Chapter 118 — Deep Scar

Her pale hand gripped the Tianxuan tightly, as though she had spent all her strength to speak these words.

Every word fell upon Ming Li's heart like a blade.

But he was silent, and said nothing.

Deep, deep gaze!

This man, once so deeply carved into her heart! He stood right before her, yet it was as though the whole world lay between them!

Tianxuan—drawn!

A graceful arc of flickering blue light flashed through the air, and swept down before Ming Li!

There in the ruined street, between the two of them, a single step before Ming Li, it carved out a deep, deep scar.

It cut the two of them apart!

The moonlight was desolate, the night already vast and dim!

Her white robes were like snow, swirling though there was no wind, as if she were a fairy; in her bright eyes, a thousand tender feelings and ten thousand agonies dwelt only deep in her heart.

"After tonight, when next we meet, you and I are enemies who live and die by one another." Her pale face held not a trace of color; even her body had begun to tremble faintly.

"For ten years, besides this foolish longing, I have practiced my sword in the back hills," she said quietly. "Tonight, let me dance it one last time!"

Zheng!

The divine sword Tianxuan rang out like the clear cry of a phoenix, rising straight to the ninth heaven.

The woman in white, like snow, leaped into the air, and in the desolate, beautiful moonlight, like a fairy from the ninth heaven descended into the mortal dust, she danced, wild and lost.

That sword-light was faint and dreamlike, dancing out a thousand years of lingering sorrow. The years gone by slowly rose up, drifting past.

Who was it that sighed so softly, who was it whose eyes grew dim?

Sword-light like snow—whose heart did it wound?

She danced, wild and lost!

She danced alone!

A wind arose, and the clouds slowly parted.

Broken walls and ruined ramparts scattered and fell.

Loose stones flew in all directions, dust rose in clouds, and the wind moaned desolately.

Her figure drifted and swayed, as though floating and sinking in the wind; clouds and winds gathered from every quarter, and the sky darkened once more.

All that remained was a pale shadow, drifting in desolate solitude!

What was it that roared softly in his heart, what was it that surged and cried out in his breast?

He could not, could not, could not...

His body trembled—perhaps he meant to step forward?

That foot lifted into the air, and it seemed he would cross the deep scar upon the ground.

The wind howled, the shadow was like frost!

The sword, like autumn water, fell from the sky; with a keen ringing it tore through the air and came—then stopped short, halting before his brow.

The wind that had roared through the heavens moments before gradually fell silent; the scattered stones that had rolled in every direction slowly came to rest. The sky cleared again, the moonlight returned, its pure radiance like water.

Lu Xueling's peerless face was before his eyes, cold as ice and frost, save that in those bright eyes there seemed yet a faint tenderness, gentle as water.

Their gazes both fell upon the line between them—

That deep scar!

The chill of the Tianxuan Divine Sword seemed to reach across the air from its tip, seeping through his whole body and waking him with a start from his bewildered dream.

Her face was beautiful beyond mortal measure.

Ming Li's foot hung in midair; slowly, slowly—

It drew back!

Lu Xueling's sword hand slowly lowered, and the man's body at last quietly retreated from that deep scar.

Then she smiled...

That smile was like a lily blooming radiant in the night, blossoming through past and present alike!

But a moment later she frowned, bent forward, gave a soft, low moan, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Flecks of crimson scattered across her white garments, like blossoms vivid and strange.

She was still smiling; she cast one last look at the man, then turned, mounted her sword, and rose, becoming a white light that streaked across the night sky and vanished into the distant darkness beneath the silent moon.

All that remained was a lone man, gazing in silence at the street before him, at that deep scar now stained red...

That deep scar!

In the darkness, the nine-tailed celestial fox Xiaobai held Little Grey and watched from afar all that unfolded in the street. Little Grey seemed restless and stirred in her arms.

Xiaobai patted its head gently and raised a slender, pale finger to her lips in a gesture for silence.

Little Grey quieted, but its eyes at once fixed upon its master's desolate figure and did not relax for a moment.

Who could say how long Ming Li stood before that deep scar in the street—he simply stood, and stood, motionless.

And Xiaobai seemed patient enough, waiting quietly in the darkness; at this moment even Little Grey, usually so restless, had grown especially still.

At last Ming Li's body stirred; then, as though with great effort, he turned his back, then turned his head. Seen from afar, the man's face was ashen, utterly haggard.

Little Grey's body stirred uneasily again.

In the distance, Ming Li seemed to murmur something under his breath, but no one could hear it clearly. After a moment he raised his head blankly and at last slowly departed.

Once he had gone far, Xiaobai came out with Little Grey and approached the deep scar Lu Xueling had cut into the street with the Tianxuan Divine Sword.

She gazed at it in silence, and after a long while sighed.

"The love of this world—it truly breaks the heart! Those two, so outstanding, and yet they act like fools."

"Chee-chee, chee-chee!" A shrill cry rang out; Xiaobai started—it was the monkey Little Grey, displeased.

It leaped down from Xiaobai and plopped down on the ground beside her, sulking in silence; it even mimicked a person's anger, folding its arms across its chest and puffing out its cheeks, the very picture of indignation.

Xiaobai laughed despite herself and said in a low voice, "Is it that you don't like me calling your master a fool?"

Little Grey nodded again and again, cheeping a few times, its eyes blinking; though it still looked angry, its long tail quietly curled back and wound gently around Xiaobai's ankle.

Xiaobai shook her head with a smile, crouched down, and stroked the monkey's head; then her gaze drifted far away, and she was lost in thought for a long while before speaking softly: "How could you know? For a thousand years, all I ever wished was to be such a fool once—and to have a fool who would treat me well in return."

"If that woman truly meant to sever all feeling and cut all ties, that sword would have struck long ago. I saw it just now—at the end, though she pointed her sword at Ming Li, there was no telling how much she hoped in her heart that he would throw caution to the winds and cross over."

"And yet, if Ming Li had crossed over, he would no longer be Ming Li..."

"In his heart, there is still a Bili after all!"

Xiaobai spoke in a low voice; Little Grey half understood, scratching its head, its three eyes staring blankly at Xiaobai.

Xiaobai was lost in thought a moment longer, then suddenly smiled and came back to herself; reaching out, she gathered Little Grey into her arms and said with a smile, "Never mind. Their affairs, the knots in their hearts—those can only be untied by themselves.

Besides, who can say clearly what the future holds?"

"Isn't that right, Little Grey?"

Xiaobai lifted Little Grey up before her and asked with a smile.

Little Grey's tail swayed to and fro in the air; it cheeped "chee-chee-chee-chee" several times, shaking its head and nodding—yet who could tell whether it truly understood?