Chapter 83 — Ten Years
劍問蒼天 · Page 2 of 7
The old man gave a bitter laugh. "Ten years ago, the Demonic Sect, which had vanished for so long, suddenly reappeared. I hear they even fought a great battle with those immortals of the righteous path at Canglan Mountain. And since then, in these ten years, the Demonic Sect has not only failed to be wiped out by the righteous path—no, they've grown stronger day by day. Everywhere you hear of them fighting the righteous path, back and forth."
Boss He was silent. The old man sighed. "They fight their fights, and we common folk can't meddle in it. But under all this strife the world's fallen into chaos. Nowadays bandits run wild, and robbers and house-breakers are beyond counting. We who make our living out on the road live in constant fear, dreading we'll run into brigands—that's why we've been hurrying on our way. Little did we expect the wind and rain would block us here. Sorry to trouble you, Boss He."
Boss He shook his head. "It's nothing at all. Don't give it a thought..."
Even as he was speaking, a voice suddenly drifted over from the distant corner, saying mildly, "So by that reckoning, sir, you take it that this chaos in the world, these bandits running wild, are all the work of the Demonic Sect you speak of?"
The old man started, and before he could speak, at the table in front with the fortune-teller and the young girl, their gazes too had turned toward them. The girl's eyes were bright, her features lovely, with faint dimples at the corners of her mouth that made her look altogether endearing.
Now she suddenly spoke, smiling at the merchant elder. "Honored sir!"
The old man looked at her. "What is it, miss?"
The young girl said softly, "Sir, your face is thin and full of lines, yet its shape is unbroken—it signifies a life of many twists and turns, yet on the whole safe. Only at the sixth division of your forehead there is a small scar, running across the face, blocking the line of life and the line of wealth. It signifies that in your old age you may meet a great calamity. Seeing your years now, you'd do better to speak a little less, and so invite a little less trouble."
All the merchants changed color. The old man even rose to his feet, staring hard at the old and the young. But the two showed no reaction, wholly composed. After a long moment, the old man's expression shifting uncertainly, he glanced around at those about him, and at last sat back down, cupping his hands to the girl. "Thank you for your guidance, miss."
Once he had sat back down, the little shop fell at once into stillness. The somewhat mysterious man in the corner seemed to have quieted as well, and said no more.
Only the long night stretched on, truly hard to endure. After a good while, the merchants began to chat among themselves, and as they talked back and forth, they came round to that great battle of righteous and demon ten years ago at Canglan Mountain.
These traveling merchants were but ordinary folk, and naturally had never seen the place for themselves. But rumor—that is what rumor is for. And those lofty cultivators of the righteous path had always been shrouded in mystery; they were the best fare for common folk's talk.
As they talked, the voices of the young men gradually grew louder, and the others heard and were drawn in.
"...In short, by then Canglan Sect's situation was desperate, hanging by a thread. Luckily the old immortal Daoyan's powers reached into creation itself—he gave a light point of his finger, and at once thunder and lightning fell from the sky. I hear the crash could be heard a hundred li around, and only then were the Demonic Sect's people driven back!"