Chapter 139 — A Chance Encounter

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.

Zhou Yixuan, thus snubbed, grew even more furious and was about to say more when Xiao Wan cut in beside him, scolding, "Grandfather!"

In recent years Zhou Yixuan had come to dread this sharp-tongued granddaughter of his above all others. He subsided into mumbling, though he kept muttering under his breath, plainly most unwilling.

Xiao Wan paid him no mind. She turned to Xiao Hui with a smile. "Xiao Hui, do you remember me? I gave you candied hawthorns to eat, remember?"

Xiao Hui fixed his eyes on Xiao Wan, all three blinking away, then suddenly nodded and grinned, and even wagged his tail twice—who knew whether he had learned that years ago on Dazhu Peak of Mount Canglan from that yellow dog, "Big Yellow."

Xiao Wan burst out laughing. "I never thought you'd remember me. Come here." She beckoned to the monkey.

Xiao Hui's eyes rolled. He reached up to his head, seeming slightly puzzled, and by habit tried to scratch it—but with a wine flask in one hand and a chicken leg in the other, both were occupied, so he simply rubbed the chicken leg against his furry head a few times, leaving a few spots of grease.

Xiao Wan covered her mouth and laughed softly. Xiao Hui looked at her smile and grinned back, then slowly shuffled over to the table in front of her and crouched down.

Zhou Yixuan, the Wild Dog, and Boss He in the distance all stared wide-eyed.

Xiao Wan studied the monkey a moment, then drew a silk handkerchief from her bosom and frowned. "Put down what you're holding."

The three-eyed monkey hesitated, gave two chirps of protest—plainly reluctant—and Xiao Wan gave him a light tap on the head. "Hurry up!"

Xiao Hui pouted, set the chicken leg back on the plate, stealing one more glance at it, then was about to set down the wine flask when he suddenly raised it to his lips for a great gulp, and only then put it back on the table.

Xiao Wan shook her head in amusement. "How did you get so greedy?" She drew both his monkey hands toward her and carefully wiped the grease from them with the silk handkerchief, and Xiao Hui held perfectly still, letting her do as she pleased.

Strange to say, apart from his master Ming Li, the three-eyed spirit monkey seemed to feel some slight fondness only for a handful of other women; as for the likes of Zhou Yixuan and the Wild Dog, he had apparently never taken a liking to them at all.

When she had finished wiping, Xiao Wan laid the handkerchief aside, glanced at Ming Li slumped there reeking of wine, and said to Xiao Hui, "How did he end up like this?"

Xiao Hui scratched his head and began chirping "zhi zhi zhi zhi," waving his arms about, but to his evident frustration everyone present simply stared blankly at one another; clearly no one understood a word. Xiao Hui seemed to realize this and fell silent.

Suddenly the monkey thrust a finger at Xiao Wan, nearly jabbing her in the face. She started back in fright, and beside her the Wild Wolf Daoist made to move, thinking the monkey's wild nature had gotten the better of him—but Zhou Yixuan caught him by the arm.

The Wild Dog blinked and looked at Zhou Yixuan, who said in a low voice, "Let's watch a bit longer."

Xiao Hui pointed at Xiao Wan, then abruptly somersaulted on the table, leapt to its center, and began chirping wildly, gesturing at her, then traced a curving shape down his body with both hands from top to bottom.

Xiao Wan was bewildered, but beside her Zhou Yixuan frowned. "A woman?"

Xiao Hui nodded vigorously, then pointed at the prostrate Ming Li, clasped both hands over his heart, gave a few chirping cries, and suddenly toppled backward, his whole monkey body going over straight as a board.

Xiao Wan cried out, "Careful!"

Before the words were out, Xiao Hui—too caught up in his performance—had forgotten this was a table of no great size, and his hopping about had carried him unknowingly to the very edge. As he fell, there came a "plop," and he vanished beneath the table.