Chapter 241 — The Wheel of Reincarnation
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 5 of 7
The stone walls of the chamber where he lived were likewise covered in cracks, some thick and some thin, some deep and some shallow, and small bits of stone occasionally crumbled from the rough fissures. Plainly this place, too, had not escaped the erosion of that mysterious power from the Blood Pool deep within the caverns of Mount Huqi. But Ming Li seemed blind to it all. He threw himself onto the bed and lay motionless, his hand going limp as though all strength had fled from it. A disc-shaped object wrapped in black cloth slipped gently from his fingers and landed soundlessly on the bed beside his hand.
A gray shadow flashed, and the monkey Xiao Hui leaped over and onto Ming Li's body, only to find him still lying face-down, utterly motionless, without the slightest reaction. Xiao Hui found this strange. It stretched its head forward and peered at Ming Li's face, and saw that his eyes were tightly shut and his complexion pale. Xiao Hui blinked its three eyes, seeming to understand something. It gave two soft "chee-chee" cries and then fell quiet, no longer disturbing Ming Li. It hopped down from his body and sat on the bed with its back against its master, saying nothing.
Silence fell over the stone chamber. How long it lasted, no one could say. Ming Li remained motionless as before. Xiao Hui watched its master with some worry, yet seemed hesitant to disturb him. Its monkey head turned this way and that, until suddenly it noticed something wrapped in black cloth lying quietly on the bed not far away.
Xiao Hui blinked its three eyes and stared for a good while, then turned to look at Ming Li again, seeing him still lying there without a sound. Its tail swayed gently, and it scratched its head. Then it leaned slightly forward, shot out a hand, and snatched the object up.
The monkey turned the cloth-wrapped disc over and over, examining it several times, but could make nothing of it. In the end, its paw slipped and failed to hold it steady, and since Ming Li had wrapped it hastily in his distracted state, the cloth was loose. The black cloth fell away in an instant, and a white jade disc slid out, landing with a soft "pat" on the bed before Xiao Hui.
Xiao Hui was quite startled and shrank back. The jade disc before it was decidedly peculiar: not only did it radiate a soft white glow, but in the center of the disc countless tiny jade pieces slid about of their own accord, ceaseless and unending, which was even more wondrous. Xiao Hui's attention was immediately drawn in. Its three monkey eyes stopped blinking altogether, fixed upon the Universe Reincarnation Disc. Then it cautiously extended a hand and lightly touched the edge of the jade disc.
The Universe Reincarnation Disc slid silently to one side, and Xiao Hui's hand darted back at once. It looked rather as though the monkey were testing this strange disc, but there seemed to be no danger. Xiao Hui brought the hand that had touched the disc before its eyes and examined it carefully: not red, not itchy, not painful. The monkey grinned, glanced again at the jade disc lying on the bed, turned its head to look around on both sides, and then reached out and seized the Universe Reincarnation Disc.
Soft white light spilled from the jade disc onto the gray-furred monkey's face. Xiao Hui opened its three eyes wide and gazed into the Universe Reincarnation Disc, where countless tiny jade pieces still slid silently on, like the passage of time itself, never ceasing.
Gradually, Xiao Hui seemed to be utterly captivated. Its three eyes drew closer and closer to the jade disc, fixed all the while upon those countless strange jade pieces sliding without end. Each tiny thing was reflected in its three pupils, faintly becoming like the reflections of countless stars in the vault of heaven.