劍問蒼天 - 第187章 鬼道 - 翰墨軒

When Xiaowan forced the soul-gathering, Mr. Gui did not understand the marvel, but what attainments were his in the Ghost Path, and his eye was keen beyond compare. At a glance he saw that Xiaowan, for all her extraordinary talent, was after all overreaching herself. Sure enough, before long—though to his surprise she actually managed to seize the Wild Wolf Daoist's soul from among countless wandering spirits—she had enraged countless resentful ghosts and their malevolence, and was being devoured in backlash by ghostly qi. Just as she was about to lose her life, Mr. Gui, for some reason, found he could not stand by and watch, and in the end stepped in to save her.

Though he did not know the soul-gathering marvel, dealing with these ordinary wandering spirits was more than within his power. Once he acted, he at once drove a formation to shield Xiaowan, and brought her strange soul-gathering art to completion. Yet afterward he grew somewhat hesitant, unsure what to do next.

The atmosphere in that place turned awkward for a time, until at long last Xiaowan stirred and, with great effort, came awake. She gave a soft cry: "Grandfather." Then she opened her eyes.

Zhou Yixuan was overjoyed and hurried to help Xiaowan up. Her face was weary and her body strengthless, but she looked to be in no grave danger. After steadying herself a moment, she at once turned to look at the Wild Wolf Daoist, and saw him lying on the ground, his wounds heavy but his breathing even—clearly he had truly come back to life. Only then did Xiaowan smile.

Her gaze came back, and only then did she notice a black-clad man had appeared nearby. She started, then recognized him as well—he seemed to be that mysterious black-clad man from He Yin City that day. She shrank back and cried in alarm: "Grandfather, he—why is he here too?"

Zhou Yixuan helped Xiaowan to her feet and said in a low voice: "I don't know why he suddenly came here either, but just now, at the critical moment of your casting, it was he who stepped in to save you—and so brought you and the Wild Dog back from the brink."

Hearing this, Xiaowan at once remembered. At the final moment of her casting, her cultivation after all insufficient, she had been devoured in backlash by the wandering spirits; just as she was about to meet the fate of ten thousand ghosts gnawing at her heart, the power of the formation in her hands had suddenly surged, driving off all the spirits around her, and thus it was **completed. It seemed it was all this mysterious black-clad man who had saved her.

Thinking of this, Xiaowan nodded slowly toward Mr. Gui and said: "Thank you, Senior."

Mr. Gui seemed to pay no heed to her thanks. He only asked coldly in return: "Little girl, I have a few questions to ask you. I hope you will answer me truthfully."

Xiaowan started, and at the same time felt Zhou Yixuan's hand on her arm give a slight tug. She hesitated a moment, then finally said: "Whatever Senior wishes to ask, please do."

Mr. Gui nodded and said: "The arts of the Ghost Path have always been kept secret and unspoken. Where did you learn this Ghost Path technique?"

Xiaowan blanked for a moment and said: "Ghost Path? What Ghost Path?"

Behind her, Zhou Yixuan sighed inwardly; before her, Mr. Gui was taken aback. But looking at the astonishment on Xiaowan's face, it did not seem feigned—she truly appeared not to know that this was what was called a Ghost Path technique. After a moment of silence, Mr. Gui said: "The soul-gathering art you just performed is in truth a supremely profound and wondrous technique of the Ghost Path. Do you not know this?"

Xiaowan shook her head blankly and said: "I—I didn't know."

Mr. Gui pressed at once: "Then from whom did you learn this soul-gathering art?"

Xiaowan shook her head: "No one taught me."