Chapter 137 — The Heartbroken

Mount Huqi, the headquarters of the Hades Sect.

Three days had passed since the shaman's death. Qinglong had ordered the old man's body cremated, and the ashes kept in an urn. Now that small blue-and-white jar rested quietly on the table beside his hand.

Qinglong gazed at the little urn for a long while, sighed softly, and looked away. In those three days, all affairs of the Hades Sect, great and small, had been handled by him and Yousi. After the upheaval three days before, both the Hades Lord and Mingli had shut themselves in their rooms and had not emerged since.

Qinglong remembered with perfect clarity how, three days ago, the heavy stone door had slowly opened with a creak, and the two men who had stepped out—two men who feared almost nothing in all the world—had looked like souls torn from their bodies, their faces dazed and desolate.

The Hades Lord had at least managed a low "For three days, no one is to disturb me!" With that, he had walked straight to his chamber and not come out again.

As for Mingli, he had been utterly beside himself, not uttering a single word. As he walked he had actually collided head-on with the hard stone wall, so that blood ran down his forehead. Yet he seemed not to notice at all, only turning slowly and stumbling back to his own room.

The crowd, stunned by this eerie spectacle, had in truth mostly guessed the outcome. But when they looked through the stone door and saw the blood pooled across the floor, and the shaman seated upright in that blood, head bowed in death, the sight was so bleak and so savage that it shocked the heart.

Only Bili, still lying on the cold jade platform, remained serene, her lifelike face as tranquil as ever—and the Hehuan Bell in her hand was giving off a faint golden glow.

Footsteps sounded beside him, breaking into Qinglong's thoughts. He looked up to see Yousi drifting in like a ghost and coming to stand at his side. She did not look at him directly, but glanced toward the room behind him, and said softly, "The Sect Master still hasn't come out?"

Qinglong shook his head slowly. "Three days. Not a word."

The black veil over Yousi's face stirred slightly. She said nothing.

Though neither had witnessed the scene with their own eyes, they could both well imagine its desolation.

If there was anything in this world more heartbreaking than despair, it was this: to see hope—to have that hope right before your eyes—and then to be plunged into despair once more.

As the two stood wordless, face to face, a faint sound suddenly came from the door behind Qinglong.

The door was slowly opening.

Qinglong and Yousi started and turned quickly to look.

The plain wooden door swung inward with a low, soft creak, carrying a touch of the weariness of years—perhaps, too, lamenting its master's grief.

A foot stepped lightly out from that room. The Hades Lord's figure slowly emerged before them.

Qinglong and Yousi watched in silence the man who seemed to have returned from another age.

White-haired in three days!

The Hades Lord's hair had turned entirely snow-white.

Qinglong's voice, somehow, had suddenly gone hoarse and halting—and hearing it himself, he wondered whether it was really his own:

"Sect... Master, are you... all right?"

The Hades Lord's lips moved, but he did not speak. He closed his eyes, tilted his head back slightly, and drew a deep breath.

From beneath her black veil, Yousi suddenly said, "Sect Master, you must take care... of yourself." As she spoke, she somehow thought of Bili, and her voice choked.

The Hades Lord's shoulders trembled faintly, but quickly steadied. When he opened his eyes again, though the marks of sorrow and world-weariness were still graven on his face, there was already a faint light in his eyes.

It was a gaze that seemed to have seen through all the vicissitudes of the world.

"I must look... much older now!" That was what he said, his lips stirring in a faint smile—but the smile was full of bitterness.

Qinglong and Yousi both lowered their heads, unable to bear looking at this man any longer.

The Hades Lord drew another deep breath, letting the air out of his chest, and his gaze shifted. After a moment it settled on the table beside Qinglong's hand—on that small blue-and-white urn.

"In there is...?" he asked mildly.

Qinglong stepped forward, lifted the little urn, and handed it to the Hades Lord. "After the shaman passed away, this subordinate took it upon himself to have the old gentleman's body cremated. What lies in this urn are his ashes and relics."

The Hades Lord silently took the blue-and-white urn and stroked it for a long while with both hands. Then he sighed softly and said, "Though this master could not bring Yao'er back, in his dying body he spared nothing and exhausted his vital essence to gather Yao'er's soul whole. He fell short at the last step, but he is truly our great benefactor."

He handed the urn back to Qinglong. "Make the preparations. With the highest rites of our Holy Cult, escort the master back to the Southern Border with all respect."

Qinglong took the blue-and-white urn and nodded. "Yes."

The Hades Lord was silent a moment. "And Mingli? How is he?"

Qinglong hesitated, but Yousi had already spoken at his side. "Since he came out of the cold jade stone chamber, he seems to have collapsed entirely—like a man who has lost his soul. He stumbled and staggered all the way back to his room and has not come out since." She paused, then said softly, "As of today, that makes three days as well."

The Hades Lord's face was bleak. He slowly clasped his hands behind his back and after a long moment murmured, "Ten years of sorrow, all in one night at the heart! Ah—come, let us go see him."

With that he walked slowly away, hands behind his back. Qinglong and Yousi exchanged a glance and followed silently behind him.

Seen from behind, the Hades Lord with his head of white hair cut a strangely desolate figure.

Mingli's room was quite far from the Hades Lord's own quarters, yet very close to the cold jade stone chamber where Bili lay. That was because the Hades Lord, unwilling to grieve more, kept his distance from the stone chamber where his daughter rested, while Mingli, whenever he was on Mount Huqi, went to visit Bili almost every day.

As the three of them passed through the corridor and gradually drew near Mingli's room, Qinglong and Yousi, walking behind, clearly noticed something strange in the Hades Lord's bearing—perhaps because this place was once again near that place of sorrow.

But none of them said a word.

At last they came to the lonely stone door. No one else was near the place where Mingli lived; he had always preferred solitude. Only, some distance from his door, a single disciple of the Hades Sect still stood watch.

The Hades Lord stepped forward, opened the stone door, and went in—then paused. Qinglong and Yousi sensed something amiss as well, and stepped inside to look. The room was completely empty: not only was Mingli gone, but Little Grey was gone too. Everything in the room stood as usual, without the slightest sign of having been disturbed—only the bed looked a little rumpled.

Qinglong frowned, turned, and called out. The Hades Sect disciple standing outside hurried in and knelt before the Hades Lord. "Greetings, Sect Master!"

The Hades Lord turned to look. Qinglong said softly at his side, "These past days, apart from handling sect affairs, this subordinate has been waiting outside the Sect Master's door. As for this place, I left these disciples to keep careful watch."

The Hades Lord nodded slightly and turned to the disciple. "Where has the Vice Sect Master gone?"