劍問蒼天 - 第146章 毒計 - 翰墨軒

Mr. Ghost inclined himself slightly and said, "I would not presume. My meaning is this: since you do not mind the deaths of a few more ordinary disciples, then let us carry the matter through to the end. After luring the beasts and demons into a bloody clash with the Ten Thousand Poison Sect, you, Sect Master, send a letter in the name of the Ghost King Sect to Lady Sanmiao of the Enchanting Soul Sect, saying that as fellow disciples of the Holy Cult we truly cannot stand by and watch them die; that the beasts and demons run wild, killing all they see without regard for right or wrong; and that if this continues, our Holy Cult too shall be imperiled. Better, then, that the three factions join forces and make a fight of it, that we might stand some chance of victory."

The Ghost King frowned and said, "Pleasant words enough—but Lady Sanmiao is a cunning sort. I fear she will not believe it."

Mr. Ghost said calmly, "Words alone, with no deeds to back them, and of course she will not believe."

The Ghost King started and said, "You mean..."

Mr. Ghost said, "If more than half the disciples of the Ghost King Sect were slain in battle, corpses strewn across the fields—would she still not believe?"

The Ghost King was dumbstruck and for a long time could not speak. At length he frowned and said, "Your meaning, sir, is that we are to abandon more than half the disciples of the Ghost King Sect?"

Mr. Ghost's face was hidden behind his black veil, so his expression could not be seen. His voice was flat, as though when speaking of all these lives he felt not the slightest ripple of emotion: "Sect Master, if you would accomplish a great work, why should you care about the lives of these people?"

The Ghost King could not help but struggle inwardly; the lust for power and that faint trace of unwillingness in his heart warred back and forth, and the smell of blood in the air seemed to grow heavier.

Mr. Ghost stood silently to one side, waiting patiently. After a long while the keen light in the Ghost King's eyes gradually brightened, and a faint flush seemed to suffuse his face, as though the bloody air had seeped into him. He drew a deep breath, then of a sudden gave a long cry, and said decisively, "What you say is entirely right, sir. But how do we know Lady Sanmiao will not drop a stone down the well and turn to devour us instead?"

Mr. Ghost gave a cold chuckle and said, "Of course Lady Sanmiao is the sort to drop a stone down the well. Among the three great factions of the Demonic Cult, which one truly would draw a blade for a fellow disciple of the Holy Cult?"

The Ghost King was taken aback, then his eyes lit up and he blurted out, "Ah! You mean... a wondrous plan, a wondrous plan!" In his admiration he could not refrain from clapping his hands in applause and said, "Sir, you are truly a genius such as appears but once in an age, to have devised such an exquisite scheme."

Mr. Ghost said coolly, "We use these half of the Ghost King Sect's disciples as bait. You, Sect Master, lead them in person to fight the beasts and demons; when they are all but slain, the Enchanting Soul Sect will be certain that we, the Ten Thousand Poison Sect, and the beasts and demons have all been crippled. Then Lady Sanmiao will surely come with a great host to wipe out the survivors. At that moment you, Sect Master, with your divine powers, can naturally find a chance beforehand to slip away swiftly, and leave the rest to the beasts and demons. From the way those beasts and demons have swept all before them these days, I fear the Enchanting Soul Sect will find it very hard to avoid total annihilation."

The Ghost King nodded again and again, unable to contain his delight. Yet in this moment of excitement he could still keep a measure of calm, and suddenly turned and said, "But sir, this way our Ghost King Sect can indeed unify the Holy Cult—yet the Holy Cult will already be gravely weakened. If the beasts and demons should once more..."