Chapter 184 — Secret Orders
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 3 of 4
At any rate, none of his senior brothers, nor the master or mistress, would be coming here now, and he was glad enough of the quiet.
With great effort he finished a whole table of fine dishes, and only then did Du Biyan breathe a sigh of relief. He took a towel, wiped his sweat, and stepped out of the kitchen—only to freeze on the spot: on the wooden post there remained only a length of rope, and Da Huang and Xiaohui were nowhere to be seen. Du Biyan panicked, looking left and right, but there was no trace of the monkey or the dog. Could it be, he thought, that one of my senior brothers is playing a joke on me at a time like this?
He hurried off to the quarters where the disciples lodged and questioned each of them in turn, but none knew anything; some even joked with him about it. Yet what mood did Du Biyan have now for jokes? His head swimming, he ran about in frantic circles. Just then, a loud bark suddenly came from somewhere in the distance, startling everyone—and Du Biyan was the first to dash out. Listening carefully, he realized it came from none other than Zhang Qingyue's old room.
Du Biyan rushed toward that room, and the other disciples of Great Zhu Peak came hurrying after. Stepping inside, they saw Da Huang standing in the courtyard, barking loudly at the sky—and Xiaohui was gone.
They all looked up: the blue sky stretched high and boundless, without the slightest oddity. Song Dayi and the others searched hastily, turning over every room, but found no sign of Xiaohui. Just as it had arrived in mystery, so this monkey Xiaohui had once again vanished mysteriously.
Somehow, amid Da Huang's barking, everyone felt a sense of something lost.
That noon, when Du Biyan nervously greeted the lunch hour, only Su Wan appeared before the disciples. The others found it strange; Du Biyan was both startled and delighted, yet kept his face full of concern as he asked:
"Mistress, why has the master not come?"
Su Wan shot him a look and could not be bothered with him, only glancing faintly back toward the Shoujing Hall, a strange expression on her face. After a moment she said, "Your master... has something on his mind, I think. He's in poor spirits and does not wish to eat today."
The others were taken aback, but seeing Su Wan's expression, they dared not ask more.
And so Great Zhu Peak seemed from then on to regain its former calm; apart from the occasional bark of Da Huang at the sky, it was as if nothing had ever happened.
A figure drifted down from deep within the Canglan Mountains, ethereal and mysterious, almost like a spirit of the mountains from legend. Yet when this figure swept to a certain spot at the foot of the Canglan Mountains, it suddenly halted; the swift speed sent a low, soft whistle through the air as it came to a dead stop, and the grass and flowers beneath it gave a rustling
"sha" as they were all bent forward by the wind.
It was none other than Ming Li.
No one knew from what corner of the Canglan Mountains Ming Li had emerged, but on his shoulder Xiaohui was once again perched, and reunited with its master after so long, the monkey was plainly overjoyed: its long tail curled about, the tip still wrapped around one of Ming Li's arms. Most notably, the big wine gourd on Xiaohui's back had somehow grown plump again, the fragrance of wine spilling everywhere, and Xiaohui was all the happier for it, clutching the gourd and never wanting to let go, pulling the stopper out now and then for a swig, wearing a look of utter contentment.
Ming Li, however, was plainly not one to share the monkey's mood. At this moment his face was placid, his gaze sweeping the surroundings: dense forest stood all around, utterly still, with only the faint sound of birdsong from afar.
Ming Li suddenly gave a cold laugh and said mildly, "Come out."