Chapter 29: The Warmth and Cold of the Human World

Hao Meili placed the food box on the table. With a gentle touch, she took out a bowl of porridge and a spoon, signaling to Xiao Bugui that he should not get up and that she would feed him.

Xiao Bugui sat up and said, "I can do it myself," before finishing the bowl of porridge on his own.

Noticing the fur on Xiao Bugui’s arm, Hao Meili couldn't help but ask, "You’re not an immortal, are you? Are you a demon?"

Xiao Bugui smiled and joked, "I am neither an immortal nor a demon; I am just a humanoid rabbit who has fallen into the mortal realm."

"I asked you a question," Hao Meili said anxiously. "Can you stop lying to me?"

Although Xiao Bugui had been kicked off the Immortal Island by his master, he had never been an immortal—he was merely a long-lived humanoid rabbit. Unsure how to explain this to Hao Meili, he simply said, "Well, in any case, I am not a bad person."

"Then will you be good to me?" Hao Meili asked.

"Of course I will be good to you," Xiao Bugui replied.

"How will you prove it?"

"Tell me, how should I prove it?"

Hao Meili said, "Would you be willing to give me the Dragon-Singing Sword?"

"If you want it, you can have it," Xiao Bugui said. "But the Dragon-Singing Sword is currently inside the Blue Lion's belly, and I’m afraid it might not want to give it up. I’ll have to ask it."

The Blue Lion, which had been pricking up its ears to listen to their conversation, heard Xiao Bugui’s offer. The tattoo on his chest shifted, forming the shape of a lion’s maw, and spat out the precious sword.

Seeing the Dragon-Singing Sword, Hao Meili quickly grabbed it. "Brother Xiao," she said happily, "are you truly giving this sword to me? You won't regret it?"

"It's yours. I won't regret it," Xiao Bugui said generously. He leaned over to Hao Meili’s ear and whispered, "I lied to it before. Back at the Wu'an Academy, I told it I was a dragon. I’d better give it to you, lest it get angry later and decide to kill me."

Hearing this, Hao Meili took the sword. Perhaps because the dragon spirit within the Blue Lion’s belly was weak, it did not manifest or speak, instead transforming into a bracelet that clasped itself around Hao Meili’s wrist.

Qian'er had been waiting outside the door. Knowing her mistress had obtained the sword, she knocked and called out, "Miss, the Master is asking for you to return. It is getting late."

Perhaps intimidated by the fur on Xiao Bugui’s arm, Hao Meili was now uncharacteristically obedient. "Brother Xiao, get some rest. I will come to see you another day," she said.

Watching Hao Meili leave, Xiao Bugui felt a sense of loss. Ma Zengsan, who had been waiting outside the whole time, entered the room once she was gone. "Let's rest for two more days, then we shall leave. This place is not meant for a long stay."

"Very well," Xiao Bugui agreed. "I wonder how the Seven Fiends are faring at the Wen Family Manor? I want to find them, avenge Senior Fang, and then continue collecting the Jianghu Medallions."

"Agreed," said Ma Zengsan. "Two days from now, we leave. Shall I feed you?"

"No, I will eat myself." Despite a wave of dizzying weakness, Xiao Bugui insisted on standing, but before he could take a single step, he sat back down on the edge of the bed in discomfort. Ma Zengsan simply pushed the table over to him to make it easier for him to eat.

Xiao Bugui made an effort to eat well, hoping to recover his strength as quickly as possible.

Watching him, Ma Zengsan couldn't help but remark, "If my son were still by my side, he would be about your age."

"Is your son not with you?" Xiao Bugui asked.

"He was stolen by human traffickers when he was seven months old," Ma Zengsan said. "I have been wandering the martial arts world ever since, searching for him."

"Have you had any news at all?"

Ma Zengsan shook his head and sighed bitterly, "None."

Listening to Ma Zengsan, Xiao Bugui reflected on the sorrows of mortal life—birth, aging, sickness, death, and the pain of parting. He thought to himself that he was only passing through the mortal world; once he gathered the Jianghu Medallions, he would return to the Immortal Island immediately and must not grow attached.

Late at night, Ma Zengsan returned to another guest room to sleep. Xiao Bugui could not fall asleep and felt the need to talk to someone. With no one else around, he turned to the divine beast. "Blue Lion, let's talk."

"What about?" the Blue Lion responded.

"You are parasitic upon me, yet we don't really know each other."

"I am nourished by your essence and blood," the Blue Lion replied. "I already know you are a humanoid rabbit."

"But I don't know your origin," said Xiao Bugui.

"Do you know of the Iron Lion of Cangzhou?"

"I do not."

"That is what I am."

"The bandits I fought in the ring were from the Western Regions," Xiao Bugui noted. "You are a lion from Cangzhou; how did you end up with him?"

"Half a year ago, my golden body was destroyed," the Blue Lion explained. "Coincidentally, that bandit arrived in the area, so I took up residence within him."

"How was your golden body destroyed?" Xiao Bugui asked.

"A group of idiots thought my golden body was a treasure and insisted on 'protecting' it," the Blue Lion said.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"They meant well, but their meddling ended up destroying my body."

"Beyond being indestructible and swallowing weapons, do you have any other skills?"

"None. What about you?"

"I have the power of the Thirty-Six Transformations and thirty-six lives," Xiao Bugui said. "Regrettably, I was poisoned and lost one life, so now I can only transform thirty-five times."

"I had assumed that fox demon saved your life," the Blue Lion said.

"The poison was too potent; I was truly at death's door. The fur on my arm is what happens when a demon is dying."

"So, you really are a demon?"

"If there can be Fox Immortals and Yellow Immortals, why not a Rabbit Immortal? I am not a rabbit from the mortal world; I am a rabbit who descended from the heavens."

"And the Dragon-Singing Sword you gave to Miss Hao," the Blue Lion asked, "don't you feel a pang of regret?"

"Why should I? It was never mine to begin with. How many weapons have you swallowed? Are you hiding even better ones in your belly?"

"I have some, but I won't show them to you just yet."

"Why not?"

"Wait until you learn how to use your fists to fight."

Curious, Xiao Bugui pleaded, "At least spit one or two out so I can see. I practiced with the eighteen varieties of weapons back on the Immortal Island."

The Blue Lion poked its head out and spat out a flexible sword that slithered through the air like a swimming fish. "This sword is called 'Swimming Fish'," the Blue Lion said proudly. "It is controlled by thought and can kill from a distance. It is even more accurate than a throwing knife."

Xiao Bugui reached out to touch it, but the Blue Lion sucked the sword back into its mouth. "Don't touch it. The edge is extremely sharp; you might lose a finger."

"Do you have any other treasures?" Xiao Bugui asked, still eager.

"I have the 'Flowing Fire' darts, also known as Meteor Darts." The Blue Lion spat out a fire-enveloped dart. As it was right in front of him, Xiao Bugui felt the intense heat immediately. "This thing is so hot!" he exclaimed.

"Do not touch it. If a mortal is struck by my Flowing Fire, they will be reduced to ashes." Warning Xiao Bugui not to fidget for fear of setting the bedding on fire, the Blue Lion swallowed the dart back into its belly.