Chapter 183 — Hard to Cross
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 5 of 6
Little Gray swallowed the fruit in its mouth, then picked up a mountain fruit from beside it, bit off half in one go, and ate with every appearance of delight. Here in the Shou Jing Hall of Great Zhu Peak, the floor was now strewn everywhere with the fruit pits Little Gray had gnawed, scattered all about; compared with its former solemn dignity, the place looked rather comical.
Yet at this moment everyone on Great Zhu Peak had gathered here, and even the ever-short-tempered Tian Buhui, seeing the scene, merely knit his brows and did not fly into a rage, only his face dark and gloomy, no telling what he was thinking.
For ten years everyone had known that Little Gray was always with that man, never apart; but now Little Gray was here—and where was that man?
That day before the Phantom Moon Grotto-Heaven on the Jie Tian Peak of Mount Canglan, Song Dayi and the others had seen Ming Li with their own eyes, and with their own eyes had seen that former junior brother gravely wounded by the Immortal-Slaying Ancient Sword; afterward many had hunted him down, and though there had been no word of him since, there were faint rumors that he had been rescued by his confederates.
But why had Little Gray appeared here?
Little Gray had appeared—so where was that man?
The same question wound through everyone's heart, weighing it down. And in the Shou Jing Hall only Little Gray ate its fruit with utter unconcern; besides it, there was one other who was overjoyed, utterly unlike the people around him!
Da Huang.
This great dog was at this moment beside itself with excitement, utterly ignoring its master's gloomy face, barking "Wang wang wang!" without cease, circling the table where Little Gray lay without stop, a bright big yellow tail wagging to and fro in sheer delight. Now and then it reared up on its forelegs, resting them on the table edge, its dog nose sniffing all over Little Gray, and occasionally it stretched out its tongue and licked Little Gray a few times.
Little Gray grinned, scratched its head, casually picked up an apple from beside it, waved it before Da Huang's face, then flung it out through the Shou Jing Hall. Da Huang gave a great "Wang!" and at once leaped up, four legs flying, and rushed out of the Shou Jing Hall; the crowd, startled, all looked outside, and saw that Da Huang had actually overtaken the apple before it struck the ground, caught it in midair, and at once come running back, likewise sprawling onto the table, where it let the apple drop from its teeth and roll a few times.
All were struck dumb, and Tian Buhui gave a heavy snort.
Only Little Gray laughed on and on, "Zhi zhi zhi zhi," plainly overjoyed at meeting its old dog friend; it curled its monkey tail, jumped down from the table, and landed on Da Huang's broad back, reaching out to embrace Da Huang's body.
Da Huang ran out yapping "woof, woof, woof" without pause, head held high and chest thrust forward, and who knew where that monkey and dog were off to raise mischief and play now. Song Dayi glanced at Tian Buhui and Su Wan, then rose to his feet. He had just meant to go chase the two beasts back when he heard Tian Buhui say coldly, "Let them go. That monkey has lived on this mountain for years; now that it's come, it won't leave."
Song Dayi gave a sound of assent and slowly sat back down.
Tian Buhui was silent a moment, then said, "Apart from that monkey, did neither you nor Old Six catch sight of any other figure?"
Song Dayi and Du Biyan shook their heads at once. "No," they said.
Tian Buhui's face was grim. Suddenly he waved a hand. "Enough. Out with you."
Song Dayi and the others exchanged glances, but a master's command was like a mountain, and in the end none dared defy it. They could only withdraw slowly. As they went, He Dachuan, being the careful sort, asked Su Wan, "Mistress, this floor full of fruit pits—shall your disciples sweep it up?"