeng Shuyan quietly pressed the book into Ming Li's hand and said with a low laugh, "We're brothers, aren't we? Ten years since we last met—a small gift for you."

Ming Li looked at Zeng Shuyan's expression—seven parts delight in the smile, and three parts some unaccountable lewdness—and frowned, glancing down at the book in his hand. He flipped it open at random...

"Ah!"

Even with Ming Li's present composure and self-possession, his body still gave a jolt, and he hurriedly shut the book. Its pages, he saw, were filled with words and pictures—pictures of naked men and women; it was that very book of spring paintings which, ten years ago, when they were still young, Zeng Shuyan had wanted to trade for Little Grey on Jietian Peak.

"You..." Ming Li was struck dumb for a moment and could not speak.

Zeng Shuyan glared at him. "If you don't want us both ruined, don't talk so loud."

Ming Li glared back, a strange turmoil in his heart. By rights he ought to have thought the fellow utterly absurd—yet somehow this pointless, foolish prank had suddenly brought him and Zeng Shuyan much closer, as though the old days had come back again.

Zeng Shuyan smiled at him and turned to go back. In this moment of quick wit there was in truth deep intent: to draw this friend back from the demon path, he must first make him acknowledge him as a friend. And now, at great risk of being laughed at by all present, he had done this foolish thing—and it had indeed left Ming Li speechless. No doubt when next they met, their friendship would be much better than it was now.

At this thought, a smile crept unbidden to his face.

When he had come back, Fa Cheng saw the smile and said, "Senior Brother Zeng, what has made you so happy?"

Zeng Shuyan, in excellent spirits, made a face at Fa Cheng and said, "The Buddha says: it cannot be spoken of, it cannot be spoken of!"

Fa Cheng smiled, and glanced at Ming Li in the distance. The man stood there holding a thick blue-covered book, his expression somewhat complicated, and one could not tell what he was thinking. Fa Cheng shook his head, and said to the others, "Our business here is finished. Let us go too. Whatever else there is can wait."

Zeng Shuyan nodded first; then Lin Jinghong and Lu Xueling nodded their silent agreement.

The four of them turned into beams of light in four colors, rose into the air, circled once in midair, and were gone.

Ming Li stood upon the vast trunk, and suddenly felt a kind of emptiness in his heart, as though he had lost something. His gaze fell upon the book in his hand; he raised it, as though to fling it away—but then gave a sudden bitter laugh, and in the end drew it back and tucked it into his robe.

Then he drew a deep breath, let it out slowly, and rallied himself. "Little Grey, let's go."

This time Little Grey did not even open its eyes. It gave two vague chirps—"zhi zhi, zhi zhi"—and whether that counted as an answer, no one could say.

Ming Li smiled faintly, waved his right hand, and summoned his artifact, Soul Devourer. Turning into azure light, he flew off like lightning and left the giant tree behind.

Ming Li sped over the Death Marsh, riding the clouds and mist through the fog and miasma. Once out of the inner marsh, he paused in midair to get his bearings, then flew toward where the Hades King Sect's forces were posted in the outer marsh.

His speed was naturally very great, but the Death Marsh was vast indeed. After flying for nearly half an hour, all he could see before him was still a boundless sea of grass, a sweep of emerald green. Though he could not know how many deadly snares lay beneath it, seen from midair it was picturesque enough to lift the spirits.

Only as he neared the place where the Hades King Sect's forces were gathered did Ming Li suddenly frown. Faintly on the air there drifted a familiar smell of blood, carried on the wind.