Several months later.
Warm rain, bamboo hat, misty straw cape; amid the mountain waters' glow, peach blossoms bloomed soft, fragrant, and red.
In this spring that was somewhat bleak and somewhat hungry, Bai Yujun chose to head north, toward Chang'an. The Li Tang's remaining fortune was running out. Bai Yujun wanted to see the Li Tang's downfall with her own eyes and bear witness to history. She also had to wait to kick away the stool beneath that hanging emperor. White Snake could take revenge even after ten years; when dealing with ungrateful bastards who repaid kindness with enmity, she had to make sure they died choked with frustration.
Just as when the snake demon had descended the mountain years ago, wolf smoke covered the land and refugees were everywhere. Those still alive in every region gathered into stockaded villages for self-protection.
Hengdao and an ancient zither were strapped to her back, a bamboo flute hung at her waist, and a straw hat covered her head as she walked step by step toward Chang'an.
There was still some time left, so Bai Yujun was in no great hurry.
Her bright white cloth boots crossed the drought-stricken earth, spotless as ever, leaving a trail of S-shaped footprints. The farther north she went, the worse the drought became. Fortunately, snake-kind could endure hunger and thirst far better than ordinary people, and she was not picky about whether water was clean. Birds and beasts that survived in the wild accepted clear water and muddy water alike; even mud contained enough moisture to find. In these drought years, it was barely enough to sustain her.
The sun was vicious. After walking more than twenty li, she had seen nothing but an abandoned village full of burial mounds—not even a ghostly silhouette.
Bai Yujun understood