Chapter 106 — Ancient Temple
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 5 of 7
The mysterious figure gave a snort and chirped a few words in that strange tongue. The middle-aged man nodded to the old man and said, "The clan chief has agreed. He says we are to meet again here in three days."
The old man nodded and was about to say something more, but the mysterious figure turned on his heel and strode straight out, without so much as another glance at them—insolent and rude beyond measure.
The old man's expression changed; he glared at the mysterious figure's retreating back, his face full of wrath. The middle-aged man hurriedly tugged at his sleeve, shaking his head again and again. The old man glanced at him, and only then reined in his temper.
After that tall figure had vanished into the darkness, the old man suddenly spat and cursed: "What manner of creature is that—a pack of beasts, nothing more!"
The middle-aged man smiled placatingly. "Martial Uncle, pray do not be angry. Do not stoop to their level."
The old man gave a cold laugh. "I cannot be bothered with them." Then he turned and looked at the other. "By the way, Sun Tu—three years living among those beasts, learning their birds' chatter—I suppose you suffered a great deal?"
The middle-aged man called Sun Tu smiled. "This disciple owes the sect a debt of deep grace. It is only that my talents are shallow, and I have long fretted that I could not repay the kindness of the Valley Master and my martial uncles. Now that the chance has come, how could I not do my utmost?"
At the words "Valley Master," Ming Li's heart gave a sudden start.
But the martial uncle only smiled, seeming well pleased, and clapped Sun Tu on the shoulder. Then of a sudden he laughed coldly again: "It is well the Valley Master knows me for a steady man and sent me to meet with these beasts. Had that old fellow Shangguan Lüe come, he would have ruined everything on the spot!"
Sun Tu gave a dry laugh, his expression turning somewhat odd; he murmured assent, but seemed not to dare speak ill of Shangguan Lüe behind his back.
Ming Li, standing to one side, now had no further doubt. Shangguan Lüe was one of the foremost figures of the Fenzia Valley in the south. Though he seldom walked abroad in the world, his fame had long been established. Especially in the great battle at Qingyun ten years past, when the Ghost King had laid his cunning plot and sent Zhou Yin disguised as Shangguan Lüe to strike down the monks of the Fanyin Temple—the scheme had succeeded at a stroke and had well-nigh brought the Qingyun and Tianyin sects to ruin. At that time Ming Li had still been a Qingyun disciple named Zhang Qingyue, and had been present on the field; naturally that name was seared into his memory.
Hearing the two of them call the mysterious figure a "beast" to his face, the man's identity now seemed ready to leap from the shadows—only that the Fenzia Valley lineage, ever upright and righteous, should now reek of such incredible evil.
Ming Li watched the two men coldly in the great hall, and in the darkness a cold, contemptuous smile curved at the corner of his mouth.
In the hall the two conferred a few words more. Sun Tu blew out the candle with a single breath, and the two made for the door, plainly intending to leave. Ming Li frowned in the shadows and was pondering what to do when suddenly, from beyond the old temple, came a strange, savage cry!
Everyone in the temple started in alarm; the old man and Sun Tu halted in their tracks at the same instant.
The sound was shrill with fury, and seemed to carry a thread of panic as well—yet it seemed the roar of some wild beast rather than a human cry. But Ming Li, straining his ears a moment, at once made out that it seemed to come from the mysterious figure who had been wrapped in the cloak; his brows knit together. The old man and Sun Tu had heard it too, and their faces changed drastically; in the same instant they leapt into the air and flew out of the temple.