Auspicious Duck

At once, the old ghost turned into a wisp of smoke and shot toward the Crystal Jade Skeleton's brow.

The moment he slipped inside, a flash of light flung him back out. He gathered himself into a shape, circled the skeleton once, then shifted his form with a thought, becoming a perfect likeness of it. He lunged forward and overlapped with the skeleton.

He and the skeleton had soaked in the Yin River together for hundreds of years, so their auras were extremely similar. The skeleton had rejected him earlier out of instinct. Now that he had taken its shape and their auras were completely identical, the Crystal Jade Skeleton's empty sockets stared straight at his form—and this time, it no longer resisted.

A dozen breaths later, the Crystal Jade Skeleton, which had been holding the same pose all this time, suddenly sprang into motion. First it leaped high, then dashed wildly around the hall. One casual punch left a gaping hole in the ruined temple wall.

Suddenly, the Crystal Jade Skeleton threw back its head and roared with laughter. When the laughter faded, it muttered in a booming voice, "Heh heh! So this is my day at last! Just you wait. All of you, just wait for me!"

Before the words had even faded, the Crystal Jade Skeleton turned into a streak of light and shot toward the sky.

Fresh snow had fallen, blanketing the layered woods in quiet, pale stillness. Now and then, a bird chirped twice, making the empty forest seem all the more silent.

A little ball of snow rolled out from beneath a towering honey locust tree. On closer inspection, it was shaped like a duck. Snow covered its whole body, leaving only a pair of black eyes the size of beans exposed. After