劍問蒼天 - 第153章 夜飲 - 清風書屋

Xiao Hui nodded frantically at once, jumped down from Ming Li's shoulder, chirping and gesturing wildly. Ming Li drew a deep breath, looked back at the cave entrance, which had now merged with the lie of the mountain so that no trace of it could be seen, nodded, and said, "All right. We have to wait a month before we go back in to see Bi Li anyway. While we wait, let us wander about and ease our hearts."

Xiao Hui was overjoyed, hopping and skipping on the ground, grinning wide. Ming Li caught its mood, and his own spirits could not help but lift. He scolded with a laugh, "Enough! Get up here, or you can just stay here by yourself."

Xiao Hui ducked its head, came darting back with a swish, and in a few scrambles climbed onto Ming Li's shoulder, chuckling. Ming Li shook his head, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth as well. His hand moved, and that familiar chill sensation rose again. Ming Li seemed to think of something and hesitated. Xiao Hui, puzzled why he had not yet taken flight, chirped twice. Ming Li glanced back at it, then smiled faintly and said softly, "Life is lonely—why trouble oneself with so much?"

Xiao Hui blinked twice, plainly not quite understanding these two sudden remarks. Ming Li said no more; with a flick of his hand, blue light surged, and the Soul-devouring Demon Staff was summoned. Bearing the two of them, man and monkey, it rose straight into the blue sky and left Mount Huqi behind.

The nearest place to Mount Huqi where people lived was a small town two hundred li to the northeast, called Sanfu Town. Sanfu Town had not many people, but there were several villages around it, so it could just barely be called lively. In former days, to keep their secrecy, the Nether King Sect generally did not go to Sanfu Town when buying grain, wine, and other daily goods, but went to more distant towns instead, lest the orthodox path or other factions of the demonic cult discover where their main hall lay. Still, before returning to the mountain, many of the Nether King Sect's disciples would stop to rest in Sanfu Town.

In the past Ming Li had passed through Sanfu Town with Xiao Hui as well. Not often, but Xiao Hui was clever beyond measure and had remembered it firmly. Now, barely out of Mount Huqi, Xiao Hui was waving its arms frantically on Ming Li's shoulder, pointing all the while toward Sanfu Town—clearly it wanted to go drink and eat there. Ming Li shook his head, but said nothing, and turned their course toward Sanfu Town.

Two hundred li was no great distance to a cultivator flying through the air. Amid blue sky and white clouds, a streak of blue light tinged faintly with black flickered and flew, slicing across the heavens.

Xiao Hui lay restlessly on his shoulder, tilting its head from time to time, its long monkey tail swinging this way and that—who knew whether it was thinking of the delicacies it would soon enjoy. Ming Li, steering the Soul-devouring Staff, looked down at the land below. The country around Mount Huqi need hardly be described—a barren stretch of bald hills. Beyond the Huqi range the terrain grew flatter, but the wilds were silent and empty, likewise without a soul. Seen from on high, only a desolate ancient road stretched out alone across the wilderness, and where it led, no one could say.

Ming Li suddenly sighed, but said nothing; only Xiao Hui, finding it strange, stole a few more glances at its master.

After less than half an hour's flight to the northeast, they had come above Sanfu Town. Far below, roofs stretched on and on, one joined to the next. Xiao Hui was already excited at the sight, chirping and pointing downward. Ming Li smiled. "All right, we go down now."