Chapter 108 — Stealth
劍問蒼天 · Page 2 of 6
The two of them had been circling the outskirts of Fenxia Valley for days, and in such wild country there were naturally no villages or inns nearby. After several days of dry rations, Ming Li did not much mind, but Jin Pingyue could scarcely bear it any longer. That evening a wild hare had happened to run past; she caught it on the spot, built a fire, and meant to vary their fare. In any case, they were far enough from Fenxia Valley that there was no fear of discovery.
Only now it appeared that although Jin Pingyue's cultivation was high, she had no experience of roasting game in the wild. After several attempts her technique was still poor, and she had scorched the food black. Now, with Ming Li standing before her and Little Grey crouched on the ground, one man and one monkey—four eyes in all—fixed upon that charred hare's leg. Jin Pingyue actually blushed; slowly she drew the stick back and moved away from the fire.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak…" Suddenly a strange sound arose—the monkey Little Grey was grinning broadly, sprawled on the ground with its tail held high and wagging to and fro, its right hand clenched in a fist and pounding the earth again and again, as though it could not contain itself. It had actually struck a pose beyond all imagining.
Jin Pingyue and Ming Li were both taken aback, and a moment later both understood. Beyond her astonishment, a flicker of anger crossed Jin Pingyue's face. As for Ming Li, he had not known that this monkey, who rarely left his side, could have learned such an outlandish trick of mocking people—and from where? He glanced at Jin Pingyue, cleared his throat, and with a light kick of his left foot sent the grey-furred monkey, still pounding the ground, tumbling away.
Little Grey rolled off like a gourd, yet the "squeak squeak squeak" still carried from afar.
Ming Li and Jin Pingyue exchanged a glance, and the mood between them turned somewhat awkward. Ming Li looked at the stick in her hand, then moved a stone over from beside him, sat down on it, and said to Jin Pingyue, "Give it to me."
Jin Pingyue started at his words. Ming Li's face was placid; he reached out and took the stick from her hand, first tearing away the charred portion, then setting it back over the fire and turning it slowly to roast. His way with the fire was of course vastly different from hers: the flames licked and leaped, the stick turned lightly, and before long a faint, elusive fragrance began to drift through the air.
Jin Pingyue raised her eyes to glance at Ming Li. In the firelight, his face—usually somewhat pale—had taken on a ruddy glow, and in his deep black eyes were mirrored two small, burning flames.
A man concentrating wholly on roasting meat for her…
Suddenly the air fell silent; no one spoke again. Jin Pingyue slowly withdrew her gaze, picked up a few dry twigs from beside her, and fed them to the fire. The flames crept higher and swallowed the twigs, and now and then came the "crackle-pop" of them bursting.
Out among the distant treetops, as though a night wind had passed, came the soft rustle of leaves and branches, settling upon the heart.
Little Grey had scampered back at some point, several wild fruits in its hands—clearly gathered from the woods just now. It walked to the fireside, looked around, plopped down at Ming Li's feet, and stuffed the fruit to its mouth, chewing vigorously, while its long tail swayed and at last curled gently around Ming Li's ankle.
Thus they passed a long while in silence. The fragrance in the air grew richer and richer; the hare above the flames was gradually beading all over with fat that dripped slowly down, glistening and glossy, and the sight was enough to make one's mouth water. Jin Pingyue could not help stealing several more glances at it.