劍問蒼天 - 第116章 天水寨 - 翰墨軒

So by degrees people began moving down to live at the foot of the hill; from few they grew to many, and in time the whole population of the stockade migrated down. As trade among the four clans flourished and travelers came and went more frequently, the settlement grew larger day by day. The old stockade on the hilltop fell gradually into ruin, and only the name Tianshui Stockade was kept.

The light had just begun to dim, and the street was still full of passersby coming and going, a hubbub all around, the tongues of various clans rising from time to time—utterly unlike the desolation of the ancient road they had come by. Xiaohui, perched on Xiaobai's shoulder, found it all greatly amusing, its monkey head turning this way and that, chattering without cease.

A three-eyed monkey, after all, was no common sight, and it soon drew the eyes of the passersby. Several children in the dress of the southern clans ran laughing behind the two of them, pulling faces at Xiaohui and teasing it.

Xiaohui was naturally playful, and it grew so excited that its tail wagged and it made to leap down and join the fun. Fortunately Ming Li gave a grunt and hauled it over, holding it fast in his hand. Xiaohui, knowing it could not escape, had to climb up onto Ming Li's shoulder, where it screeched at the children behind and pulled faces right back, which only excited them the more; they jabbered and giggled, and no doubt found it all tremendous fun.

Ming Li's brows knit slightly, a faint irritation in his heart—not at Xiaohui's playfulness, but at certain other misgivings that had begun to stir in him.

He turned his head and glanced covertly aside. Xiaobai wore a faint smile at the corner of her mouth, watching the children and Xiaohui at their sport with keen interest; and the coarse hemp cloth of her dress could hardly conceal the beauty that melted into the very bone.

Never mind here on the southern frontier, where the weather was harsh and most women were plain and dark-skinned; even in the Central Plains, the human form Xiaobai had assumed after several thousand years of cultivation, with the tender charm that faintly breathed from beneath her delicate, exquisite features—every glance, every smile—held a flavor to make a man's heart swim.

Sure enough, in a moment, amid the children's laughter and chatter, more and more people turned to look; and the eyes of the grown folk moved quite naturally and swiftly from the monkey to the woman whose beauty even coarse cloth could not hide.

In an instant, as if an invisible wave had spread outward, the crowd turned to stare in wonder—and the woman beneath all those gazes showed not the slightest shyness. To judge by her constant smile, she seemed rather to enjoy it.

Ming Li's head ached. To draw such notice was far from his intent; he was wondering whether to remind the woman beside him that they should quickly find a place to stay, rise early on the morrow, and be off to Qili Tong to attend to their business.

But it seemed fated that his intentions should come to nothing, for a stock figure that must appear in countless tales handed down through the world chose this very moment to make its entrance.

So the ruffian of legend did exist, it turned out, here on the southern frontier too, among the minority clans.

Three men came out of the crowd, all of a kind: tall, coarse, burly as tigers. In halting common speech thick with local flavor, they began to pester Xiaobai.

Ruffian A: "Uh, heh—this woman's a real beauty!"

Xiaobai smiled sweetly, lightly touching her face with her hand, charming beyond words. "Is that so?"

In an instant the onlookers burst into an uproar.

The three ruffians were delighted. Ruffian B threw open his coat, displaying a fine figure. "Little sister, come with me! I'll give you the spicy to eat... and the fragrant to drink!"

Many in the crowd burst out laughing. Xiaobai glanced at Ming Li standing beside her, her smile undiminished.