劍問蒼天 - 第192章 暗傷 - 清風書屋

Jin Pingyue gave a charming smile and stepped forward twice, standing before Ming Li and gazing awhile at the endless mountains. Then she raised a hand and pointed to one peak whose slopes from the summit down were a strange, scorched black. "See that black mountain? Once we cross that ridge, at the foot of the mountain lies the ancient cave of demon-sealing."

Ming Li lifted his eyes. Sure enough, he saw that most peculiar peak; from afar, it seemed to have no sunlight at all. On the contrary, it was forever veiled in a faint black mist, betraying a certain mystery.

Ming Li nodded. "Then let us be on our way."

With that he strode forward, but Jin Pingyue did not stir, still standing where she was. After a few steps Ming Li sensed she was not following and turned back, faintly puzzled. "What is it?" he asked.

Jin Pingyue shot him a sidelong glare, yet even that look of reproach held a certain seductive charm in the warm, gentle sunlight. "You are of course a formidable figure," she said. "It is only a pity that what stands before you is a frail woman who can no longer move her legs."

Ming Li said flatly, "Count every woman under heaven, and still the name 'frail woman' would never fall to you."

Jin Pingyue gave him a radiant smile, not the least offended, and helped herself to a dry stone nearby, where she sat down. Though Ming Li had not taken her words seriously, on second thought he too realized that these past days in this strange black forest, neither of them had truly rested. So he did not insist on pressing onward, and sat down himself not far from her.

The monkey Xiaohui, who had been clinging to his shoulder all along, gave two squeaks, as if suddenly startled out of its listlessness. In a flash it was full of vigor, sprang from Ming Li's shoulder to the ground, and looked all about, its three eyes blinking without pause. Then, tail held high, it darted into the grass nearby with a swish and vanished from sight.

Jin Pingyue glanced in the direction it had gone. "This place is dangerous at every turn. Your monkey running wild like that—are you not afraid something might happen to it?"

Ming Li shook his head. "No matter. Even if the two of us came to harm, that fellow would do just fine on his own."

Jin Pingyue burst into a giggle, covering her mouth. "What do you mean, 'fellow'? It is plainly a monkey."

Ming Li glanced at her face, smooth and luminous as jade, and the faintest trace of a smile crept to the corner of his mouth. Then his gaze turned toward the direction Xiaohui had darted off, and he said slowly, "In my heart, it is worth far more than countless people in this world."

Jin Pingyue looked at his somewhat pale face, and the smile on her own face slowly faded. She gazed at Ming Li thoughtfully, while he seemed to frown, his expression suddenly darkening.

Perhaps he had suddenly realized what he had said before another.

Jin Pingyue had always been a woman of surpassing cleverness, and by no means one of those quiet, demure ladies of the world. She watched Ming Li's face in silence, her gaze soft and brimming like water, yet beneath that gaze his expression only grew uglier and uglier. Just as the awkwardness thickened and Ming Li's brow knitted tighter and tighter, Jin Pingyue suddenly spoke:

"What is wrong with you?"

Ming Li started. "What?"

Jin Pingyue looked at him, her face wearing a smile that was not quite a smile, yet in her eyes there seemed another meaning altogether. "You seem a little ill at ease," she said softly.

Ming Li coughed once. "No."

As though she had not heard his answer, Jin Pingyue went on of her own accord: "Is it that before a woman like me, you suddenly spoke some words from your heart, and now you feel a little awkward?"