劍問蒼天 - 第72章 絕境 - 清風書屋

Zhou Yixuan felt thoroughly embarrassed and gave a dry laugh. "That's because these boatmen are ignorant bumpkins. How could they not even know where Liubo Mountain is? Useless, the lot of them!"

Even as he spoke, he thought to himself that bringing up such matters again and again would only make him lose face before his granddaughter, so he changed the subject and said casually, "I wonder whether that fellow called Zhang Qingyue will end up dead on Liubo Mountain this time?"

Xiao Wan shot him a glare. "Don't talk nonsense. I read his palm that day. His fate is strange—he bears the sign of the Ravening Demon—but the countenance of longevity has nothing to do with fortune. He's not fated to die young."

Zhou Yixuan chuckled. "Speaking of which, I've grown more and more curious. That day, outside the Black Stone Cave, in that ancient well of the full moon—what exactly did he see?"

Xiao Wan burst out laughing. "You still remember that?"

Zhou Yixuan nodded. "Of course. You should know that one marked by the Ravening Demon appears not once in ten thousand. I'm getting more and more curious about that fellow!"

Xiao Wan nodded again and again, smiling. "Actually, so am I—"

The two of them chatted and laughed, forgetting for a moment to watch the road ahead. All at once they realized that figures had appeared before them, and they nearly collided with them head-on. Startled, they hastily halted and only just managed to steady themselves. Zhou Yixuan bellowed in fury, "What the hell are you doing—"

Before he was halfway through, however, his voice died in his throat. Xiao Wan looked up in some alarm and was at once frightened out of her wits. Two people stood before them: in front was a delicate, beautiful young girl dressed all in water-green—none other than Bili, who had already caused them no small suffering—and behind Bili stood another woman, clad entirely in black, her face veiled in black gauze, so that her features could not be made out.

Zhou Yixuan gave two dry laughs and said repeatedly, "My mistake, my mistake." As he spoke he shot Xiao Wan a look. Young as she was, Xiao Wan was sharp as a whip and understood at once. The two of them were about to turn and flee when suddenly they felt themselves grow light—each of the two women had hoisted one of them up by the collar. Then everything swam before their eyes, streets and passersby tumbling and spinning this way and that, and by the time they came to their senses they were in a quiet, deserted little alley.

Sweat broke out on Zhou Yixuan's forehead. He knew the girl before him far outstripped him in cultivation, and that he had no idea what torments awaited him now. He could only put on a bitter face and say, "Miss, I—I was in the wrong that day. Ah! I'll give you back all the silver! Please, in your great magnanimity, let us go!"

Bili frowned. Since returning from Liubo Mountain she looked rather haggard. She glared at Zhou Yixuan and said, "Who wants your silver? I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you'd better answer me honestly."

Zhou Yixuan said at once, "Ask away, miss. Whatever I know, I'll answer truthfully. I wonder whether it's wealth or longevity you wish to ask about—or perhaps marriage? These are all the specialties of Zhou Yixuan, the great immortal Zhou. Come, come, let me cast a reading for you—"

The more he talked, the smoother he became—until he suddenly felt Xiao Wan tugging at his clothes. He turned in surprise. "What is it?"

Xiao Wan, sweating profusely, shot him a look of exasperation and turned to Bili with an apologetic smile. "Um—beautiful elder sister, what is it you wanted to ask us?"

Bili was silent for a moment, then said, "What were the two of you peering at outside the East Sea Inn just now?"

Zhou Yixuan and Xiao Wan exchanged a glance. "N-nothing! We were just passing by and saw a lot of cultivators gathered there, so we stopped to take a look."