劍問蒼天 - 第90章 螳螂 - 翰墨軒

The Wild Wolf Daoist followed Ming Li, stumbling and sinking through the muck as he made his way deeper into the Dead Marsh.

A heavy rain had only just passed, and the already soft earth was now mired beyond measure. Yet for some reason, ever since Ming Li's meeting with Qin Wujiu and Jin Pingyue, he had insisted on walking rather than riding his flying artifact.

It seemed that he, like Jin Pingyue, was secretly wary of something.

On any other day, the Wild Wolf Daoist would have at least grumbled without end, if not outright cursed. But now he seemed somewhat distracted, and astonishingly said not a word, following silently behind Ming Li—which made Ming Li rather curious.

Seeing the Wild Wolf Daoist's absent look, Ming Li lowered his voice and said mildly, "What's the matter with him?"

The words seemed almost spoken to himself, for there was no one about but the cold marsh ponds and reeds—and Xiao Hui, the monkey perched on his shoulder.

It was Xiao Hui, who a moment ago had looked drowsy, that suddenly seemed jolted by something at Ming Li's question. He grew excited at once, his clever little eyes rolling in their sockets, and with a bound he leaped from Ming Li's shoulder and began to caper about.

Such strange behavior startled even the Wild Wolf Daoist behind them, who turned to look.

Xiao Hui seemed quite excited, grinning and chattering, waving his arms at Ming Li. After a moment his eyes darted, and he suddenly hopped aside, scooped up some water from a nearby pond in his palms, and poured it over his own monkey head. Then he pointed at the sky, bouncing and hopping.

The Wild Wolf Daoist stared, eyes fixed. He walked up beside Ming Li and said, "What's this? Has this—has this monkey gone mad?"

Ming Li frowned, then said softly to Xiao Hui, "Rain?"

Xiao Hui was overjoyed and nodded vigorously. Then he plucked a leaf from some unnameable plant nearby, held it over his head as if to ward something off, and struck a coy pose, twisting his body this way and that, then—as if performing a play—passed the leaf from right hand to left, and from left hand to right again.

Watching and watching, the Wild Dog Daoist felt a sudden, inexplicable pang of guilt. Staring at that strange monkey, he said to Ming Li, "Mad, mad—this monkey has surely gone mad."

At that moment Xiao Hui tossed the leaf aside, scrambled back onto Ming Li's shoulder in a few bounds, and began pointing at the direction they had come from, chattering without cease.

Ming Li pondered a moment, then slowly turned around and looked at the Wild Wolf Daoist.

The Wild Wolf Daoist forced a smile. "Wh—what are you looking at me for?"

Ming Li's gaze flicked to the bundle behind him and he said mildly, "When it rained just now, did you lend your umbrella to—to…" Here he frowned slightly again, glanced at Xiao Hui, thought a moment, and went on: "Did you lend your umbrella to that little fortune-telling girl to keep off the rain?"

"Squeak—"

Before the Wild Wolf Daoist could make a sound, Xiao Hui on Ming Li's shoulder had already cried out and leaped up in great excitement, his monkey face grinning so wide his eyes nearly vanished.

The Wild Wolf Daoist's face flushed red and pale by turns, his expression mortified beyond words. Suddenly he jabbed a finger at Ming Li and shouted angrily, "You brat, let me tell you—your Daoist master has slain men like hemp in his day, and those who died by my hand number no less than a thousand, maybe eight hundred…"

Ming Li glanced at him, and astonishingly paid him no mind at all. He turned and strode on, saying mildly, "Whether you killed a thousand or eight hundred, what has that to do with me?"

The Wild Wolf Daoist choked, his bluster dying in his throat. He heard Ming Li ahead go on unhurriedly: "Besides, whether you killed a thousand or eight hundred, what has that to do with lending your umbrella to that little girl?"

At this he stopped in his tracks and looked back at the Wild Wolf Daoist.