劍問蒼天 - 第107章 魔陣 - 翰墨軒

At this moment her eyes were brimming like water, and between her brows seemed to lie a landscape of spring, of a purity beyond all comparison. For a while, even the night itself seemed to have turned gentle.

Ming Li turned and let his gaze rest upon her face.

The smile still lingered at the corner of Jin Pingyue's mouth as she said softly, "You carry a rare treasure, young master—a peerless wonder born of the Blood-Devouring Orb and the Soul-Stealer joined as one. How would my little Purple Radiance Blade dare to be named in the same breath as your Soul-Severer?"

A red gleam flashed once through Ming Li's eyes, but his expression did not change. "Have you come south this time, young lady, also to investigate these fish-men of the alien tribes?"

Jin Pingyue gave a slight nod, then her eyes rippled and turned. "But I never expected this matter to have a connection with Burning Cloud Valley."

Ming Li glanced at her and said nothing, yet in his heart he grew warier of this woman by the moment. Her sudden ambush and slaying of the fish-men's tribal chief just now—the height of her cultivation seemed considerably greater than the arts she had displayed that day in the Dead Marsh, when she, he, and Qin Wujiu had joined forces to besiege Yu Yangzi of the Longevity Hall. He feared she had not gone all out that day.

Yet such depth of cultivation was, in the end, a secondary matter; he too had held something in reserve that day. But Jin Pingyue's killing of the fish-man clearly carried the intent of framing Burning Cloud Valley, of sowing discord between the barbarian tribes who consorted in secret and Burning Cloud Valley.

The depth of this woman's scheming and the ruthlessness of her methods were truly no small matter.

Jin Pingyue's gaze turned several times over Ming Li's face, and suddenly she smiled. "You have come south this time, young master, surely also to investigate these fish-men. I wonder—have you found anything?"

Ming Li said flatly, "No."

Jin Pingyue was not angered by his cold answer; instead her smile grew softer. "Only now we both know that Burning Cloud Valley seems to have dealings in secret with these barbarian monsters. I wonder what you intend to do, young master?"

Ming Li's eyes flickered. "What does the young lady think?"

Jin Pingyue smiled. "It was I who asked you first, young master."

Hearing her counter-question, half chiding and half laughing, Ming Li frowned, and countless thoughts turned in his mind: this sudden discovery that Burning Cloud Valley was secretly in league with the southern barbarian tribes was truly a matter to shock the world. If it spread throughout the land, those righteous cultivators would doubtless be struck dumb with amazement.

Under such circumstances, the best course was naturally to probe the mysterious, unfathomable Burning Cloud Valley. Yet in the present situation there seemed to be much more beneath the surface. To say nothing of the southern barbarian tribes, who had always been steeped in mystery—Burning Cloud Valley alone was a force not to be underestimated. Li Xun, Yan Fei, and the others who had once emerged from that valley, including the old man Lü Shun just now, were all of exceedingly high cultivation.

Jin Pingyue slowly walked up before Ming Li, raised her head to look at him, and smiled. "Is it in your mind, young master, to pay Burning Cloud Valley a visit by night?"

Ming Li's eyes flashed. "What—does the young lady harbor the same intent?"

Jin Pingyue smiled faintly, so charming and bewitching that a beauty seemed to come straight at him; Ming Li's resolve wavered despite himself, and he could not help but be shaken inwardly.

Jin Pingyue said mildly, "Naturally I am willing to make this trip with you, young master. Only there is one thing I would beg you to grant me first."

Ming Li's gaze sharpened. "What?"

Jin Pingyue smiled. "I only beg that you not do to me as you did to Qin Wujiu—suddenly striking from the side to kill me."