Chapter 144 — A Chance Encounter

Little Wan watched that figure dwindle swiftly and vanish, and for some reason she could not name, she suddenly felt an emptiness inside her, and her nose stung, and she came near to weeping.

"Sss!"

A faint whistle of air being split, and Mingli's figure streaked across the night sky. The clouds overhead hung heavy and low, not a single glimmer of starlight to be seen; it seemed even the vault of heaven had been touched by that southern calamity, and hung dark and gloomy, offering no hope to anyone.

Having left Zhou Yixuan and the others, Mingli flew south alone for a time. Yet in that night sky, beneath those clouds, he saw only that on every side lay a land of gloom and darkness; beneath the vault of heaven the wilds stretched into linked mountains, cold and desolate, and there in the air he too felt utterly empty, not knowing where it was best to go.

Little Gray, crouched on his shoulder, suddenly called out twice again. Mingli glanced at it, and saw the three eyes before him, Little Gray grinning—for it, most of the time seemed to be happy. A rare trace of a smile and of tenderness crossed Mingli's face; he stroked the monkey's head lightly, and his figure sank as he descended toward the ground.

The place he alighted was a wild high mountain thick with dense forest. The trees and brush grew so rank, the undergrowth so tangled, that there was scarcely room in the woods to set a foot; surely no one had ever come to this mountain or this forest in all this desolate waste. Mingli's face was calm as he landed among the trees. Before his feet touched ground, his right hand flicked, and the Soul-Devouring Demon Staff flew from his sleeve and circled once beneath him. No strange sound was heard, but in the space of a breath every tree, shrub, and thorn within six feet of him withered away and turned to dead branches.

As the Soul-Devouring Staff flew back to his hand, Mingli clearly felt threads of fine, icy breath coursing through the black shaft. Little Gray gave a delighted cry, leaped down from his shoulder, and ran off into the depths of the forest. Mingli raised his eyes to the monkey's receding back. Ever since that journey to the southern frontier—and especially since Little Gray's transformation—its appetite had begun to swell alarmingly, and it thought of nothing but food.

The night was deep. The night wind blew in from the open wilds, swept over this mountain forest, and the woods gave forth a sound like rolling waves as countless shadows swayed together. Mingli slowly sat down on the ground and slowly closed his eyes. The shadows of the trees swept across his face; in the darkness he was like a silent, spectral spirit.

How long passed, he did not know. From somewhere far off came a faint low growl, then it vanished without a trace. Mingli frowned slightly and opened his eyes, but did not move. Sure enough, a moment later there came a rustling in the nearby thicket, and the monkey Little Gray came running back.

The sharp, troublesome thorns seemed to trouble Little Gray not at all; many a time it simply trod straight over them. As it came near, Mingli made it out: Little Gray held one hand to its chest—indeed, it was clutching several wild fruits—but its other hand trailed behind it, as though dragging something along.

Mingli could not help feeling puzzled. He glanced behind the monkey and was rather startled. There in the shadows Little Gray was in fact dragging back some animal-shaped thing; by the look of its size it was no small creature, much larger than Little Gray, yet Little Gray dragged it with perfect ease. A moment later it had run up close, gave a chuckling laugh, set down the wild fruits first, then swung its hand—and with a muffled thud, a great mass came crashing down before him.

It was a full-grown wild boar, enormous, likely taller than Little Gray if it stood. But now there was a hole in its head and blood on its body; it was already dead. Mingli looked at the wound, saw it was still fresh, paused a moment, and said to Little Gray, "Did you catch this?"

Little Gray grinned, pointed at the boar, then pointed at Mingli.

Mingli sighed and smiled. "I'm not hungry."

Little Gray scratched its head, blinked all three eyes together, then pointed at the boar and then at itself. Mingli, despite himself, was moved to laughter; the heaviness in his heart eased considerably, and he said with a faint smile, "Very well, I'll help you."

Little Gray's face split at once into a beaming grin; plainly it knew that Mingli's skill was no small thing, and that it was its own favorite. Mingli rolled up his sleeve, held two fingers together like a blade, and lightly drew them across the boar's belly, splitting the tough hide at once. His movements were deft; in two or three strokes he had skinned and boned the boar, then flew off to find a place with spring water, washed the meat clean, and returned. He set up a wooden frame, kindled a fire, and began to roast the pig.

The firelight grew stronger, flushing the faces of both monkey and man with a faint red glow. Little Gray had by now devoured every one of the wild fruits and fixed its eyes on the roasting pig above the flames, from which fragrance was gradually rising. Mingli slowly took from his waist the various seasonings he had made himself, sprinkled a little over the meat, then found a small bottle of fragrant oil and began to drip it lightly over the pork. The oil ran slowly down the meat; touched by the flames beneath, it slowly seeped into the flesh. Very soon the surface of the pork began to turn a pale golden yellow, transparent beads of oil oozed from the meat itself, and an enticing aroma drifted out on the air.

The firelight flickered, lighting the faces of monkey and man, and the small clearing and trees around them. The tall shadows of the forest swayed to and fro as though the wind were howling. Mingli gazed at the flames before him and gradually fell into a trance, while Little Gray watched the roasting pig with an expression of drooling greed, scratching its ears and cheeks, now and then running off to break twigs and feed them to the fire.

In the still air hung a strange and enticing fragrance.

From deep in the forest, a low growl suddenly came: "Grr-ah!"

The growl was deep and powerful; it seemed to come from very far away, yet it carried clearly. A killing intent spread swiftly through the air. Mingli started violently from his reverie, his brows slowly knitting; he did not move, but his gaze grew deep and dark as he looked toward the direction of the growl. Little Gray, with a swish, leaped onto Mingli's shoulder, its face showing no fear, and likewise turned to look.

In the fire there came a crackling pop; a branch burst apart, and the fragrance of the boar grew stronger.

Three feet away lay the dark forest. The wind above the trees seemed suddenly to rise, whistling loud. After that one low growl there was no further sound, yet that cold killing intent pressed swiftly toward them, almost as though it had taken tangible form.

The pupils of Mingli's eyes contracted slightly; his brows knit tighter still.

"Crack!" Another small branch at last burst apart as well.

Suddenly the whistling wind lost its voice; the whole forest seemed in an instant to stand still, and there was no sound at all. Ahead in the darkness, the dense trees and tangled thorns suddenly fell away to either side, revealing a narrow passage just wide enough for one man to walk.

A youth dressed in brilliant silken garments, his features so handsome as to verge on the bewitching, stepped out from the darkness one pace at a time. In that expanse of night he was so conspicuous that the world around him seemed to glow because of him. Mingli did not rise or stir; he remained seated on the ground, his gaze fixed straight upon the youth.

The youth looked at Mingli, then his gaze fell upon Little Gray, and he paused slightly and said, "Oh? A three-eyed spirit monkey!"