Chapter 225 — The Wound
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 5 of 6
The monkey Xiao Hui kept close beside Ming Li. Seeing its master in such a state, it seemed anxious; now and then it leaped to his side and stretched out both hands to pull him along, but Ming Li was far too large for Xiao Hui to be of any use, and it could not help growing fretful, letting out a few "cheep cheep cheep cheep" cries.
At last Ming Li crawled to Tian Buhui's side; what his hand touched was already cold. Ming Li's teeth were clenched tight, his body trembling slightly, and his gaze examined the Tian Buhui before him in fine detail, like a wanderer returning home after many years, only to find nothing left but despair.
Droplets fell from his face onto Tian Buhui's already stiffened cheeks.
The wind and rain grew fiercer still.
His gaze slowly came to rest on Tian Buhui's chest. Though the garments had been straightened at some point, that great and terrible wound was still shocking to behold. Ming Li felt as though he had been run through, and his whole body went rigid.
Then he turned slowly and looked back.
Behind him was Lu Xueling's lonely, desolate figure. In the wind and rain she silently met Ming Li's gaze, her face pale and drained of all color, her hands hidden in her sleeves clenched into fists, her nails biting deep into her flesh.
What bitterness must there have been in that one moment of looking at each other?
The expression on Ming Li's face gradually went blank; even the first agony and grief slowly faded, leaving only blankness. Blankly he turned his head away and looked at Tian Buhui once more. The wind and rain swept over them, and at some point a few flecks of mud from the ground had spattered onto Tian Buhui's face.
Ming Li slowly reached out and wiped the rainwater from Tian Buhui's face. When he touched the cold skin, his hand recoiled as though scalded, and only then did he reach out again, carefully and meticulously wiping the mud and rain from Tian Buhui's face.
Then he braced himself up, crawled close to his master's body, and shielded Tian Buhui from the wind and rain that filled the sky with his own chest, so that the bitter wind and rain could no longer touch him.
Lu Xueling watched in silence all that he did and did not stop him. On her beautiful face nothing remained but desolation.
"When I was young, my family was destroyed and my kin were dead..." Ming Li's voice suddenly came through the wind and rain. He spoke very slowly, as though every word had tumbled countless times through his heart before he could slowly bring it out.
Lu Xueling quietly drew nearer to him, while Ming Li kept his body still, still shielding Tian Buhui from the wind and rain.
"It was Master who brought me back to Dazhu Peak, who taught me and raised me. His kindness I can never repay in a lifetime."
Ming Li's body swayed; perhaps it was exhaustion from his injury, but he seemed scarcely able to hold himself against the force of the wind and rain. Lu Xueling's expression changed, and she reached out to steady him, but as soon as her hand touched his body, Ming Li shifted slightly aside and avoided her.
Lu Xueling's hand froze in midair.
Ming Li gathered Tian Buhui's body into his arms with great effort and pressed his head and face deeply against his own breast, while on his face a profound anguish surfaced, and he murmured softly to himself.
Lu Xueling stood beside him, and even in the wind and rain she heard his words clearly. Ming Li was only repeating one sentence over and over: "I can never repay it in a lifetime... never in a lifetime can I repay it..."
Lu Xueling's lips trembled faintly. Her gaze swept over Tian Buhui's face. Who could have known that on this very same night, this man had once spoken to her with a smile, had made her a promise, had let her glimpse a faint glimmer of hope in what had once been despair.
That sword stroke, that wound...
And how many more than one were wounded!