Chapter 148 — Civil Strife
劍問蒼天 · Page 3 of 7
Qin Wujiu was taken aback, not knowing what Daoist Cang Yan meant by such a sudden question. But this man's manner tonight was truly strange and unfathomable—and more than that, he had seen through the trick Qin Wujiu had played on the sect leader's seal. He could not be allowed to live, most likely. Thinking thus, Qin Wujiu said mildly, "It is now the hour of the Ox; it has only just passed. Why—has the Daoist some instruction for me?" As he spoke, he stepped once more toward Daoist Cang Yan.
Daoist Cang Yan at once stepped back a pace and nodded. "That is well, then. Letting your master pass his seventh day in peace—that too may count as a token of my regard."
Qin Wujiu was startled, and before he could make sense of it, Daoist Cang Yan's figure suddenly moved. In the blink of an eye he had flashed to the door of the mourning hall, gathered his breath, and cried aloud: "Eh—the sect leader's seal... ah..." The first few words were full of astonishment. Halfway through, though he plainly still stood there whole and unharmed, Daoist Cang Yan suddenly gave a cry of agony as though grievously wounded—as if ambushed by someone.
Qin Wujiu's face changed at once, but it was too late to stop him. Daoist Cang Yan's voice was already echoing over the silent, deep Valley of the Venomous Serpents. Moments later echoes seemed to rebound from afar, until the whole valley was full of faint, lingering "ah" sounds.
For the first instant, the Valley of the Venomous Serpents seemed startled into a deathly stillness even deeper than before. But only a moment passed before countless clamorous sounds surged up from every corner of the valley, roaring like great waves. Countless men who had long been waiting, weapons in hand, sprang forth; questions, curses, shouts of command—all blended into an invisible tide that came pouring from every direction toward the mourning hall.
Daoist Cang Yan turned his head and smiled slightly. He waved a hand at Qin Wujiu, whose face was ashen, and said, "Worthy nephew, your uncle has given you a helping hand. Should you one day manage to sit upon the sect leader's throne, do not forget today's kindness!" Then he said no more. His figure flickered, and before Qin Wujiu could pounce to the doorway, he had flown swiftly out into the darkness beyond and vanished in an instant.
Qin Wujiu leaned against the door, gasping, his eyes full of fury. Plainly Daoist Cang Yan's sudden move had utterly wrecked his careful plans. Now the voices around him rose in a clamor, and the mourning hall was about to be surrounded by the countless men of his three senior brothers. Qin Wujiu stamped his foot hard, made his decision on the spot, and like Daoist Cang Yan plunged into the darkness outside the house; moments later his figure was gone.
In the next instant, countless venomous disciples of the Ten Thousand Venoms Sect, torches and blades in hand and killing intent in their hearts, came charging ferociously into the Venom God's mourning hall, led by the Venom God's three chief disciples.
And after a moment of stillness, angry battle cries rose beneath the night sky of the Valley of the Venomous Serpents, sweeping over the whole valley in an instant.
The night grew deeper still.
When the rising sun cast its first light upon the earth, Daoist Cang Yan, who had slipped unnoticed from the Valley of the Venomous Serpents, was already riding his sword high in the air above a small town four hundred li northeast of the valley. He scanned the town and its surroundings carefully from the sky, then, as though having found what he sought, descended at once toward a small hill north of the town.
That nameless hill was mostly covered in wild maples; seen from the sky it was a sheet of red, very beautiful. Before the maple grove stood three men and one woman—none other than the King of Hell, Mr. Ghost, Mingli, and Yousi.