劍問蒼天 - 第103章 魚怪 - 清風書屋

The corner of Ming Li's eye twitched slightly. He knew this man: Xu Chonghai by name, one of considerable cultivation among his subordinates—and now dead here as well, beyond all expectation.

Yan Hui came to Xu Chonghai's side and said, "Look here."

Ming Li stepped close and looked down at the ground, and there beside Xu Chonghai's head he saw, traced in the mud by the one right hand that remained, two characters:

Fish—monster.

The character "fish" was still fairly clear, but the second, "monster," had run wild and shapeless; plainly Xu Chonghai had been at the very end of his strength.

"Fish monster?" Ming Li knit his brows.

Yan Hui nodded. "I don't know what it means either. Can there be some fish-monster demon lurking nearby? But after we found them today I searched the whole neighborhood at once, and found no trace of any such creature."

Ming Li turned slowly and walked out of the thicket, and Yan Hui followed. The foul stench in the air was still heavy, yet by comparison with the inside of the grass it seemed almost fresh.

Ming Li drew a deep breath and suddenly said, "Where is the Killing Monk? Why is he not here?"

Yan Hui was silent a moment, then said, "When he saw this sight this morning he flew into a fury. Then, from the way Xu Chonghai's hand had moved, he somehow made out that these mysterious fish monsters had gone south, and set off after them alone. I argued with him, but he would not listen. And besides..."

He broke off midway.

Ming Li glanced at him. "What?"

A flicker of hatred crossed Yan Hui's face. "You had strictly ordered, Deputy Sect Leader, that before your return we were not to clash with the Enchanting Soul Sect or the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect. But with a butchery like this before dawn, I thought it must be their doing, and so I secretly took men to their camps to find out the truth. If it was indeed their work, then vengeance was only proper."

Ming Li said mildly, "The thing came without warning; you were not wrong. And after you went—what came of it?"

Yan Hui hesitated, then said, "That, sir, was far beyond anything I expected. The Ten Thousand Poisons Sect's people had already, the day before, withdrawn from the Death Marsh entirely, no one knows why. And as for the Enchanting Soul Sect..." He looked at Ming Li and said quietly, "It seems the same thing befell them as befell us. More than twenty of their number are dead."

Ming Li's expression shifted slightly. "Is that so?"

Yan Hui said, "It is. I scouted it out myself before I came back."

Ming Li said nothing, standing there as though sunk in thought.

For a time Yan Hui dared not disturb him, but at length, seeing that Ming Li still had not spoken, he could not refrain from saying softly, "Deputy Sect Leader, what are we to do now?"

Ming Li did not answer directly. Instead, as though something had suddenly occurred to him, he turned to look at Yan Hui and said, "Before my return—did the Sect Leader of the Underworld King come here?"

Yan Hui's face changed, and then he nodded. "Yes."

A faint light flickered in Ming Li's eyes. "What did he say?"

Yan Hui said, "The Sect Leader came with the two Holy Envoys, Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird. He looked over the situation here, and his face was very dark; but in the end he said only one thing—'All matters here are to be handled by the Deputy Sect Leader'—and then left with the two Envoys."

Ming Li's face showed no expression, and again there was silence. Yan Hui, of course, did not yet know of the subtle turn that had come between the Underworld King and Ming Li, and could only stand watching him from the side.

After a moment Ming Li nodded and said, "You have handled this well. The business in the Death Marsh is now concluded. From this moment, take your men and leave this place at once; return to Mount Huqi."

Yan Hui nodded. "And you, Deputy Sect Leader?"