Chapter 106 — The Ancient Temple
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 4 of 7
Ming Li watched coldly. It was the first time he had heard such weird speech, and naturally he did not understand its meaning; but from the expressions of the other two, he knew there would be a reckoning. Sure enough, after the mysterious one had spoken a while and paused, the middle-aged man beside him, who had been listening intently all along, turned to the old man and said, "The clan chief says: this expedition returned empty-handed, and worse, cost our clan lives and exposed our movements—all because your information was faulty. When the Great King Beast-Venerable heard of it, he flew into a rage..."
When the middle-aged man came to the words "Beast-Venerable," his voice suddenly dropped, and the tall figure wrapped in the cloak seemed to shudder as well.
The old man frowned too, and said, "We agreed from the first to tell the Great King Beast-Venerable where that 'Heavenly Emperor's Dark Stone' lay. So far as we know, that wondrous stone is indeed within the Heavenly Emperor's Treasure House in the Dead Marsh—how can you blame our information for being faulty?"
He glanced at the mysterious figure beneath the cloak, and a flicker of mockery suddenly crossed his lips. "I fear it is simply that your own strength fell short?"
At these words the cloaked mysterious one answered at once: "Jiji, jijijiji, jiji..." The weird sounds poured out in a rapid stream. Ming Li, hidden nearby, did not understand their meaning, but the voice was urgent and shrill; plainly the mysterious one was furious.
The mysterious one jiji-jiji'd on for a good while, and the face of the middle-aged interpreter in their midst grew steadily uglier. At last, when the other paused, the middle-aged man hesitated a moment before saying, "The clan chief says: though they have never been to the Dead Marsh, they know it has always been uninhabited; but this time a host of Central Plains cultivators suddenly appeared there—so naturally, naturally it is your information that was wrong."
Seeing that the middle-aged man seemed to have finished, the old man could not help but start. The mysterious one had spoken at such length, yet when the middle-aged man translated, it came to only this one sentence; no doubt the mysterious one had cursed and railed a great deal in between, and the middle-aged man was unwilling to translate it all.
The old man pondered a moment, and from his manner still seemed unwilling to fall out with the mysterious one. So he said, "The emergence of the Heavenly Emperor's Treasure House this time was attended by mighty omens that shook the world; no doubt those Central Plains cultivators heard the news and went there as well. That is beyond our control."
Still not appeased, the cloaked mysterious one let out another burst of strange sounds. The middle-aged man listened with ears cocked, nodding repeatedly, then said to the old man, "The clan chief says: that Heavenly Emperor's Dark Stone is of the utmost importance to the Great King Beast-Venerable, a matter of great consequence. This expedition returned empty-handed, and the Great King Beast-Venerable was in a towering rage—he killed several of our clansmen on the spot..."
Hearing this, the old man's expression turned grave, as though his heart were heavy; yet a flicker of mockery still could not help but dart through his eyes.
The man in the middle went on translating: "So they ask you to inquire at once into whose hands this gemstone has fallen, that they may go again and fetch it to present to the Great King Beast-Venerable!"
Hidden nearby, Ming Li felt his heart stir. Hearing them mention this thing, the Heavenly Emperor's Dark Stone, several times—could it be that wondrous stone which Xiao Hui had swallowed?
At this point the old man pondered a moment, then nodded and said, "Very well, leave this matter to us. Within three days we shall give you an answer."