Chapter 173 — The Flight
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 6 of 6
Ming Li's heart went cold, yet after all he would not give himself up; but at this moment even were he to fly on his legs he could not outrun them. He steeled himself, shut both eyes, and let his whole body slide noiselessly down onto the muddy ground, face down, buried in the mire. In the darkness he was like a heap of rotten mud cast off by this wild, storm-torn world.
Footsteps, clamor, slowly gathered and closed in; many were cursing loudly, and all the while beating at the trees and thorns around them with whatever they held. A fierce wind swept past; who could say how many came swarming.
In the darkness Ming Li lay prone and motionless, his heart seeming to have stopped beating, quietly waiting in the dark for fate's verdict.
Heaven and earth are not kind; perhaps all things are but straw dogs...
The wind and rain raged on!