劍問蒼天 - 第139章 偶遇 - 翰墨軒

He set the steaming dishes down on the table, then retreated behind his counter and reopened his ledger, pretending to be busy with the accounts, though his eyes kept shifting and darting furtively toward the patrons between the columns of figures.

Zhou Yixuan, Xiao Wan, and the Wild Wolf Daoist had by now all taken seats at the table belonging to the three-eyed gray monkey, Xiao Hui. The dishes they had newly ordered had naturally been brought to that table as well, though none of them had any appetite. Xiao Hui, on the other hand, was delighted, eating and drinking with great gusto, looking thoroughly happy.

But the eyes of Zhou Yixuan and the other two were not on Xiao Hui; they rested silently on the man slumped over at the edge of the table.

After a long silence, Xiao Wan slowly reached out and gave the man a gentle shake, murmuring, "Ming... Li."

The man's body stirred under her push, but there was no other response. Zhou Yixuan and the Wild Dog exchanged a glance and looked at each other helplessly.

In build and appearance, the man was unquestionably the Ming Li they had known before, and yet a figure who had once struck terror into countless hearts had now fallen so low that they could scarcely take it in.

Xiao Wan turned back, astonished. "How did he come to this?"

Zhou Yixuan glared and shrugged. "Don't ask the two of us." He paused, then suddenly knitted his brows and turned to Xiao Hui, still sprawled atop the table, and said with a smile, "Little monkey, what's happened to your master?"

Xiao Hui's three eyes swiveled together toward the venerable, immortal-looking old man. He gave no other response; only his tail rose behind him and flicked a few times. A moment later he suddenly spat with a "pfft," turned his head with great dignity, and took a swig of wine, plainly regarding this immortal-seeming old man as beneath his notice.

Zhou Yixuan lost face entirely, and his expression curdled at once. "Dead monkey! You dare show me that attitude? You've turned mutinous! If you incense this immortal, I'll use my immortal arts to capture you and pin you beneath Mount Canglan, sealed away for one thousand eight hundred years, and then we'll see if you..."

Before the words were out, Zhou Yixuan heard a whistling sound, and his vision went dark as something hurtled straight at his face. He saw he could not dodge in time; beside him Xiao Wan cried out in alarm. Fortunately a hand reached out from the side and gave Zhou Yixuan a swift shove, sending the old man sprawling to the ground.

Caught off guard, Zhou Yixuan landed flat on his back, his immortal dignity scattered to the four winds, in a most sorry state—though it did at least save him from the object flung in his face. The thing missed, flew some distance, hit the wall of the shop with a muffled "thunk," and dropped to the floor: a roast chicken bone.

Everyone, including Boss He watching the spectacle from afar, turned to look. The three-eyed monkey had a chicken leg in his hands and was gnawing away in high contentment, and there was no telling whether he had thrown the bone with his hand or simply spat it from his mouth.

Zhou Yixuan ground his teeth in frustration, but his experience was, after all, no small thing. He knew this monkey was a rare spiritual creature the likes of which the world seldom produced, and from the look of him, he seemed to have a thoroughly foul temper. Better not to provoke him—and besides, behind the monkey stood a master famed for his bloodlust. If that fellow ever came to his senses, it would mean real trouble.

So he scrambled up, cursing under his breath, then rolled his strange eyes and rounded on the Wild Wolf Daoist. "Are you trying to kill me, you wretch? What did you shove this immortal so hard for?"

The Wild Dog was speechless. In his old temper he would have cursed right back, but now his dog-like eyes merely rolled, and he actually turned his head away and ignored Zhou Yixuan.