劍問蒼天 - 第143章 不願 - 翰墨軒

And unable to catch Qinglong and Jīn Píngyuè, the white-boned serpent demon roared again and again, its enormous body twisting ceaselessly, its speed growing ever faster, with no trace of clumsiness at all, and gradually it began to close on the two of them.

Qinglong was inwardly aghast. If a single white-boned serpent demon was already so troublesome, how much more terrifying must the youth behind them — whom Jīn Píngyuè called the Beast Demon, and who commanded these creatures — be? As these thoughts turned in his mind, the desire to flee took root. Seizing a moment as he flew past Jīn Píngyuè, he said urgently, "We must go!"

Jīn Píngyuè clearly had no wish to linger here either. She nodded at once and pointed a hand at the sky.

Qinglong understood. Almost in the same instant, the two of them gave a soft cry; a clear light from Qinglong's hand, mingled with Jīn Píngyuè's purple radiance, struck the white-boned serpent demon's spine from the side. Tough as the serpent's bones were, it was forced back by these two mighty blows, and though its supple body swayed several times to disperse the force, it was in the end pressed down and could not give chase.

Seizing this opening, Qinglong gave a light whistle and soared into the air. But at the very moment his body rose, a thought suddenly stirred in his mind, and from the corner of his eye he glanced aside — and indeed, Jīn Píngyuè's figure was not rising with him.

"Roar—"

Just as bewilderment and alarm filled Qinglong's heart, the once-clear sky before his eyes suddenly went dark. A curtain of blackness abruptly appeared above him, just as he flew out from the branches, and a force like overturning seas and mountains came crashing down.

In that critical instant, Qinglong barely managed to guard himself. On his right hand the Qiankun Qingguang Ring blazed with clear light, instantly forming a sphere of radiance that shielded his whole body, while at the same time he wrenched his body sideways.

Even so, the black curtain's downward strike was unthinkably fast. With a great "bang," Qinglong's protective halo was still struck by the tremendous force, and he was sent flying at once. At that same moment, Qinglong clearly saw Jīn Píngyuè transform into a streak of purple light and fly up into the sky from behind the black curtain he had drawn away. From afar, he even heard her soft, alluring laughter drift back:

"Many thanks, Uncle! Should fate allow another meeting, this little girl shall thank you in person!"

Qinglong forced down the churning blood and qi in his chest, and a bitter smile flickered at the corner of his mouth. He had roamed the world all his life, and in his old age had been outwitted by a slip of a girl.

But at this moment, how could he spare a thought for Jīn Píngyuè? In midair he reached out and seized the trunk of a great tree; with a "rip," his hand sank deep into the wood, and his body swung around with the momentum and came down.

In the next instant, the white-boned serpent demon had caught up behind him, glaring hungrily, yet it did not rush forward at once. On its huge serpent head its forked tongue flicked in and out with a hiss. As for the black curtain ahead, it now fell to the ground and with a "swoosh" vanished again, so fast that it was almost unheard of.

As for that bewitching youth, he had at some point appeared before Qinglong like a ghost, a full zhang away, standing with his hands behind his back.

Qinglong landed on the ground and let out a long breath. He had been cut off, yet now he was in no hurry to flee. Frowning slightly, he looked at the youth for a few moments, then suddenly said, "That creature in the sky just now — could it be the legendary Taotie?"

The youth raised his brows, and a smile touched the corner of his mouth. He nodded. "I did not expect you to have some discernment. Correct — it is Taotie."

"Roar!"