Chapter 255 — Nestling Close

Xiaohui grinned. Xiaobai held out her hand; the monkey leaped up, clambered up her shoulder in a few bounds, and sat down. Xiaobai then went to Ming Li, crouched before him, gazed at him silently for a while, and said softly, "All right. Let's go home."

A white light blazed suddenly from the little hilltop, shot up into the clouds, and, with something of a resolve to cut itself off from the dreadful spectacle behind, flew north without a single backward glance.

The mountain wind blew gently across the land, still carrying a touch of searing heat, like a tender hand soothing the wounded earth. And in the distance, that vast wound which had once been Mount Huqi remained shrouded in red shadow, shaking endlessly at all things under heaven, as though in menace—or in mad laughter.

The Central Plains. Mount Canglan.

At the foot of Mount Canglan there was still a scene of teeming, flourishing life: green grass everywhere and dense woods, and from deep within the trees came the sweet chirping of birds from time to time. Though it lacked the air of an immortal realm that clung to the seven peaks of Mount Canglan, it possessed far more of the warmth of the mortal world.

Amid a dense stand of weeds that grew knee-high, broken and crumbling walls stood quietly. This place had once been a small village called "Liumiao Village," but now all had long since changed with the passing of time.

A faint breeze came, stirring the green grass and carrying a touch of its fresh fragrance.

A white light descended slowly from the heavens, and before Xiaobai had even steadied herself, Xiaohui had already leaped impatiently from her shoulder, rolled vigorously several times in the green grass, and cried out again and again, looking utterly excited and delighted.

A faint smile touched the corner of Xiaobai's mouth. Then she carefully supported Ming Li and sat him down against a broken wall. By this time Ming Li had awakened from his stupor, yet to look at him, he seemed even worse than when he had been unconscious.

His face was deathly pale, scarcely a trace of blood in it; his eyes were open, yet hollow and empty, devoid of all expression, neither turning nor blinking. His whole body gave off a dead, lifeless air—he looked more like a walking corpse than a living man.

Seeing Ming Li in such a state, a shade of anxiety flitted across Xiaobai's face. In truth, on the road back to Liumiao Village several days ago, Ming Li had already awakened from his coma; but from the very moment he woke, he had been like this, and had never changed, no matter what methods Xiaobai tried, no matter how she exhausted her words in persuasion—all to no avail.

Sometimes Xiaobai even doubted whether all those countless gentle words and tender exhortations she had spoken had ever reached Ming Li's ears at all.

Though she had some understanding of it, Xiaobai had still not expected that Bili's departure would wound Ming Li so deeply. She sighed, yet there was nothing she could do. Even if she was the Nine-Tailed Sky Fox with a thousand years of cultivation, what could she possibly do in the face of human feelings?

Nearby, Xiao Hui went bouncing off into the distant woods, and after a while came sauntering back, clutching a number of wild fruits in his hands. He ran up to Ming Li and Xiaobai, squeaking as he held them out to them. It seemed he knew the area around here remarkably well after all. Xiaobai turned to look at the gray-furred monkey and sighed, took a wild fruit from his hand, gave him a faintly bitter smile, and said, "Ah, Xiao Hui, you're the best one of all. You're happy all day long. If only your master were the same, then..."

She shook her head slightly and said no more. She put the fruit to her mouth and bit into it; the juice seemed quite sweet and very tasty.

Xiao Hui grinned at Xiaobai, then held the fruit up before Ming Li, but Ming Li remained as he was, motionless. Xiao Hui waited a while; he seemed to realize that Ming Li would not take any food, so he shrugged his shoulders, set the fruit on the ground, then grabbed a fruit in each hand, nestled up beside Ming Li, sat down, and began munching away.

It was midafternoon now. The two of them and the monkey sat quietly like this amid the ruins of the broken village. Xiaobai said nothing more, and Ming Li was still in that same state, so naturally he made no sound either. As for Xiao Hui, after eating a good many wild fruits, he rested his head on Ming Li's thigh, sprawled out his limbs, and went noisily to sleep.

Time slipped soundlessly away, unheeded. The scenery in the sky shifted ceaselessly; in the azure vault, white clouds drifted, one after another. A gentle breeze passed over the mortal world, and the green grass rustled softly, stirring the edges of garments and strands of hair, carrying with it a touch of languor.

The sun sank westward, and the light of the sky gradually dimmed.

Night fell. A bright moon had just appeared, still hanging far off in the eastern sky, while a few stars had already begun to blink, watching over yet another night in this world of men.

Xiao Hui gave a few low grumbles in his throat, rolled over, and went on sleeping soundly. In his dreams, his face seemed to wear a smile still. Was it, perhaps, that he was always so quick to forget his troubles and sorrows, remembering only the happy things?

Beneath the faint moonlight, Xiaobai quietly rose. She lifted her head and gazed at the moonlight at the edge of the sky, as if pondering something. After a long while, she turned and looked back at that figure, still motionless, already merged into the darkness.

She gave a soft sigh and stepped away into the distance. The night wind blew gently; her white garments fluttered with it. Walking alone under the moon, that full and beautiful figure drifted away like a lovely silhouette from ages past.

The moonlight was especially bright this night...

On Xiaozhu Peak of Mount Canglan, Lu Xueling sat alone before the window. Her white robes were like snow, and the clear radiance like frost, lending a radiant glow to her beautiful face. Moonlight poured down from the sky and fell upon her at the window, like rippling water.

She could not say just how many nights it had been that she had sat quietly at the window like this, gazing at the myriad stars and the bright moon in the night sky.

Clear radiance illumines a lone shadow.

One should pity the coldness of moonlight.

From afar came the faint, rhythmic rustle of bamboo—the mountain wind passing through the bamboo groves on Xiaozhu Peak. Beneath the moonlight, the delicate breeze blew here as well, stealing quietly in through the window and lifting a small corner of her garment.

Tianxuan leaned quietly against one side of the window, seeming, like its beautiful mistress, to bathe in the clear, cold moonlight and gaze at the horizon.

The moon slowly climbed to mid-sky. Lu Xueling gazed at it in silence, and between her elegant brows was lightly locked a faint sorrow of longing.

"Are you well?"

The whisper, almost impossible to hear, was murmured softly on her lips, yet the gentle moonlight stirred not the slightest ripple; it merely continued to spill down in silence.

The longing on her beautiful face seemed to deepen by another degree.

Suddenly, at that very moment, as if she had sensed something all at once, Lu Xueling frowned. Her body, which had been leaning, slowly straightened. Light flickered in her eyes; she drew them back from the bright moon at the edge of the sky and looked out beyond the room.

Outside the little hut, not far away, was a small grove of bamboo. Beneath the moonlight, the slender stalks cast long, thin shadows on the ground—only now, among those shadows, there was already the indistinct silhouette of a person.

Lu Xueling's expression shifted slightly. She rose and said coldly, "Which honored one might you be? Please show yourself and meet me face to face."