Chapter 54 — The Demon's Passing
劍問蒼天 · Page 2 of 6
The six-tailed white fox regarded him, its gaze flickering. There was no anger in it, nor mockery—only a calm, faint looking. After a long while, it shifted its gaze away and said evenly, "Fine ambition."
Zhang Qingyue was taken aback, then frowned and shouted, "Spare me that nonsense. Get up at once, I—"
"You mean to kill me, don't you?" The six-tailed white fox suddenly cut him off, asking in a mild tone.
Zhang Qingyue had not expected it to speak so bluntly, and for a moment he was checked. But he recovered himself at once and said, "You demon foxes wreak havoc upon the world and do great harm to men. My killing you is acting on behalf of Heaven!"
The six-tailed white fox turned its head sideways, and in its eyes there seemed a measure of mockery, and a measure of desolation. "Young man, I would guess you are not yet twenty?"
Zhang Qingyue gave a cold snort. "What of it? I shall subdue demons and vanquish devils all the same."
The six-tailed white fox lowered its head slightly, as though suddenly stirred by some feeling, and said softly, "Yes. You humans are truly favored by Heaven in the cultivation of the Way. We of the fox clan toil bitterly for a thousand years and more, yet the gifted among you surpass us in a mere few hundred years—just like that old fellow Shangguan..." Here it suddenly stopped, gave a bitter laugh, shook its head, and looked at Zhang Qingyue. Slowly it said, "Young man, you are so young—how would you know that we of the fox clan wreak havoc upon the world and do great harm to men?"
Zhang Qingyue sneered. "That three-tailed demon fox, your companion, harasses the folk of Xiaochi Town day and night. She has not only seized countless cattle and sheep, but taken human lives as well. Is that not wreaking havoc upon the world and doing great harm to men?"
The six-tailed white fox was silent a moment, then said, "True. I have heard her speak of this. It is as you say. Three days ago, when she went to Xiaochi Town, that father and son dared to stand in her way. It happened that my illness was grave that day, and her mood was foul, so she killed those two fools who knew not enough to fear death."
Zhang Qingyue said angrily, "What have you to say to that?"
But the six-tailed white fox said blandly, "You mistake me. I am not defending myself to you. Even had I gone that day in her place, I would have killed them just the same."
Zhang Qingyue flew into a rage. He leveled a finger at it and shouted, "Then how dare you claim you do not wreak havoc upon the world and do great harm to men? Demon, die!" As the furious shout rang out, blue light surged up along the Dark Iron Staff, and in another instant it would have been loosed into the air.
The six-tailed white fox showed no intention of moving, still lying there unmoving, and said coolly, "This 'world' you speak of—what do you mean by it?"
Zhang Qingyue was checked again. Thoughts spun through his mind, and suddenly, for some inexplicable reason, looking at this six-tailed white fox before him and listening to its low words, he thought again, without rhyme or reason, of that scene of ten thousand people returning.
Faintly, dimly, as though somewhere deep in his heart, a nameless voice was calling out.
The radiance of the Dark Iron Staff slowly faded. But the white fox's voice went on: "In your eyes, this so-called world is one in which your human race holds sway, is it not? All things under Heaven exist for you humans to take as you please. Any resistance at all is wreaking havoc upon the world and doing great harm to men—is unforgivable wickedness, deserving of ten thousand deaths. Is that not so?"
Zhang Qingyue looked at it, silent and saying nothing. He did not know why that three-tailed demon fox and this six-tailed white fox both seemed to like speaking to him. But what he understood even less was why these words, which sounded so heretical and rebellious, should have such a hold upon his mind.