Chapter 89 — A Good Man, a Wild Dog
劍問蒼天 · Page 1 of 6
In the Dead Marsh, as the rain grew heavier, the wind began to rise as well.
Xiao Hui's fur was soaked through and plastered to his body. He curled himself into a ball and lay motionless in Xiaowan's arms, only his bright little eyes still darting about, looking off into the distance, then back at Xiaowan.
Rain threads fell across the sky, and the already gloomy marsh seemed grayer still, wrapped in a blur of gray.
Zhou Yixuan dug out a robe and draped it over his head, sitting beneath the small tree. Xiaowan could neither stand nor sit. After a moment she gave a bitter smile, crouched down gently, and held Xiao Hui a little tighter so the wind and rain could not reach him. As for herself, she was already drenched, and there was nothing to be done.
The Wild Wolf Daoist came striding over smugly, holding an umbrella. From his expression, one would hardly find words like valor, or lending a hand, or tender regard for the fair. "Heh heh, little girl, don't you want an umbrella? Getting soaked in the rain is pretty miserable, isn't it?"
Xiaowan lifted her head in the wind and rain and glanced at the Wild Wolf Daoist, then smiled faintly. The rain struck her fair, beautiful face and burst apart like scattered pearls.
The Wild Wolf Daoist choked for a moment. He had come over intending to make Xiaowan beg him for the umbrella, whereupon this Wild Dog Daoist would laugh the girl to scorn and then strut away in triumph. Being a villain to this degree—now that was satisfying, thoroughly comfortable!
To his surprise, Xiaowan acted entirely beyond his expectations. She said nothing, much less asked him for anything. All his gleeful calculations collapsed at once, and the Wild Wolf Daoist was furious. He fixed Xiaowan with a hard stare.
But that stare, somehow, made him lose his focus.
Before him, the young and beautiful girl crouched quietly, silently enduring the wind and rain. The storm howled between heaven and earth, and suddenly in the wild dog's eyes it seemed every raindrop was falling on her slender, fragile body.
Her clothes were wet and clung to her. Her black hair was somewhat disheveled, a few strands fallen against her cheek, setting off the pallor the storm had brought to her face—a beauty that struck the heart with desolate force.
Her shoulders, it turned out, were somewhat thin and slight. Each raindrop struck, rebounded, and scattered like crystalline fragments; they seemed to tremble faintly, and glimpses of fair skin showed against the clinging cloth.
The Wild Wolf Daoist suddenly spun around, no longer looking at her, his hand unconsciously tightening on the umbrella. As if to remind someone, he muttered over and over, "I'm a villain, I'm a villain, I'm a villain..."
Xiaowan had not intended to pay him any mind, but now she grew curious. Seeing this wild dog's strange behavior and the inexplicable things he was muttering, she asked, "Daoist, what are you saying?"
The Wild Wolf Daoist started. Somehow he felt a little guilty. He stole a glance at Xiaowan and saw a strange look in her eyes as she gazed at him, rain sliding down her snow-white face.
Even her figure, in the wind and rain, had a certain pitiable charm.
"None of your business!" The wild dog flew into a rage and roared.
Xiaowan was taken aback. She shrugged, lowered her head, and saw the monkey Xiao Hui looking up at her. She could not help but smile and stuck out her tongue at him.
Xiao Hui bared his teeth and chattered out two little laughs.
The wind blew and the rain drifted, and this storm seemed as though it would never end. Xiaowan gradually began to feel cold. Just as she was worrying, she suddenly gave a cry of surprise, for the rain and wind above her head had abruptly grown much lighter. She looked up—and froze.
The Wild Wolf Daoist had at some point walked back to her side and stretched out his hand to hold the umbrella over her head. In but a moment, the rain had soaked through his own clothes.