Chapter 255 — Nestling Close

A white shadow streaked across the sky and came down upon a small hill some dozen li from Mount Huqi. A faint light flickered for a moment, then scattered, revealing the figure of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, Xiaobai.

Gently she laid the body of Ming Li, whom she had been carrying, upon the ground, then examined him carefully once more; only after she had made certain he had suffered no grave injury did she let out a breath of relief and slowly rise. Her white robes were scorched in many places, turned sallow or even charred black, and in the worst spots the searing flames had burned several small holes clean through, through which her fair skin could faintly be seen.

Yet Xiaobai paid her own condition no mind at all. Having steadied herself, she turned and stood, gazing off toward the way they had come.

Far off on the horizon, a colossal pillar of blazing fire had left an indelible mark upon the sky; even at such a distance, Xiaobai could still feel the searing heat in the mountain wind that blew against her face. And there, above the ruins that had once been Mount Huqi, amid the torrent of lava slowly subsiding in the heavens, an eerie red radiance grew ever more violent, dancing madly in midair, and deep within it there seemed vaguely to be a blood-red figure laughing on in reckless abandon.

Xiaobai gazed silently into the distance for a long while. The expression on her face could hardly be called hatred or grief—or rather, she merely watched, faintly and calmly, all that which in the eyes of ordinary mortals would have seemed like the end of the world.

Behind her there suddenly came a faint rustling sound. Xiaobai turned, and for a moment was struck dumb: Ming Li still lay flat upon the ground without moving, but the cloth at his chest heaved a few times, and then a gray shape crawled out—it was the monkey, Xiaohui.

Xiaobai stared at this in disbelief, then smiled, clapped her hands, opened her arms wide, and laughed. "Little fellow, I never thought you'd be so clever. Come here, quick."

Xiaohui crouched on Ming Li's chest, glanced at her master, raised a hand to scratch its head, its three eyes rolling as it peered around, then gave two chattering chirps and leaped over into Xiaobai's hands.

A gentle smile surfaced on Xiaobai's face. She cradled Xiaohui in her arms and softly stroked its head and fur, and then noticed that the monkey bore many wounds, some of them badly split open and looking none too light.

"Ai..." Xiaobai sighed softly and shook her head. Carrying Xiaohui, she went to Ming Li's side, found a spot by the roots of a tree, and sat down. Setting Xiaohui on the ground before her, she reached into her robes and drew out a small jade bottle, saying with no little tenderness, "Xiaohui, following this unlucky fellow, you've truly suffered a great deal too."

Xiaohui's three eyes blinked in unison, then it shook its head again and again like a rattle-drum, chirping "zhi zhi zhi zhi" all the while, and actually seemed somewhat angry and indignant—evidently it did not at all like hearing Xiaobai speak ill of Ming Li.

Xiaobai shot the gray-furred monkey a look. "Yes, yes, I know. Your master is simply the best," she said, half in exasperation.

Xiaohui grinned, reached up to rub its head, and looked quite pleased.

Xiaobai picked the monkey up again, and at the same time poured several small green pills from the jade bottle, crushed them between her fingers into a fine green powder, then carefully sprinkled the powder, bit by bit, into Xiaohui's bleeding wounds. The powder melted upon contact with flesh; in no time it had seeped into the monkey's skin, giving off a faint hissing sound, and in the blink of an eye most of Xiaohui's wounds had stopped bleeding and begun to heal—plainly it was wondrously effective against external injuries.

Xiaobai waited a while longer, until the powder had entirely vanished into the wounds. Then, after a moment's thought, she tore several strips of white cloth from her own robes and carefully bound up the wounds on Xiaohui's body. Throughout this the monkey stayed perfectly still, letting her work without a movement, as though it understood that Xiaobai meant well.

Very soon Xiaobai had finished bandaging Xiaohui's wounds, and at a glance the monkey had white cloth strips bound about its chest, right arm, left leg, and the back of its head—looking rather like a gravely wounded soldier, and a touch comical besides.

Xiaohui seemed a little unused to it, and kept looking itself over, its arms twitching restlessly, sorely tempted to go and inspect its bandaged wounds. Xiaobai glared at it from the side and scolded, "Don't move!"

Xiaohui gave a start, hopped back a step, then grinned and indeed stopped fidgeting.

Just then, Ming Li's body, lying to one side, suddenly stirred; a low moan escaped his lips. Xiaobai and Xiaohui both looked over at once, and after a moment Xiaobai sighed softly.

The man was plainly still not in his right mind, yet the name he murmured low was still that same one: Bili...

Xiaobai rose and walked slowly a few steps out into the open, gazing toward Mount Huqi. Behind her, Xiaohui scratched its head, followed, caught hold of her garments and clambered up, seating itself upon her shoulder as it did every day.

A faint trace of sorrow flickered through Xiaobai's eyes; she reached out and gently stroked Xiaohui. Before them, that Mount Huqi had forever vanished from this world, leaving only a dreadful vast abyss, the searing lava that flowed ceaselessly within it, and that red bloody radiance running wild and arrogant in midair.

"Xiaohui, what are we to do?" Xiaobai said softly. Though she spoke to Xiaohui, it seemed more as though she were asking herself. Her brows were lightly knit, as if with a compassion and sorrow that could not be undone. "Bili is gone. I'm truly afraid that he... won't be able to live on."

Xiaohui did not speak, only staring blankly at Xiaobai, its three eyes turning gently, whether it understood the meaning of her words or not. Xiaobai smiled faintly, a trace of bitterness in it, turned, and looked at the man who still breathed softly and yet seemed to have no life left in him at all.

"What is to be done? Seeing him like this, my heart aches as well..."

Xiaohui suddenly began chirping "zhi zhi zhi zhi." Xiaobai listened with her head tilted for a while, then gave a bitter laugh, shook her head, lifted Xiaohui down from her shoulder and held it to her breast, and said softly, "Go home? That sounds fine, but..." She glanced at Ming Li, shook her head, and said gently to Xiaohui, "Does he even have a home?"

The moment the words left her mouth, somehow Xiaobai's own heart seemed to pang. She turned her head blankly and looked at Ming Li's face, and at some point, unbeknownst to her, that man's temples had actually come to bear white hairs.

Some say the seas may turn to mulberry fields over a thousand or ten thousand years, and yet in the blink of an eye all may become沧桑—yet who can truly say, in this one human life?

Xiaobai felt somewhat lost, and could not help sinking into faint reverie, until a moment later she was startled awake by Xiaohui's movements and sounds beside her. She shook her head and gave a bitter smile—this time, for her own sake. How many years had it been, and still she was so sentimental.

Then she turned to look at Xiaohui, and saw the gray-furred monkey leap down from her arms, stand upon the ground gesturing wildly, pointing again and again toward the north, chirping "zhi zhi zhi zhi" without cease.

Xiaobai watched for a good while, her brows gradually drawing together. After a long moment she said suddenly, "You mean, we go to his earliest home?"

Xiaohui nodded again and again.

Xiaobai looked at Ming Li, saw that he still wore that deathly lifeless look, was silent a moment, then sighed. "That's the only way, then. Let's go—whatever else, it's better than staying here."