Chapter 143 — Reluctance
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 1 of 7
The forest gradually fell quiet. The savage beasts that had been barking fiercely only moments before had scattered far away for some reason, and their speed was such that it genuinely startled Qinglong. Yet what he found even harder to fathom was Jīn Píngyuè's reaction upon seeing this strange youth.
The youth's gaze slowly settled upon the two of them, and after studying them carefully, he seemed to furrow his brow slightly and said, "You are from the Central Plains, are you not?"
What the youth spoke was, surprisingly, a soft, pleasant, and utterly pure Central Plains tongue. Qinglong's heart skipped a beat, and he countered, "Who are you?"
The youth smiled faintly, revealing two rows of white teeth, and there was something almost innocent in his look — utterly out of keeping with the bloody scene around them. He said with a smile, "Who am I? That is a good question," and went on slowly, "Who am I, indeed?"
Qinglong gave a cold snort and lowered his voice. "I am Qinglong of the Hades Sect. Who is this one?"
Jīn Píngyuè was startled; clearly she too knew of Qinglong's reputation. The three great factions of the demon cult had always fought bitterly among themselves, and as an outstanding disciple of the new generation of the Enchantress Sect, though she had never met Qinglong, the intelligence on such a pivotal figure of the Hades Sect was long since memorized by heart.
She gave a slight nod, which counted as a greeting. By their respective standings they ought to have been foes rather than friends, yet here in this distant southern land, with savage beasts running rampant, the two of them could not help but regard each other as comrades-in-arms.
Jīn Píngyuè glanced at the youth ahead and said in a low voice, "Be careful. He is the Beast Demon. Every savage beast around here is his underling, and his cultivation is deep." She paused, then added softly, "His arts are very strange as well."
Qinglong's brow knitted, and he was about to ask more when a roar suddenly came from behind them, followed by the unending crash of falling trees. The two turned quickly to look, and saw the white-boned serpent demon from before charging straight at them, smashing through everything in its path. Yet the lesser demons beside it were gone, likely overawed by the Beast Demon's appearance like the other beasts, and daring not to come near this place.
Qinglong had not expected the white-boned serpent demon to catch up so quickly. In the blink of an eye it was upon them, a foul wind rushing at their faces, a flash of white, and the serpent's enormous body swept across at them.
The great trees that had grown for many years were, before such a monster, swept aside almost like blades of grass; with a thunderous roar they were torn up by the roots and came flying toward them.
Qinglong and Jīn Píngyuè leapt up at the same time. Neither was an ordinary person, and both saw at a glance that this white-boned serpent demon was no common monster; its demonic qi was abundant, clearly indicating no shallow cultivation. But more important was the mysterious youth ahead, who from first to last had not lifted a hand, and whose depths neither of them could fathom at all.
Qinglong, for his part, merely harbored a secret wariness, but Jīn Píngyuè seemed to know more than he did. She was extremely tense, and even while facing the white-boned serpent demon, half her attention seemed fixed behind her.
Such a manner could not escape the eyes of the experienced Qinglong. The two of them did not grapple directly with the white-boned serpent demon, but relied on agile footwork, darting and wheeling around it, occasionally seizing a chance to strike. Yet the serpent's body seemed extraordinarily tough, and ordinary treasures and arts could not wound it.