劍問蒼天 - 第146章 毒計 - 翰墨軒

How long passed, none could say; the stillness of the stone chamber was broken once more—the stone door had been opened. Mingwang, his hair all silver, walked slowly in and stood behind Mingli. Mingli's body, bent low beside Bili, stirred; slowly he rose, then turned and looked back.

The eyes of the two men met, and both were startled: what Mingli saw was Mingwang's head of white hair, and what Mingwang saw was the mark of five fingers slowly surfacing on Mingli's face.

"You have returned." Mingwang's voice sounded somewhat strange—flat, with a faint note of comfort, and yet another indescribable sense of oddness besides.

Mingli nodded silently. Mingwang was plainly long accustomed to Mingli's temperament and did not mind; he said, "Come with me a moment. There is an old acquaintance I think you should see—and soon there will be a great matter in our Mingwang Sect."

Mingli was slightly surprised; plainly he did not know who this so-called old acquaintance might be, but from his look, in his present frame of mind he did not care to know either. He turned and glanced once more at Bili, as though to carve that pale countenance deep into his eyes, never to change again. Then he turned and walked out.

Mingwang's gaze, too, rested lightly upon his daughter, with a kindly look in it; then he withdrew as well, and as he turned, no one could see that weakness any longer.

Yousi still stood outside the door; Mingli stood ahead, waiting. Mingwang took two steps, then suddenly turned his head and said to Yousi, "You come too."

Yousi nodded slightly and followed.

The three left the icy stone chamber, passed through winding corridors, and came to a secluded room deep within the mountain. Mingwang pushed the door open first and went in; Mingli followed him into the stone chamber, and saw that two men were already there—one, his face veiled in black, was none other than the mysterious Mr. Gui; the other, in a Daoist robe with a square face, was, astonishingly, Cangyan Daoren.

Hearing the footsteps, Cangyan Daoren and Mr. Gui turned to look as well.

When Mingli's eyes met Cangyan Daoren's, both were struck still; ten years of time seemed suddenly to halt, or as though Heaven, in mockery, had played a heartless joke upon men. Those people of the Canglan peak in former days—now they met again in such circumstances as this.

In the unseen workings of fate, who was it that pulled all the strings?

For a moment the atmosphere in the room was somewhat silent; no one spoke. Mingli and Cangyan Daoren looked at each other, both expressionless, yet the feeling in their eyes was so complex that no one could have sorted out its threads.

At last it was Mingwang who walked over and said with a smile, "What is this? Old friends meeting again is a rare thing. Sit, and let us talk."

At his words the atmosphere eased somewhat; Mingli and Cangyan Daoren each looked away and sat down.

Mingwang first said to Mingli, "Daoist Cang Song is now a presiding elder of our Mingwang Sect. From here on we are all of one path; should the chance arise, you two should grow better acquainted."

Mingli's eyes flickered. "Is the Daoist not of the Wandu Sect? How does he come to be at the Mingwang Sect?"

Cangyan Daoren had plainly expected this question long before; his expression did not change in the least, and he did not speak. Sure enough, Mingwang spoke up smiling from the side: "Because a great upheaval has taken place in the Wandu Sect."

"What, a great upheaval?" At these words, not only Mingli but even the two mysterious figures whose faces were veiled in black, Yousi and Mr. Gui, could be seen to be startled. Now the demon cult was split three ways, the three great factions holding one another in check; a great upheaval in the Wandu Sect would naturally be a great opportunity for the other two.

Yousi was the first to ask, "What upheaval?"

Mingwang smiled faintly. "The Poison God is dead."