劍問蒼天 - 第158章 掙扎 - 清風書屋

Zhou Yixuan was silent for a moment. "All right—matters having come to this, I won't hide it from you any longer..." Xiaowan and the Wild Wolf Daoist both started. Seeing that Zhou Yixuan's expression was grave and he did not seem to be jesting, they could not help but grow serious.

Zhou Yixuan began slowly: "The truth of the matter is this. When I, old sir, was young, I was handsome and dashing, elegant and refined, endowed with extraordinary talent, and brilliant beyond compare... er, don't look at me like that—I'll go on, I'll go on. When I, old sir, was young, I made my living gathering herbs. Once I went deep into the mountains to gather herbs and accidentally fell into a bottomless cliff..."

Ming Li, Xiaowan, and the Wild Wolf Daoist all frowned at once, but Zhou Yixuan seemed to grow more and more pleased as he spoke. He continued, "But I, old sir, was fated for longevity. My clothes snagged on a pine tree in midair, which broke most of my fall, and then I dropped further—only to find, to my astonishment, that at the bottom of the cliff lay a pool of water. And so I, old sir, escaped death by sheer luck..."

Xiaowan could not help cutting in, "Grandpa, this story of yours—why does it feel like I've heard it somewhere before? And it seems plenty of people tell it this way. In so many romances and storytellers' tales, the great heroes always have to fall off a cliff at least once..."

Zhou Yixuan glared at Xiaowan. "Am I telling this or are you? Shut up. Er—where was I? Ah, yes, I fell off the cliff, but I, old sir, was fated for longevity and escaped death by luck. What came next—I stumbled by chance upon a secret manual left behind by some venerable master from I know not how many years past. I, old sir, being naturally gifted, comprehended the manual there beneath the cliff, fed upon the spiritual essence of heaven and earth, and as time flowed past, I at last attained the fruits of cultivation and became an immortal..."

Ming Li said coldly, "Apart from your name, is there any part of you that resembles an immortal?"

Zhou Yixuan choked for a moment, his face somewhat embarrassed, but he quickly recovered his composure and declared with dignity, "I, old sir, act for the sake of the world's common people, doing good and accumulating merit—that is why I play my part among mortals."

Ming Li said mildly, "Then are you about to tell me that your earth-escape art was learned from that secret manual?"

Zhou Yixuan nodded vigorously and said solemnly, "Precisely so. The child is teachable." But when he had finished, he turned to look at the others around him—not Ming Li, but Xiaowan and the Wild Wolf Daoist, on whose faces the word "disbelief" was written plainly and unmistakably.

Ming Li regarded the man. Naturally he did not believe such nonsense either, but since Zhou Yixuan had spoken thus, it was clear that, whatever the case, he was unwilling to reveal his true origins and identity. Yet though this man seemed to have some tie to Canglan Mountain, Ming Li had spent time in his company before without anything untoward coming of it. Moreover, in Ming Li's heart, he had always, to one degree or another, regarded Zhou Yixuan and his two companions with a certain special favor.

At that thought, Ming Li was unwilling to press him further—though he was also unwilling to say much more. He was just about to bid the few of them a word or two and take his leave when suddenly, at that very moment, from the distant crowd to the south of He Yin City, a chorus of terrified shrieks burst forth, the sound shrill and ghastly in the extreme.