Chapter 159 — Loneliness
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 6 of 6
He paused, seeming to hesitate, but after a moment's thought he went on anyway: "And there's this: the magic treasure you carry is a thing of the utmost evil and misfortune, and the blood and spirit within your body have long since merged into one with the demonic power of the Blood-Devouring Orb and the like. Such demonic things will only do you harm inside that kind of illusion. So let me urge you once more, put this notion out of your head."
Ming Li gazed at Zhou Yixuan as though seeing the man for the first time, watching him in silence. Zhou Yixuan met his look without flinching. After a long while, Ming Li said not a word, and slowly turned away.
Just then, another commotion swept through He Yin City: a great host of Qing Yun disciples appeared on the city walls and along the streets, shouting something to the crowds below. Zhou Yixuan and the others were startled, and pushed their way through to listen carefully. The Qing Yun disciples were announcing to all that the beast-demons were about to arrive, that He Yin City was no longer safe, and that the common folk should flee north, at the very least past the Canglan Mountain range.
Zhou Yixuan listened with a bitter look on his face, shaking his head and sighing without end. He turned to Xiao Wan and the others and said, "Alas, now we're in real trouble. I wonder... hey, where's that fellow Ming Li?"
Xiao Wan and the Wild Wolf Daoist both started, and hurried to turn around, only to find empty space behind them. The crowd was dense beyond counting, and Ming Li's figure was nowhere to be seen.
A vast sea of people, a clamor of voices. Zhou Yixuan stood amid the crowd, frowning and shaking his head, while Xiao Wan beside him was silent, saying nothing, only gazing quietly into the distance. After a long while, she gave a soft sigh, and in that sound there seemed to linger a note of sorrow.