劍問蒼天 - 第158章 掙扎 - 翰墨軒

Wen Pei was silent, holding tightly this Lu Xueling who had never been so fragile. This woman, once so aloof and proud, so cool and clear, now seemed the most heartbroken, most anguished person in the world.

...

Silence once more covered everything. Outside the window the rain was heavy, and in the wind there seemed still to drift a low sound of sobbing. Beyond the little house, at the edge of the bamboo grove, Master Shuijing stood silently, holding an oilcloth blue umbrella, staring blankly at the house in the wind and rain.

Then she turned slowly and walked away, vanishing into the bamboo grove.

Between heaven and earth, wind and rain sighed on—a time of desolation indeed.

********

In He Yin City it was raining as well. Zhou Yixuan, Xiao Wan, and the Wild Wolf Daoist emerged from another out-of-the-way alley and merged into the crowded main street. They tried walking a few steps, then retreated to the roadside to stand—first, because there were simply too many people to walk easily, and second, to take shelter from the rain and discuss matters.

By now the three had split into two camps. Xiao Wan insisted they go back and look at that haunted manor again, while Zhou Yixuan refused outright no matter what. The Wild Wolf Daoist, for the first time ever, sided with Zhou Yixuan.

Xiao Wan was outnumbered, but she had a nimble tongue, and argued alone against two. Moreover, though the Wild Wolf Daoist disagreed with her this time, one glare from Xiao Wan usually left him tongue-tied, so most of the time it was Zhou Yixuan alone who opposed her.

Standing by the road now, Zhou Yixuan lowered his voice: "You foolish girl, what are you going back to such a dangerous place for? To go back and die?"

Xiao Wan curled her lip. "And to think you've lived so many years, Grandpa. Don't you know there's a thing called moral duty?"

Zhou Yixuan said angrily, "Moral duty? Moral duty, my ass! What moral duty is there once you're dead? That ghost-like fellow is fearsomely powerful—aren't we going back to our deaths?"

The Wild Wolf Daoist nodded from the side. "Quite right, going back is indeed unwise..." Xiao Wan's gaze swept over and she shot him a glare; the Wild Wolf Daoist's heart gave a jump, and he immediately could not continue.

Xiao Wan turned back to Zhou Yixuan. "Grandpa, if that person hadn't saved us last night, we'd have been dead long ago, and we wouldn't be standing here arguing about moral duty or not. And now we can't even go back for a look?"

Zhou Yixuan's expression did not change. "Precisely because he saved us, we ought to cherish our own lives all the more. Otherwise, if we walk right into the net and fall into the tiger's mouth again, wouldn't that be betraying Ming Li's good intentions?"

Xiao Wan was stumped; for a moment she actually could think of nothing to refute Zhou Yixuan. Seeing this, Zhou Yixuan could not help feeling smug, and chuckled, "Nothing to say now, is there?"

Xiao Wan said angrily, "You know perfectly well that man is steeped in ghostly aura and utterly unfathomable—do you mean to say you don't care at all about your own savior?"

Zhou Yixuan remained utterly composed. "Rest easy. That fellow Ming Li has cultivation and treasures alike—when it comes to ghostly aura, I'd wager he's gloomier than that coffin itself. Dying would be no easy feat for him, so what's there to worry about?" He paused, then added, "Besides, didn't you read his fortune ten years ago? You said it then—this man possesses the 'Chaos Demon Physique,' one in ten thousand. His path may be fraught with turmoil and twists, but he's not fated for a short, early death. So what are you fretting over?"

"What—you once read my fortune?" A voice suddenly popped out from beside them. The three started violently and turned to look. Ming Li had appeared at their side without warning, as though he had slipped out of the rain itself in broad daylight.