Chapter 118 — Deep Scar
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 4 of 4
She was still smiling; she cast one last look at the man, then turned, mounted her sword, and rose, becoming a white light that streaked across the night sky and vanished into the distant darkness beneath the silent moon.
All that remained was a lone man, gazing in silence at the street before him, at that deep scar now stained red...
That deep scar!
In the darkness, the nine-tailed celestial fox Xiaobai held Little Grey and watched from afar all that unfolded in the street. Little Grey seemed restless and stirred in her arms.
Xiaobai patted its head gently and raised a slender, pale finger to her lips in a gesture for silence.
Little Grey quieted, but its eyes at once fixed upon its master's desolate figure and did not relax for a moment.
Who could say how long Ming Li stood before that deep scar in the street—he simply stood, and stood, motionless.
And Xiaobai seemed patient enough, waiting quietly in the darkness; at this moment even Little Grey, usually so restless, had grown especially still.
At last Ming Li's body stirred; then, as though with great effort, he turned his back, then turned his head. Seen from afar, the man's face was ashen, utterly haggard.
Little Grey's body stirred uneasily again.
In the distance, Ming Li seemed to murmur something under his breath, but no one could hear it clearly. After a moment he raised his head blankly and at last slowly departed.
Once he had gone far, Xiaobai came out with Little Grey and approached the deep scar Lu Xueling had cut into the street with the Tianxuan Divine Sword.
She gazed at it in silence, and after a long while sighed.
"The love of this world—it truly breaks the heart! Those two, so outstanding, and yet they act like fools."
"Chee-chee, chee-chee!" A shrill cry rang out; Xiaobai started—it was the monkey Little Grey, displeased.
It leaped down from Xiaobai and plopped down on the ground beside her, sulking in silence; it even mimicked a person's anger, folding its arms across its chest and puffing out its cheeks, the very picture of indignation.
Xiaobai laughed despite herself and said in a low voice, "Is it that you don't like me calling your master a fool?"
Little Grey nodded again and again, cheeping a few times, its eyes blinking; though it still looked angry, its long tail quietly curled back and wound gently around Xiaobai's ankle.
Xiaobai shook her head with a smile, crouched down, and stroked the monkey's head; then her gaze drifted far away, and she was lost in thought for a long while before speaking softly: "How could you know? For a thousand years, all I ever wished was to be such a fool once—and to have a fool who would treat me well in return."
"If that woman truly meant to sever all feeling and cut all ties, that sword would have struck long ago. I saw it just now—at the end, though she pointed her sword at Ming Li, there was no telling how much she hoped in her heart that he would throw caution to the winds and cross over."
"And yet, if Ming Li had crossed over, he would no longer be Ming Li..."
"In his heart, there is still a Bili after all!"
Xiaobai spoke in a low voice; Little Grey half understood, scratching its head, its three eyes staring blankly at Xiaobai.
Xiaobai was lost in thought a moment longer, then suddenly smiled and came back to herself; reaching out, she gathered Little Grey into her arms and said with a smile, "Never mind. Their affairs, the knots in their hearts—those can only be untied by themselves.
Besides, who can say clearly what the future holds?"
"Isn't that right, Little Grey?"
Xiaobai lifted Little Grey up before her and asked with a smile.
Little Grey's tail swayed to and fro in the air; it cheeped "chee-chee-chee-chee" several times, shaking its head and nodding—yet who could tell whether it truly understood?