"We've already killed so many. A few more won't make a difference."
Listening to Gongyang Yongye's gloating taunt, the mage didn't even lift his eyelids. He could tell who was really in charge here. This old fool was neither in a position to make the call nor able to change course. Anything else he said would just be a chance to run his mouth.
"Hmph. I knew you had a black heart, you monk."
Gongyang Yongye saw right through the monk's little scheme.
The mage still ignored him.
For the sake of the brief camaraderie they'd once shared, he recited sutras to guide the five Unlucky Ghosts into the next life. Aside from Qin Li and Qi Shan, no one present understood a word of his babbling. Qin Li understood because, when he was young, he'd practiced Buddhism with his hair unshorn, spending several years cultivating his mind in a temple deep in the mountains. He'd gained some real knowledge of Buddhist teachings. Qi Shan understood because he'd once gone to considerable trouble for Young Master Qin.
His motives had been impure. He'd only learned enough to put on a convincing act.
Watching Qin Li sit cross-legged and recite the sutras too, Qi Shan let out a cold snort. "He's guiding them into the next life out of the sorrow of the fox when the hare dies, the grief of one of his own kind. Perhaps he thinks he might lose his life soon, so he's reciting a few sutras for himself in advance. How did our Young Tutor Qin of Kang end up learning this stuff too?"
"Soldiers make sacrifices too," Qin Li said.
Qi Shan's expression held neither joy nor sorrow. He looked down and saw that Qin Li had sat on someone's outer robe. Wherever Qin Li