Chapter 207 — The Chase
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 3 of 5
Xiao Bai's eyes traveled over the faces and garb and ornaments of these Fenxia Valley disciples, and suddenly she gave a cold laugh. "Fenxia Valley, are you?"
Beside her, Jin Pingyue could not help glancing at Xiao Bai, and dimly caught that Xiao Bai bore these Fenxia Valley people some displeasure; she was secretly delighted. As for Li Xun, he could not for the moment gauge Xiao Bai's depths, and he was unwilling to invite fresh trouble at such a moment. So he said in a clear, ringing voice: "I am Li Xun, disciple of Valley Master Yun Yifeng of Fenxia Valley. Might I ask who you are, lady? We have no wish to offend you—only this woman." He pointed at Jin Pingyue. "She is a demon sect sorceress steeped in sin and ripe with evil, and we are here to put her to death. If you have no other business here, pray stand aside, and we shall be endlessly grateful."
Xiao Bai gave a snort. Far from stepping aside, she slowly walked two steps forward and said mildly, "As it happens, I do have business here, so I cannot step aside."
Li Xun's expression changed, and several of the Fenxia Valley disciples behind him shouted out in anger.
Li Xun said in a low, heavy voice, "Lady, if you shelter this demoness, you make an enemy of Fenxia Valley, and an enemy of the righteous path throughout the world. Do you understand that?"
Xiao Bai burst out laughing. She lifted a hand white as jade and lightly smoothed the hair at her temple, then said with a cold smile, "An enemy of Fenxia Valley? An enemy of the righteous path throughout the world? Ignorant whelp—your grandma was tired of such games a few thousand years before you were born."
The Fenxia Valley disciples all cried out at once, and anger crossed Li Xun's face as well. But his composure was after all better than his junior brothers', and he could not for the moment make out this mysterious woman's origins or identity, so instead he held back the several juniors who were about to charge. "A lofty tone, lady," he said coldly. "May I ask who you are?"
Xiao Bai did not answer him. Instead she seemed to lapse into a daze, and after a long while she murmured a few words to herself, then suddenly gave a "pfft" of laughter, chuckling at nothing at all, and shook her head. "Grandma... ah, it has been so long since I spoke like that. Even I can scarcely take my own meaning now. Truly... ah, can it be that I really have grown old?"
As she spoke, the smile on her face slowly faded, and she stared blankly, lost in thought; her expression seemed almost to wander far away.
Jin Pingyue stood by, struck dumb, unable for the moment to guess what this strange woman was thinking. And Li Xun, for all his even temper, was so provoked by Xiao Bai that he was nearly bursting. "I speak to you in kindness," he said angrily. "If you still will not step aside, do not blame us for giving offense." With that he laughed twice, coldly, and added, "On the strength of those few words of yours, challenging the righteous path of the world, I could seize you here and now. Do not be so blind to your own good."
Xiao Bai slowly raised her eyes and looked at Li Xun, studying him deeply, and then suddenly said, "You there, young lady."
At first Jin Pingyue did not react; only when Xiao Bai called a second time did she start, and say in astonishment, "You are calling me?"
Xiao Bai snorted. "If not you, then who?" She gave a little wave of her hand and stepped forward, placing herself between Li Xun and his company and Jin Pingyue. "Go on," she said. "I will hold these people off for you."
Li Xun and the others turned crimson with rage on the spot, while Jin Pingyue was overjoyed beyond all expectation, so much so that for a moment she could scarcely believe it. She hastened to say, "Thank you... thank you, Senior."