Volume One, Chapter Fourteen: The Little White Rabbit

"Hey there, look, a rainbow in the sky, la..." The little black rabbit was bounding along, thoroughly delighted, when suddenly a tremendous rumbling erupted behind him. He glanced back, only to see a massive ball of flesh bearing down with devastating force. Terrified, he leapt into the air, twisted mid-flight, and shot off toward the sunlight at lightning speed.

But in a flash, Cake muttered an incantation and reached out through the air. The little black rabbit was instantly suspended mid-leap, instinctively kicking out in a desperate “rabbit kicks hawk”—but Cake was still ten meters away, so his hind legs only flailed at empty air. In a moment of peril, the little black rabbit stiffened all four legs, squeezed his eyes shut, and even drooped his ears in feigned death.

“Hey! I’m not going to eat you, why are you pretending to be dead?” Cake’s nose was practically bent out of shape with frustration. This wily little rascal—he’d pulled this trick last time, too.

The little black rabbit dared not move, eyes still squeezed shut as he stiffened in Cake’s hand.

“If you keep this up, I really will eat you!” Cake could not help but scold.

“You tried to eat me last time, didn’t you?” The little black rabbit suddenly cracked open one eye.

“That was then! This time, I just want to ask you something!” Cake unwittingly closed one eye as well.

“Hey, why are you mimicking me?” The little black rabbit immediately opened both eyes.

“I...” Cake couldn’t help laughing, amused. “Have you seen a little white rabbit around?”

“Little white rabbit? There are loads of those!” The black rabbit looked utterly dismissive.

“No, no, no, I mean a little white rabbit with a limp.”

“...You mean one that’s injured, too...” Suddenly, the little black rabbit’s ears perked up.

“Yes, yes! Where is she? Is she badly hurt?” Cake’s heart gave a jolt, and he hurriedly set the little black rabbit down. The rabbit shot away, stopping at a safe distance to warily eye the fat man before him. “Why are you looking for her?”

“She was hurt because of me. I’m very worried. How is she, really?”

“I’m not sure... The day before yesterday, I saw her limping this way. She looked pretty badly hurt...” the little black rabbit replied awkwardly.

“She came this way? Where exactly did you see her?” Cake pressed forward in concern.

“By the eleventh patch of flowers eastward in a little grove, twenty li from here!” The little black rabbit nervously took two steps back.

“Can you take me there?” Cake pleaded, his face full of urgency.

“All right... all right...” The little black rabbit, his face now flushed, nodded vigorously with his head down.

They sprinted for more than ten li before the little black rabbit finally stopped. Glancing back to see Cake still following with no sign of fatigue, he couldn’t help but admire him inwardly: “Who knew this fat guy could run so fast! No wonder he caught me.”

“Why did you stop?” Cake, sweating heavily, asked.

“Hey, aren’t you going to rest?” the little black rabbit called, craning his neck.

“Fine, fine...” Cake thought, “This rascal, let him go and he gets cocky!”

“Hey, don’t get any funny ideas, all right?” The little black rabbit seemed to see through him.

“No, no... Let’s take a break. Here!” Cake, apologetic, pulled a large white radish from his bundle. The little black rabbit’s eyes nearly popped out!

“This... this isn’t right...” he stammered, but snatched the radish anyway. Before Cake could react, a third of the radish had vanished into the rabbit’s mouth. His ravenous eating was such that even Cake was startled—the rabbit’s table manners were even worse than his own.

“Hic... hic...” As Cake was still gathering his thoughts, the little black rabbit had finished and was burping contentedly. “Let’s... hic... go... hic...”

It was true what they said—money makes the world go round. Refreshed, the little black rabbit darted off again, Cake close behind, running another ten li without pause. Only when they plunged into a small grove did the black rabbit suddenly stop beside a patch of flowers.

“This is the spot... the eleventh... Hey? She was sitting right here...” He looked around, but there was no sign of Hanyu. The little black rabbit was mortified.

“Wait... don’t rush...” The black rabbit quickly raised his forelegs toward the sky, mumbling an incantation. In a flash, rabbits of every color bounded out from all directions, quickly forming a circle around him.

“Boss, boss, what are your orders?”

The little black rabbit shot Cake a proud glance, but the sight of so many rabbits nearly made Cake’s eyes glaze over—he couldn’t help but start drooling.

“Hey!” The black rabbit hastily threw himself in front of Cake.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Cake, embarrassed, wiped at his mouth and backed away, thinking, “This black rabbit really has some skills!”

“Has anyone seen an injured, limping little white rabbit?” With Cake’s admiring gaze upon him, the black rabbit’s ears stood even straighter with pride.

“A little white rabbit... haven’t seen one...”

“Is that fat guy an idiot? Just drooling away...”

“I think I saw one the day before yesterday...”

“Me too...”

“I saw a little black rabbit...”

“He said white, not black...”

“I saw one the day before yesterday as well...”

The rabbits all spoke at once, leaving Cake thoroughly confused. But the black rabbit questioned here and there, seeming to understand perfectly—the way of rabbits, it seemed, was as complex as the way of men. After a bit of analysis, the black rabbit confidently led Cake back the way they’d come.

“Aren’t we heading back?” Cake asked, unable to contain himself.

“Yep! She must have gone in our direction...”

“But we didn’t see her?”

“There’s a three-way fork, isn’t there?” the black rabbit said with a sneer.

At the fork, the black rabbit took the northern path, and Cake followed without further question. In about five li, they entered another forest.

“We’ll split up. You take left, I’ll go right—it’ll be faster.” Before he finished, the black rabbit was already diving into the trees.

Cake wandered, stopping now and then to search among the grass and flowers, but saw no sign of Hanyu. Just as he was growing discouraged, he noticed a white shape stirring beneath a distant tree. He hurried over and, sure enough, found Hanyu curled on the ground.

“Miss Jade? Miss Jade?” Cake anxiously nudged her.

Hanyu forced her eyes open. “...Don’t touch me...”

“Oh... Are you all right?” Cake quickly withdrew his hand.

“I’m fine; I don’t need you!” Hanyu struggled to sit up.

“You don’t look fine at all! Here—” Cake produced a golden elixir from his pocket.

“What does it matter to you?” Hanyu coughed, her form growing faint; if this kept up, she’d surely revert to her true shape.

“Just take this first...” Cake offered the elixir.

“What’s that?” Hanyu shrank away, suspicious.

“It’s medicine—it’ll heal you!” Cake was startled by her mistrust.

“Keep it away... I won’t take your medicine... Who knows if it’s poison or not...” Hanyu pushed his hand and the pill away.

“This is my grand-aunt’s spiritual elixir—most people would never get the chance!” Cake pleaded earnestly.

“I won’t eat it! Especially not from your grand-aunt!” Hanyu’s face was set in grim resolve. “That old witch—she made it so I sought vengeance but ended up ensnared, unable to die or to leave. Eat her medicine? I’d rather return to the earth!”

“Why can’t you leave?” Cake was truly curious now.

“You don’t know? If I’m more than ten li away from you, the pain in my head is unbearable!” Hanyu’s eyes blazed.

“...” Cake was stunned—he hadn’t known that.

“If you don’t take it, I’ll start the incantation!” Cake puffed up his cheeks.

“Go ahead!” Hanyu stared him down, defiant.

“You...” Cake stood there, at a loss. He knew she blamed him for her injured foot, but the situation was dire—if she didn’t take it, she really might ascend to the heavens. His plump face twitched, then suddenly hardened. Seeing this, Hanyu’s face went pale.

Sure enough, Cake reached out and seized Hanyu’s chin. Had she been uninjured, he’d never have gotten so close, but now she was too weak even to resist. Before she could cry out, he popped the pill into her mouth and clamped her jaw shut. The elixir went straight down.

“Assault! Assault!” Hanyu shrieked, furious, causing Cake to stumble back. At that moment, a black blur shot toward him, slamming into his belly. Though it bounced off, it knocked him sideways.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” He looked—it was the little black rabbit, scrambling to his feet.

“I don’t care if you assault a person, but assault a rabbit—never!” The black rabbit looked ready to fight to the death.

“I didn’t—I didn’t! I was giving her medicine—to heal her!” Cake protested desperately.

“It was assault! Assault!” Hanyu yelled, still clawing at her throat.

The black rabbit was thoroughly confused, glancing uncertainly between them. Both seemed to be telling the truth.

“You...” Hanyu, both angry and anxious, grabbed a stone, but suddenly collapsed, reverting to her original form.

Both Cake and the little black rabbit rushed over. Seeing Hanyu unconscious, Cake quickly checked her breath—it was calm and steady.

“She’ll be all right?” The black rabbit glared at Cake.

“She’ll be fine—the elixir must be working!” Cake replied, setting down his bundle, tucking the remaining radish at his waist, and wrapping Hanyu in his cloak.

“What are you doing? Is she really okay?” The black rabbit blocked his way.

“Don’t worry! I saw how badly hurt she was and tried to give her my grand-aunt’s elixir, but she refused, so I had no choice but to force it. Now, I need to keep her with me and care for her. If she doesn’t improve, I’ll have to go back for my grand-aunt’s help.” Knowing the black rabbit was worried, Cake explained everything honestly. “She’s so badly hurt, I can’t leave her.”

“...” The black rabbit nodded quietly and stepped aside.

“What’s your name?” Seeing the black rabbit’s forlorn look, Cake couldn’t help but stop and press a radish into his paw.

“I don’t have a name...” The little black rabbit drooped his ears.

“Then I’ll call you Mo Feng—Black as the wind!” Cake smiled.

“What?” The little black rabbit looked displeased, but didn’t refuse. Cake said nothing more, turning toward the edge of the forest.

“Thank you for your help!” Cake suddenly stopped. “When I return, if you’d like, come with me to Moonlit Hill. There are many of your kin there!”

The little black rabbit said nothing, so Cake just smiled and strode away. “I’ll come back for you, I promise!”

Carrying Hanyu in his arms, Cake walked slowly all the way back, finally returning to the place where he’d parted from Fatty Girl at midnight. Seeing Hanyu still unconscious, he sat with her under a tree and fell asleep himself. Perhaps because he hadn’t eaten, he dreamed only of floating, vegetarian drumsticks.

“Ugh! Disgusting!” The moment Hanyu opened her eyes, she saw Cake’s drool trickling down toward her, and with a squeal she rolled away.

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” Cake leapt to his feet, hastily wiping his mouth as he hurried over to Hanyu, who’d transformed back into her human form.

“You... you’re revolting!” Hanyu had wanted to scold him for holding her, but was too mortified to speak, so she just glared at his chin.

“Heh, heh! I was dreaming of chicken legs...” Cake chuckled awkwardly. Seeing Hanyu restored to her human form, the weight in his heart finally lifted.

“Hey! Aren’t you going to help me up?” Hanyu tried and failed to stand, so she shouted at Cake.

“Oh! Looks like my grand-aunt’s elixir worked!” Cake hurried over to pull her up.

“Nonsense! It was my own healing that did it!” As soon as she sat beneath the tree, Hanyu pushed his hand away. Cake pouted but said nothing—he knew she was just being stubborn. As long as she was recovering, she could say whatever she pleased.

Hanyu rolled her eyes at him, thinking, “I’d heard that old witch’s Golden Elixir was powerful, but I didn’t expect it to be so effective! Not only is my injury much lighter, but even my cultivation seems to have improved. This fat fool—why does a grown man carry around pills meant for women?”

“What...? What’s wrong?” Hanyu’s expression made Cake uneasy.

“What’s wrong? I’m hungry!”

“Hungry? Here, have a radish, have a radish!” Cake quickly pulled out a large white radish.

“Ugh... they’re all wilted...” Hanyu pouted. She’d long since noticed that Cake put radishes on the windowsill each day and knew they were for her, but she refused to give him the satisfaction.

“Just make do for now... We’ll buy fresh ones in Tianyi Town...” Cake hung his head, mortified.

“Really! Buy fresh ones? Do you even have money?” Hanyu selected the largest and began to eat.

“I can... I can... borrow some from Fatty Girl first...” Cake turned bright red.

“Fatty Girl? Oh, the one who looks just like you... Ha!” Hanyu burst into laughter, her voice like a peal of silver bells.