劍問蒼天 - 第234章 別離 - 翰墨軒

Ming Li smiled faintly, neither nodding nor shaking his head. He turned to Zhou Yixuan. "Elder, you and I might be said to share a fate. Great as heaven and earth are, over these ten-odd years we have met several times. As for what you told me just now—whether or not it is truly possible, I must try it in the end." He sighed softly. "Better that than no hope at all."

Zhou Yixuan nodded. "It is well that you know as much. That method defies all common sense, and no one has ever tried it. I merely chanced to hear of it in my younger days when I wandered the four seas. What becomes of you is your own affair."

Ming Li bowed to Zhou Yixuan. "In that case, this junior will take his leave. If fate allows, we shall meet again."

As he spoke his figure stirred, and he was plainly about to depart, when suddenly a cry came from beside him: "Wait—wait a moment!"

Ming Li started and turned to look at Xiao Wan. She stood beside Jin Pingyue, hesitant, on the verge of speaking yet holding back. Zhou Yixuan saw it, and all at once shook his head with a sigh, then turned and walked away.

"What is it, Xiao Wan?" Ming Li seemed to sense something as well; his expression softened, and he asked gently.

Xiao Wan's lips trembled faintly. She seemed to want to say something, but in the end said nothing at all.

Jin Pingyue stood at her side holding her hand, and now her brows knitted slightly. That fair, delicate little hand was trembling faintly in her palm. She turned to look at Xiao Wan. The girl had called Ming Li to a halt, yet after a long while, until the air between them had grown awkward, she still had not found her words.

Jin Pingyue sighed faintly, drew Xiao Wan behind her, and smiled at Ming Li. "And where is the young master bound?"

Ming Li was silent for a moment. His gaze drifted past the slender figure hidden behind Jin Pingyue, and there seemed a trace of warmth in his eyes, but his voice turned cold. "I make my home of the four seas. Where would I have a fixed place?"

Jin Pingyue spoke again: "A fine 'home of the four seas'—truly the spirit of a man. But may I ask the young master whether there is anything at all he still holds dear in his heart?"

Xiao Wan's body seemed to stiffen all at once, yet she did not move; she kept hidden behind Jin Pingyue without stirring. Only Jin Pingyue felt that tension in her hand. Ming Li's voice ahead seemed to grow a shade colder still. "No."

With that, he cast one deep look at the figure that had suddenly gone rigid. The corner of his mouth moved, but a moment later he masked the strange expression, turned, and walked a few steps away. He paused, seeming to hesitate, but in the end did not look back; a moment later he transformed into a gray ray of light and shot straight up into the blue heavens.

The west wind swept the ancient road; the wilderness lay still and silent.

The mood there turned stifling for a time. Xiao Wan said nothing, nor did she come out from behind Jin Pingyue, but the hand that gripped Jin Pingyue's was clenched so tight it seemed it would sink into flesh.

The Wild Wolf Daoist's face was grim. He took a step forward, as if to say something, but in the end said nothing. At last Zhou Yixuan coughed, stepped forward, and said with a dry laugh, "Xiao Wan, this—well, that—such bonds are fixed by heaven. We must learn to look at these things broadly…"

Before he could finish, Jin Pingyue's fine brows shot up. She glared at Zhou Yixuan and the Wild Wolf Daoist, and for a moment both felt as if their eyes had been scorched by fire; involuntarily they stepped back. Jin Pingyue gave a cold snort and said with a frosty face, "You two are no better than the rest of them. Get out of here."

Zhou Yixuan and the Wild Wolf Daoist exchanged a glance, looking at each other in dismay.