Chapter 847 – A Zither-Playing Old Man (2/2)

His speed was too fast, even faster than the time it took for his image to vanish.

The blind zither player looked into the distance, disregarding this. His withered hands continued to pluck the strings, but the tone of the music changed.

The tune he played was 'Yellow River', the song that Qiushan Jun had sung on that dusk.

The notes of the zither seemed like real objects, falling on the river. Water splashed, appearing like golden liquid.

The notes silently cut at the blurred image.

A shrill scream of pain came from nowhere.

A severed tail, stained with black blood, dropped from the sky.

It turned out that Chusu had not been hiding in the river, but had once more concealed himself in the light of the array pivot.

With a clatter of metal, a chain shot into the sky and wrapped around the severed tail.

The girl sprinkled cosmetic powder over the tail, like she was cooking or pickling.

Tightly bound by the chain, the tail still struggled, seemingly alive. Gradually, it grew still, and only then did it truly die.

One of the sesame-seed-candy-selling elders walked over, using the leather paper that was used in wrapping candy to enclose the tail.

After all this was done, everyone looked to the blind zither player.

The government laborers, peddlers, fortune-tellers, candy-selling elders, and cosmetic-buying little girl were the Fivekind Man of the Tang clan.

But this was not all of them.

They were the Fivekind of the Fivekind Man, but there was still the man to be accounted for.

That man was their teacher, and also their leader.

”Three li to the west.”

The seven peddlers were still maintaining the array. As the streamers fluttered in the wind, the fortune-tellers once more ascertained Chusu's position.

The government laborers raised their chains and gripped their cudgels, preparing to continue the pursuit.

The candy-selling elders and cosmetic-buying girl began packing up their things.

Their faces were calm and emotionless.

Since the blind zither player had acted, no matter how skilled Chusu was at concealment, how supremely insidious his attacks, only death awaited him.

The blind zither player did not move.

The government laborers, peddlers, elders, and girl all looked to him.

”Enough.”

The blind zither player closed his eyes and continued to strum his zither.

……

……

Time does not pass at the same speed for all. So it is for different moods and different people, and so it is for the beginning and end of events.

As one approaches the boundary, time often moves much faster.

The mahjong game in the Tang clan's old estate had already stopped.

The mahjong game in the ancestral hall was now approaching its final moments.

Two hours was almost up.

The three people at the table were clearly growing more and more nervous, their foreheads soaked with more and more sweat.

”Sixteenth Uncle, you and Seventeenth Uncle were twins. You've always been close, and so I think that you must definitely want to avenge him.”

Tang Thirty-Six looked at this uncle and said, ”But you must understand that he was not killed by the Demon Lord or the Pope. He was killed by Second Uncle.”

Hearing this, the Tang Sixteenth Master went through a sudden change in expression. Staring back, he demanded, ”Proof.”

Tang Thirty-Six said, ”Due to the matter of the Cinnabar Pill, a bishop of the Hall of Illustrious Persons was expelled from the Li Palace. You should know of this person.”

The Tang Sixteenth Master's complexion gradually turned dark. ”He accompanied Seventeen to Gaoyang Village.”

Tang Thirty-Six glanced at the tile in his hand, then said, ”He did not die.”

The Tang Sixteenth Master said, ”No matter who did it, even if it… was Second Brother, there's no reason for that person to continue living.”

Tang Thirty-Six raised his head to glance at him as he stated, ”This illustrates a certain principle: suicide always ends up being more difficult than killing another.”

The Tang Sixteenth Master suddenly rose as he said, ”Give him to me.”

Tang Thirty-Six lowered his head back down and began organizing his tiles. ”That depends on whether Sixteenth Uncle is willing to give me what I want.”