劍問蒼天 - 第94章 奇花 - 清風書屋

Seeing her grandfather's strange look, Xiao Wan quickly turned as well, and she too froze. There was the Wild Wolf Daoist, his face dark and foul-tempered, coming from the direction of the Dead Marsh. His eyes swept the scene, and then he spotted Xiao Wan and Zhou Yixuan standing at the village entrance.

That very morning, the Wild Wolf Daoist, who had been following Ming Li all along, had suddenly been ordered by Ming Li to leave the Dead Marsh at once. Astonished as he was, he also dimly understood that the marsh was now a place of deadly peril, and that leaving had its advantages. Still, being coldly dressed down by that young pup Ming Li had left him thoroughly aggrieved, and he had cursed and grumbled the entire way out.

Now, happening upon Xiao Wan at the village entrance, the Wild Dog felt his heart give an inexplicable leap, and he instinctively began to edge his way around them, though he could not have said what he was afraid of.

But before he had gone two steps, Xiao Wan's voice came from behind him. "Daoist, wait!"

The Wild Dog paused and slowly turned around. Zhou Yixuan walked up beside Xiao Wan with a frown. "What are you calling him for?"

Xiao Wan glared at Zhou Yixuan, ignored him, and walked over with a smile. Drawing an umbrella from her bundle, she said to the Wild Wolf Daoist, "Daoist, I never returned your umbrella."

The Wild Dog glanced at the umbrella twice, his face shifting between expressions, and for a moment he seemed dazed and did not reach out to take it. Xiao Wan did not mind; she pressed it into his hands and gave him a radiant smile. "Thank you for that day."

The Wild Wolf Daoist suddenly felt the world before him brighten, as though his eyes were playing tricks on him, and he secretly swallowed.

Xiao Wan walked back to Zhou Yixuan's side, took the bundle from his hand, and said, "Let's go, Grandfather."

Zhou Yixuan shot a glare at the Wild Dog, who was still standing there dumbly, then followed Xiao Wan, muttering as he went, "Why do you keep smiling at him like that?"

Xiao Wan scolded him playfully. "Grandfather, he's a good man!"

Zhou Yixuan spat. "If he's a good man, then I must be the Buddha himself reborn."

Xiao Wan and Zhou Yixuan's figures gradually receded, and their voices faded as well. The Wild Dog stood where he was, umbrella in hand, motionless. How long he stood there, he could not say, but at last he stamped his foot and strode off in the direction Xiao Wan and Zhou Yixuan had taken.

After their figures vanished one by one, calm returned to Dawang Village. A few zhang from the village entrance, in a corner, stood a man and a woman: the man tall in white robes, the woman with her face veiled in black gauze—none other than Qinglong and Yousi.

Qinglong said mildly, "Do you know who this Zhou Yixuan is?"

Yousi, hidden behind the black gauze, said nothing; the gauze stirred slightly, as though she were shaking her head.

Qinglong pondered a moment, a look of deep thought in his eyes, then said, "This man is no simple figure. And his granddaughter actually has dealings with Jin Pingyue of the Bewitching Spirit Sect. We must keep a close eye on them in the future."

Yousi was silent for a moment, then said coolly, "Let's go. We must not delay the great matter the sect master has charged us with."

Qinglong glanced at her, a faint trace of worry flashing through his eyes, but his face betrayed nothing. "Quite right. Let's go."

With that, the two of them walked slowly out of Dawang Village—but in the opposite direction from Zhou Yixuan and the others, straight toward the Dead Marsh.

A wind came blowing from somewhere, sweeping across heaven and earth, carrying a faint desolate savor.

The sky seemed to darken a little more.

"Boom!"

A peal of thunder rolled through the dark clouds, and bean-sized raindrops came pelting down, drenching all the world in a gray haze. Ming Li stood atop a great tree, gazing out in all directions.