劍問蒼天 - 第227章 親人 - 翰墨軒

Su Wan looked at him deeply and said, "After you collapsed yesterday, I tended your wounds and changed your dressings. But I found that within the grievous wound on your chest there was a stroke of Crimson Flame Sword Energy, the kind only your master wielded. It was that which did the worst damage to your meridians. How did this come to be?"

Ming Li's heart gave a violent leap, and unwittingly his palms grew faintly damp. After a moment he said quietly, "This time, the disciple's injuries were indeed dealt by the master's own heavy hand, but..."

Here he faltered, at a loss, not knowing where to begin. That night had brought sudden upheaval, full of strange twists and turns; seasoned as he was in the strife and turmoil of the world, even he had been shaken to the core. And beyond all that, the teacher he had reverenced and loved above all others in his life had met his end there, which made it all the harder to put into words.

Su Wan gave a cold snort, her phoenix eyes kindling with authority, and said icily, "Tell me the truth, from beginning to end."

For a moment Ming Li dared not meet her gaze. He lowered his head, and only after a while did he slowly begin: how that night, returning to the ruins of Liumiao Village, he had chanced upon a mysterious figure; how he had pursued him all the way to the abandoned charity hall outside He Yin's walls; and how, in the end, Tian Buhui had perished. He recounted it all to Su Wan, slowly, piece by piece.

As she listened, Su Wan's face grew paler and paler. When at last she heard the part about Tian Buhui's death, every trace of color drained from her, and she clutched his hand tightly in both of hers, as though terrified that her husband might slip away from her side once more.

At the end, Ming Li said in a low voice, "That is how it happened, Mistress. The disciple would never dare deceive you."

Su Wan's gaze shifted to Tian Buhui and rested long upon that familiar, peaceful face. Perhaps, in her husband's heart, there had not been much remorse at all; perhaps he had simply felt, in his heart of hearts, that these were things he ought to do.

She drew a deep breath and straightened her back. Though in truth she longed only to lie down just so, to lie beside her husband and care for nothing anymore, she knew the time had not yet come.

"You truly saw it clearly..." Su Wan's voice sounded faint and distant.

Ming Li did not understand for a moment. "Mistress, what do you mean?"

Su Wan's face was ashen. She said quietly, "That mysterious man—was it truly the Sect Leader himself... Senior Brother Daoyan?"

Ming Li drew a deep breath and said with finality, "The disciple saw with his own eyes. Even if that man were reduced to flying ash, I would not mistake him."

Su Wan nodded silently. After a moment she asked slowly, "From what you have just said, when Buyi's mind was in final chaos and he struck you down, it was Lu Xueling of Xiaozhu Peak who killed him?"

Ming Li's whole body shook violently, and within moments cold sweat was pouring down his forehead. But in the end he clenched his jaw and said, "Yes!"

Su Wan said nothing, only stared at him blankly, as though lost in thought. Yet under her gaze Ming Li's expression shifted violently, as if he were being tortured. After a long while he said in a low voice, "That... Lu Xueling, she, she was actually trying to save me—no, it was this disciple..." Suddenly his face turned grave. He threw himself prostrate on the ground and said quietly, "Mistress, every fault, every wrong is this disciple's. That Lu Xueling, she..."

Su Wan sighed and cut him off. "I remember among the Canglan Sect disciples, these past years, were you not the closest to her? Even after you entered the demonic path, I heard she still thought of you constantly; for your sake she defied Senior Sister Shuiyue's wishes several times, and even refused the marriage proposal of Valley Master Yun Yifeng of Fenxia Valley. Is that not so?"