劍問蒼天 - 第110章 暗殺 - 清風書屋

Shangguan Lue studied him for a moment, then said slowly, "Do you know me?"

The fish-man hesitated, then uttered a string of "ji ji ji ji."

Beside him Sun Tu immediately translated, "They say they know you."

Shangguan Lue's expression did not change. "Why have you attacked my valley? Do you take the Burning Cloud Valley for a place without men?"

Fury showed on the fish-man's face, and he began to speak in a stream of "ji ji ji ji," his voice loud with rage.

Sun Tu listened and translated as he went: "He says: 'Our clan chief was killed when he met with your people, and you claim you cannot find the murderer—plainly... plainly it was you who did it. We fish-men may not be a match for the likes of you, but we will fight to the death to avenge our clan chief!'"

Shangguan Lue's brows knit tightly, and a flicker of worry passed through his eyes. He was among the foremost figures of the Burning Cloud Valley, his cultivation unfathomable. A hundred years ago, in a secret fierce battle with the barbarian tribes of the southern frontier, Shangguan Lue had displayed his mighty power and overawed the barbarians, and from that time his fame had spread far among the sixty-three alien tribes of the southern wilds. It was for this very reason that Yun Yifeng, Valley Master of the Burning Cloud Valley, had called him forth today, though he had long since withdrawn from worldly affairs.

Moreover, Shangguan Lue had long dwelt in the southern frontier, and his knowledge of these barbarian tribes of the Ten Thousand Desolate Mountains far surpassed any other's. Of this one fish-man tribe alone he knew that they were fierce and ruthless, and that the death of their chief was to them an unprecedented and utter humiliation—so much so that they might well throw caution to the winds and let the entire tribe perish here.

Were it only this one alien tribe, Shangguan Lue would not have given it a thought. But the southern barbarians, though they fought among themselves on the surface, were bound by tangled and intricate ties beneath; and what was more, in the past hundred years a peerless figure had arisen among them, one not to be taken lightly. If that person should be stirred to action, the century-long grand design of the Burning Cloud Valley might well be ruined in a single day.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Li Xun, seeing Shangguan Lue bowed in silent thought, said softly to Sun Tu, "When I left just now, had I not already brought the situation under control? The two sides were facing off, and the fish-men had no mind to fight—they wanted our Valley Master to come out and speak. How did it come to blows again?"

Sun Tu's face screwed up in a bitter smile. "We were wondering the same! Things were fine at first—tense, yes, but neither side meant to keep fighting. Then all at once a miserable scream came from the fish-men, and one of them at the edge had somehow been killed. At that, the fish-men's eyes went red all at once, and they charged up like madmen..."

Shangguan Lue heard this, and suddenly said in a deep voice, "Was it one of ours?"

Sun Tu was struck dumb for a moment; then Lü Shun, standing nearby, said coldly, "It was chaos at the time. Who can say?"

Shangguan Lue's face went cold. Suddenly he raised his voice and called out loudly to the assembled disciples of the Burning Cloud Valley, "While the two sides faced off just now, did any of you strike a fish-man dead?"

A silence fell over the Burning Cloud Valley party. The disciples looked at one another, and for a long while not a single one came forward to admit it.

In the distance, a commotion ran through the fish-men; plainly they were in a great fury.

Shangguan Lue's brows were locked. Suddenly he said to the fish-man standing at the fore, "I will go and look at that man's corpse."

With that, without waiting for the fish-man's reply, he walked straight over.