Chapter 254 — Parting by Death
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 2 of 6
"Cough, cough, cough..." A light coughing drifted over from behind the swirling dust ahead. A figure came slowly forward on somewhat unsteady feet; dust lay on his face and shoulders, yet he did not lift a hand to brush it away. Across his pallid face spread an unnatural flush—the hue of one who has spent himself past all measure.
Ming Li.
What greeted him was a sea of glad, astonished eyes—but no one thanked him. Before gratitude could form, the thought of flight had already seized their minds entire; the crowd stirred and churned, and those in front had already begun to run, and in a moment the scene of crushing congestion looked ready to repeat itself.
"HALT!"
A shout to shake the heavens burst suddenly from Ming Li's mouth as he stood amid the dust. Those in front jerked to a stop. By now his so-called title of Vice-Sect Master could no longer restrain them; the only thing they feared was the same death that threatened them all.
The man with blood-red eyes had gripped Soul-Devourer in his hand, and on the Blood-Devouring Pearl flickered threads of bloody light—he had driven it to its utmost limit. A killing intent cold as ice tide came pouring off him, and words just as cold came forth from his lips.
"Whoever dares block my path again—that boulder just now is what awaits him!"
The crowd was cowed. The still-churning dust convinced every one of them of Ming Li's danger, and the mad, blood-red light in his eyes left no man able to ignore his threat. Silently, in that packed passage, the crowd opened for him a narrow path—barely wide enough for one man to pass, too narrow by half, yet it was the utmost they could do.
Ming Li said nothing more. He strode forward, thrust into the crowd, and ran toward the Ice Chamber.
Ahead, at the far end of that sea of people, there was still one person waiting for him...
Whatever it took, he had to get through!
He clenched his teeth so hard that his lips, all unknowing, had already begun to bleed in thin red lines, making a somewhat frightening sight. Not one person beside him was willing to meet his eyes; all avoided him as though he were a vengeful demon.
But Ming Li did not care in the least. He only ran with all his strength, pushing aside every person before him, striding on along that thin, narrow trail—a trail that seemed at any moment ready to be swallowed by the restless tide of bodies—pressing onward against the current.
In this world, how many people are truly worth caring for?
Suddenly, from deep beneath the ground underfoot, another rolling thunder came rumbling up. Moments later a fresh, violent quake struck; the stone walls shuddered fiercely, great rocks came tumbling down, smashing mercilessly into the crowd. Everywhere were the sounds of people weeping and crying out. In the space of a breath the violent shaking had made it nearly impossible to keep one's footing; men stumbled and staggered on every side.
Someone, in utter terror, suddenly gave a great scream and charged forward recklessly. Moments later everyone was doing the same, all other dangers utterly forgotten.
The already precarious trail before him vanished in an instant. Countless people came swarming in, transformed into a dreadful torrent that at once engulfed Ming Li and swept him surging in another direction. Ming Li's eyes seemed about to split with fury; with a great roar, killing intent blazed up all around him. His left hand shot out and seized a fleeing Ghost King Sect disciple as easily as one plucks a chick, hauling him before him, while his right hand raised Soul-Devourer high, ready to strike and establish his authority by blood.
Within the faint red glow, the Blood-Devouring Pearl flickered with an uncanny light, illuminating that young face filled with terror.
He was a boy in his teens, face pale, body shaking without cease from sheer fright, teeth chattering—yet in his eyes alone there still shone a light, that faint, faint glimmer.