Chapter 110 — Assassination
劍問蒼天 · Page 1 of 6
Peering from the shadows, Ming Li saw that the old man had a lean, gaunt face and wore a plain grey robe. His manner was unhurried, and there was nothing at all remarkable about him. Had he been walking the streets of some ordinary town, no one would ever have taken him for a cultivator.
Yet judging by the expressions of the two who followed him—not to mention Yan Fei, even the perpetually haughty Li Xun—they seemed to hold this ordinary old man in genuine respect, daring not the slightest negligence in look or bearing.
Hearing the old man's question now, Li Xun hesitated briefly, then said, "You see clearly, Martial Uncle. It is that the chief of those fish-men savages met a violent death, and so the brutes flew into a frenzy and..."
At that moment the three of them had just descended the Mystic Fire Altar. The grey-robed old man furrowed his brow and said mildly, "How did the fish-man chief die?"
Li Xun gave a bitter laugh and shook his head. Yan Fei spoke from beside him: "To report to Martial Uncle: three days ago the fish-man chief met with Martial Uncle Lü Shun at the 'Nameless Ancient Shrine' in the Hegu Mountains to the north. Less than a li after leaving the shrine, he was suddenly struck down by a master assassin."
The grey-robed old man said, "Oh?" clearly somewhat surprised. "Who was the killer?"
Li Xun shook his head. "We have investigated for several days and still have no leads." Here he seemed to hesitate, then continued: "This matter ought long since to have been reported to you, Martial Uncle, but the Valley Master reflected that you have guarded the Mystic Fire Altar, this vital ground, for nearly a hundred years and have long since withdrawn from worldly affairs, and so he was unwilling to disturb you."
The grey-robed old man smiled. "How could I fail to understand the Valley Master's good intentions? I imagine that if these savages were not still of some use, and if I had not, in the years when I brought them to heel, earned a certain fearsome name, the Valley Master would not wish to trouble an old wreck like me either."
Li Xun gave a sheepish laugh and was about to say something, but the grey-robed old man seemed unwilling to pursue the topic further and changed the subject: "Was Lü Shun not present at the time? Less than a li away—could even he not find the killer? He could have dug three feet into the earth and turned the fellow up by now."
At this Li Xun could not help exchanging a glance with Yan Fei beside him. Yan Fei hesitated a moment, then said softly, "No doubt the killer was simply too cunning, and his cultivation too high. Having struck his blow, he fled far at once, so that even Martial Uncle Lü could not catch him."
The grey-robed old man gave a cold snort and said nothing further this time, but in his expression and voice there was a scorn that fairly leapt forth—plainly he held that Lü Shun, this Martial Uncle Lü of whom Li Xun and Yan Fei spoke, in very low esteem.
The three walked on as they talked. The open ground was barely three zhang across, and they had already covered more than half of it, drawing gradually farther from Ming Li. Ming Li slowly relaxed, though he still dared not let down his guard. Then he heard the grey-robed old man seem to ask a question from afar—they had gone too far for the words to be clear, but vaguely he made out that the old man was asking after the present situation of the rebellious fish-men savages.
Li Xun answered from behind him: "The situation is now under control. Martial Uncle Lü has led a group of disciples to block the brutes at the valley entrance and has exerted his divine powers to beat down the fish-men's ferocity. The two sides are at a standoff. The fish-men keep crying out that they will avenge their chief, and the Valley Master is unwilling to tear all ties with the southern barbarian tribes outright, and so he sent us to fetch you, Martial Uncle..."