劍問蒼天 - 第116章 天水寨 - 清風書屋

Xiaobai wore the ordinary dress of a southern border woman, no different in cut from what any other woman wore; yet on her, with her peerless beauty, the plain garment seemed to glow and burn, revealing a grace never seen before—as though this woman had been born to wear such clothes, every line of them betraying the particular charm of a southern border woman.

Xiaobai seemed to notice Ming Li's gaze and turned to look at him, smiling. "Well? Does this outfit suit me?"

Ming Li gave a faint smile. By temperament he was loath to answer such faintly flirtatious talk, so he changed the subject. "You seem thoroughly familiar with the customs and country here in the south. Never mind the rest—you even found that old, remote village hidden in the deep mountains near the Fénxiá Valley. Have you been here before?"

Xiaobai pursed her lips and gazed ahead. In the distance the mountains ran on, linked ridge to ridge without end, the peculiar topography of the southern borderlands. Before them an ancient road wound away, and on either side, near and far, rose rugged hills of jutting rock. Far off, the peaks met the horizon in a long chain, and the lowering dark clouds hung upon the summits, drifting with the wind.

She walked on slowly, and after a long while sighed softly and said, low and mournful, "Been here before? I did far more than that..."

Ming Li was somewhat surprised. "What do you mean?"

Xiaobai let out a long breath and shook her head with a smile, as if to shake off the years gone by. "You don't know, do you? Our fox-demon clan had its origins right here in the southern borderlands. I grew up among these barren hills and wicked waters."

Ming Li was startled. "Then how is it that for a thousand years the folk tales of the Central Plains have always borne the shadow of your fox-demons?"

Xiaobai said mildly, "Because a thousand years ago I led our fox-demon clan away from here, to the Central Plains, and in the end we settled in the Fox Qi Mountains in the southwest."

Ming Li was greatly shocked and for a moment could not speak. At last he said, his voice rough, "What—you..."

Xiaobai regarded him with interest, smiled, and a light flickered in her eyes—half coy, half world-weary. "Didn't expect that, did you? That is where your Ming Wang Sect's headquarters stands today.

"As it happens, the very name Fox Qi Mountain most likely comes from our fox-demon clan."

Ming Li was silent a long while, then said slowly, "Then have you and the Ming Wang Sect ever..."

Xiaobai did not wait for him to finish, but shook her head outright. "Set your mind at ease on that score. Our fox-demon clan and the Ming Wang Sect have been neighbors for several hundred years and have always lived in peace. More than that—in those centuries there were several love affairs between man and demon. So you see, besides repaying you for freeing me from the Black Fire Altar, knowing that you are a disciple of the Ming Wang Sect is one of the reasons I am willing to help you."

Ming Li was reassured. Then another thought struck him. "When this business is done, will you go back to the Fox Qi Mountains to visit your kin?"

"My kin?" Xiaobai's face slowly darkened. She raised her head to the sky, and after a long while said softly, "My kin are all dead, and it was I who killed them."

Ming Li was startled again. Xiaobai gave a bitter laugh, her expression more desolate than before, but she would say no more.

Ming Li was silent a moment, then shifted the subject. "We have been walking three days now. How far is it still to that Qili Tong you spoke of?"