Chapter 157 — The Secret
劍問蒼天 · Page 3 of 6
Ming Li gave a low whistle, beckoned with his right hand, and the Soul-devouring Black Staff flew back, stabbing into the clod from behind; the earth burst apart in an instant, and a black-clad figure darted out, drifting light as a specter to settle upon that mysterious coffin deep in the room—it was plainly none other than Master Ghost.
The Soul-devourer slowly descended and returned to Ming Li's hand. Ming Li fixed his gaze on Master Ghost and did not strike; Master Ghost likewise turned slowly to look at Ming Li, and suddenly said, "How did you see where I was hiding?"
Ming Li was silent and made no answer, only watching him coldly. Master Ghost's black veil stirred slightly; he nodded and said, "Very well. You and I may not be friends hereafter, so it is only natural you will not tell me. But tonight is not yet over—I would like to see just how deep the cultivation runs in this man who is said to command the true arts of all three great factions."
Ming Li's pupils contracted slightly. Though just now he had caught Master Ghost off guard and driven the Soul-devourer into the place where he secretly hid, counting it as the upper hand, his expression had not eased in the least. He had struck the unintended with the intended, driving the Soul-devourer into the clod of earth—yet Master Ghost was truly like a specter, hollow and empty, and no trace could be seen of the Blood-devouring Bead's demonic power working upon him. This man was so mysterious and unfathomable as to be unlike any Ming Li had ever met.
Seeing the two locked in confrontation, and sensing that another fierce exchange of arts was imminent, Zhou Yixuan, his panic somewhat settled, hastily tugged at Xiaowan and the Wild Wolf Daoist. The two came to their senses and realized that with two men of such uncanny arts dueling here, the danger was extreme; they hurriedly found a gap in the already crumbling wall and squeezed through. Just before leaving, Xiaowan seemed to remember something, reached out a hand, and took Zhou Xingyun's spirit tablet with her.
The three left the house one after another, and of course Ming Li and Master Ghost both knew it perfectly well—but Ming Li gave no sign, and Master Ghost, with a great enemy before him, seemed to have no attention to spare for them now. They had barely gotten away when the house was once again seized by a great wind, sand flying and stones scattering; standing beyond the breach in the wall, Zhou Yixuan and the other two were still pushed back several feet by the violent gale.
Zhou Yixuan pulled Xiaowan far back, a full three zhang away, before turning to look back at the house. Yet from this distance he could no longer feel that two masters were fighting fiercely within—it seemed they had kept their power confined to the house all along. And seen from afar, the house now flickered with strange lights: besides the ghostly green glow that had been there from the start, there now flashed from time to time gold, red, deathly white, azure, and many another uncanny hue. Had it not been for the spectral gloom and the thick killing intent, it might almost have seemed a gay and pretty sight.
Xiaowan gazed at the house and said softly to Zhou Yixuan, who seemed about ready to run for it, "Grandpa, isn't it rather bad for us to just leave like this?"
Zhou Yixuan and the Wild Wolf Daoist walking beside him both started, and turned to look at Xiaowan. Zhou Yixuan frowned and said, "Silly girl, what are you thinking? Those two are murderous great demons. We're lucky just to have escaped with our lives—what would we stay here for?"
Xiaowan hesitated a moment, then said, "But—but he did it to save us, after all, that's why he..."