Chapter 115 — Hope
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 2 of 6
Ming Li stared at her intently, his expression shifting violently. The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox took in his look, and suddenly smiled. "Enough, enough. Since you are my benefactor, I shall do you this favor. Tomorrow I will take you searching through these parts of the southern border, to see whether any trace of the Black Witch Clan remains where I once met that fellow."
Ming Li drew a deep breath and was silent a moment, then bowed his head slightly to her. "Thank you, Senior. I am endlessly grateful. If only my friend can be saved, whatever you should ask of me in the future, you need only command it."
The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox looked at the man before her, his face full of resolve, and in his eyes a faint, gentle warmth lingering still—was he thinking of someone, she wondered?
At that thought, for some reason a certain tenderness rose in her heart—in this world of men, even if there are the unfaithful, there are, after all, still those who love deeply.
The night lay deep and all was silent, save somewhere far off in the depths of the woods where the insects of the wild sang, low and mournful, as if pouring out their hearts.
The wild wind blew past, and the treetops in the forest swayed, rustling softly.
The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox gently set Little Grey on the ground and stood there in the woods, standing blankly. After a long while she closed her eyes and turned her head slightly, as though listening for something, or as though with her body and her heart she sought to taste the feel of freedom in this world.
Footsteps sounded suddenly behind her and then stopped. Ming Li's voice came to her. "It is late, Senior. Why are you still not asleep?"
The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox did not open her eyes, nor even turn her head. She only said slowly, "And you? Why are you not asleep?"
Ming Li was silent a moment, then said, "I cannot sleep."
The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox turned around, looked at him, and smiled faintly. "A little nervous, I take it?"
Ming Li did not answer. A hope he had long since come to think all but dead had suddenly blazed up anew, and it would not let him rest.
The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox smiled a bewitching smile, all charm, so that even the night around her seemed to grow gentle. Softly she said, "There is one thing I would like to say to you."
Ming Li quickly said, "Please, Senior, speak."
The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox shot him a glare. "It is this—could you stop calling me Senior? You are fine in other respects, but for some reason you insist on calling a woman 'Senior' over and over. It makes a person sound old, you know. Is that not terribly rude?"
Ming Li was struck dumb.
So it was: whether eighteen, twenty-eight, or two thousand eight hundred years old, so long as she is a woman, she will surely fear growing old…
"Then—what should I call you?" Ming Li asked cautiously.
The woman was taken aback for a moment, then a trace of helplessness surfaced on her face. Only after a long pause did she say lightly, "Yes—what indeed? I forgot my name long ago. Let it be this way: you have seen my true form as a white fox, so just call me Little White."
"Little White…" Ming Li called, somewhat awkwardly, an odd expression on his face.
The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox seemed not to mind at all. Her gaze shifted and fell on the monkey Little Grey, crouched on the ground looking this way and that. Something occurred to her, and she asked Ming Li, "By the way, what is this monkey called? You surely do not just call him the Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey?"
Ming Li said, "I took this monkey in when I was small. I call him Little Grey."
The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox—now to be called Little White—was startled for a moment, then burst out laughing. She reached down and scooped Little Grey up into her arms, looked him over, her eyes full of mirth, and said, "Ha, so we were fated after all. Your name is Little Grey, and mine is Little White!"