Chapter 184 — Secret Orders

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."

No one answered. Ming Li said no more, only slowly turned his body and stood quietly facing a certain spot. After a while, someone sighed: "In just a few days, I never imagined the young master's cultivation would advance so greatly. Truly admirable!"

A shadow flickered, and from deep in the woods stepped a man in black—none other than Mr. Ghost.

This man seemed always so mysterious and unfathomable, forever appearing in places no one could anticipate.

Ming Li regarded him with a level gaze. Though he showed no great loathing, he plainly did not hold much fondness for the man either. "You waited for me here. What is it?"

Mr. Ghost's eyes wandered; first he looked at Xiaohui on Ming Li's shoulder, lingering for a while especially on the third eye on the monkey's forehead, and only then turned to Ming Li. "What, is the vice sect master unwilling to see me?"

Ming Li gave a snort and said nothing.

Mr. Ghost nodded. "As you like. But this time it is not I who have something to say—a few days ago the sect master, Ming Wang, sent me word, bidding me pass a message on to you."

Ming Li frowned. "What matter?"

Mr. Ghost said, "When Sect Master Ming Wang learned you were injured before the Illusory Moon Grotto-Heaven in the Canglan Mountains, he was deeply concerned, and gave strict orders that our people hidden in the Central Plains must find you and relay his words on his behalf. If, after finding the vice sect master, you are unwell or injured, you may return to the Wildlands to recover—your health comes first. But if by good fortune the vice sect master is unharmed, then there is one matter on which he must trouble you."

Ming Li was silent a moment. "Speak."

Behind the black veil, Mr. Ghost seemed to smile faintly, his laugh low. "Sect Master Ming Wang already knows that the Beast Lord was routed and fled in this great battle at Qingyun. That brute slaughtered countless of our Holy Church's followers in his day—an enemy we can never share heaven with—and now the chance to slay him comes but once in a thousand years. In this flight he will surely have fled to the Southern Border, which he knows well, and among the Church only the vice sect master is passingly familiar with the Southern Border. Thus he hopes the vice sect master will go to the Southern Border in pursuit—count it a great service to our Holy Church."

Ming Li was silent a moment, then nodded. "Very well. I will go."

Mr. Ghost nodded slightly, but now suddenly stepped forward a few paces to stand before Ming Li, and lowered his voice: "But on this journey, the sect master specially instructed me to tell you in private that slaying the Beast Lord, though urgent, is not the most urgent matter of all. There is one thing even more pressing."

Ming Li started. "What?"

Mr. Ghost's eyes flickered. "The sect master's orders: at the Beast Lord's side there is a vicious beast, the Taotie. No matter what—even if the Beast Lord escapes—that vicious beast Taotie must be captured alive and brought back to the Wildlands.

This matter bears enormous consequence. The vice sect master must remember, must remember!"

Ming Li's brow knit tightly; he looked deeply at Mr. Ghost. "What does the sect master want with the Taotie?"

Mr. Ghost straightened, his tone returning to normal, and said mildly, "That is beyond what I could know."

Ming Li gazed at him a long while, then suddenly turned and, without a backward glance, shot off like lightning, vanishing in an instant—leaving Mr. Ghost standing where he was, watching the direction Ming Li had gone. After a good while he suddenly murmured to himself:

"Strange—how could his cultivation advance to such a degree in so few days?"

"And those men in black who saved him that day—who on earth were they?"

The low whisper scattered on the wind, echoing quietly through the dense forest, and at last faded away.