Chapter 106 — The Ancient Temple

The middle-aged man said with a placating smile, "Martial Uncle, pray do not be angry. Do not lower yourself to their level."

The old man gave a cold laugh. "I cannot be bothered with them." Then he turned and glanced at him. "By the way, Sun Tu—you lived among those beasts for three years to learn their bird-talk; I fear you suffered a great deal?"

The middle-aged man called Sun Tu smiled and said, "This disciple owes the sect a deep debt of gratitude, but alas my talents are shallow, and I have long grieved that I could not repay the Valley Master's and my martial uncles' great kindness. Now that this chance has come, how dare I not do my utmost!"

At the words "Valley Master," Ming Li felt a sudden chill at heart.

The martial uncle, however, smiled, seeming much approving, and reached out to pat Sun Tu on the shoulder. Then of a sudden he gave another cold laugh. "It is well that the Valley Master knows me for the steady man I am, and so sent me to meet these beasts. Had that old fellow Shangguan Lue come, would he not have ruined everything on the spot!"

Sun Tu gave a dry laugh, his expression somewhat odd; he murmured assent, yet seemed not to dare speak a word against that Shangguan Lue behind his back.

Hidden nearby, Ming Li now had no further doubt. Shangguan Lue was one of the foremost figures in the southern Burning Mist Valley; though he never walked the world, his fearsome name was long since established. Especially in the great battle at Qingyun ten years ago, when the Lord of the Underworld had laid a cunning scheme, sending Zhou Yin disguised as Shangguan Lue to strike down the monks of the Brahma Sound Temple—the trick had succeeded at a stroke and nearly put the two great sects of Qingyun and Tianyin to death. At that time Ming Li had still been a Qingyun disciple named Zhang Qingyue, present on the field, and so the name was deeply imprinted on his memory.

Hearing the two call the mysterious one "beast" at every turn, the identity of that mysterious one now seemed ready to leap from the page—save that the lineage of Burning Mist Valley, ever so righteous, now betrayed an inconceivable air of evil.

Ming Li watched the two men in the great hall coldly, and in the darkness a cold, contemptuous smile came to his lips.

Within the hall, the two conferred a few more words. Sun Tu blew out the lamp in the great hall with one breath, and the two made for the outside, plainly intending to leave this place. Ming Li frowned in the shadows, and as he stood pondering, suddenly from outside the ancient temple came a strange, savage roar!

Everyone in the temple started in alarm; the old man and Sun Tu halted at once.

The sound was shrill and furious, and seemed to carry a note of panic; yet it sounded like the roar of some savage beast rather than a human cry. But Ming Li, after a moment's discernment, at once made out that it seemed to come from the mysterious figure wrapped in the cloak from before, and his brows knitted. At the same moment the old man and Sun Tu recognized it too; their faces changed drastically, and they sprang into the air together, flying out of the temple.

In these deep wild mountains, someone had lain in ambush!

The moonlight was cold, and its uncanny hue seemed only to deepen.

Outside the ancient temple, behind a hill in the distance.

A streak of purple radiance blazed suddenly in the night, rushing halfway up into the air, then cleaving downward.

Though separated by a distance of some tens of zhang, Ming Li still felt that sliver of biting, murderous aura. His pupils contracted; in an instant he had recognized what magic treasure it was.

The two from Burning Mist Valley arrived like the wind, but the old man's cultivation was plainly far above Sun Tu's; in but a moment he had left Sun Tu some tens of zhang behind, and a dark red immortal sword had already appeared in his hand as he flew swiftly toward where the purple radiance had flared.

Yet before he could reach the far side of the hill, a great roar rang out, full of despair, echoing through the dark night. The old man's face changed drastically; he flew faster still, and with a whoosh had flown over. Ming Li, soundless, followed from another direction, circling round behind the hill.

A reek of blood struck him in the face at once. The cloak, cloven in two, drifted slowly down from midair; dark red blood spattered everywhere. The mysterious one, now revealed in his true form, was indeed a fish-man with a fish's head and a human body—but at this moment he had been cleft in two by a single stroke from head to crotch, his corpse fallen to the ground, and the killer's figure was already gone.

The old man was both shocked and furious. The killer had struck and slain in an instant, then vanished into hiding; such cultivation was truly no small matter. Though he found these fish-men utterly detestable, he knew that the Valley Master had weighty matters to discuss with these barbarian tribes. Now, for someone to spring up and strike them down before his very eyes—should the other side demand an accounting, he would truly find it hard to answer for it.

By now Sun Tu too had reached the scene, and taking in that scene of blood, he stood dumbstruck.

The old man's face was ghastly. Suddenly he sprang into the air; dark red light bore him up beneath his feet, and he flew into the sky and gazed all around—but saw only pitch darkness on every side, a boundless sea of forest. Where was he to find any trace of the killer?

Suddenly he shouted loudly, "Which master of high attainment is here? Pray come forth and show yourself—Lu Shun of Burning Mist Valley asks!"

The voice carried far, and after a moment faint echoes came back from the forests and hills, ringing everywhere: "Lu Shun asks... Lu Shun asks..."

Yet beyond that there was no further sound at all.

Lu Shun's eyes seemed to blaze with fire. After a moment he dropped back to the ground and said swiftly to Sun Tu, "You gather up the clan chief's corpse and carry it back to the valley. The killer struck not long ago, so he must still be nearby. I will dig three feet into the earth if I must, but I will find this man."

Sun Tu nodded hurriedly. "Martial Uncle, take care."

Before the words were out, Lu Shun had already sprung into the air and vanished into the darkness of the forest. Sun Tu turned and looked at the corpse below, now in two halves; a reek of blood assailed his nostrils, and he could not help but show disgust, and spat.

Ming Li slowly withdrew, and in the shadows pondered a moment; then he carefully surveyed the lie of the land around him, and his gaze came to rest upon the ancient temple he had just left. At once he swept toward it without a sound.

The night was cold; black clouds hid the moon.

Though only a short while had passed, the ancient temple seemed of a sudden to have grown gloomier and darker still. Only now and then, when the moon poked its head from the black clouds, did some small part of it stand revealed—and a moment later it was swallowed by darkness once more.

Ming Li walked slowly out and stood in the open ground before the great hall, his eyes fixed hard upon it.

The cold wind blew; the broken windows gave out an uncanny creak, murmuring low in the darkness.

"Young master is indeed formidable—I could fool Lu Shun, but not you!"

In the darkness of the great hall, a faint voice suddenly rose, drifting softly forth.