Grass Ball

The heavy snow had just stopped. A thousand miles of clear river stretched like a strip of white silk, while the desolate sunset in the western sky spilled over the jade-like peaks of Layered Mountain, reflecting in the smooth, mirrorlike lake and revealing a breathtaking ribbon of seven colors.

Yan Zi stood there for a long while, looking in every direction, but saw only endless expanses. In her heart, she recalled the duck's prayer: head west, and when the Tai Yin Star hung above the cassia branches, there would surely be a reward.

But now the mighty river stretched across her path. To continue west, she had no choice but to fell trees and make a boat. Yet even if she went west along this vast river, where could she find the young master?

A wave of despair rose in her heart, impossible to dispel. She stared blankly at the vast, darkening sky until at last she could no longer hold back her tears.

Just then, in the deep blue sky, a crescent moon broke through the clouds and climbed into the eastern heavens.

As the cold moonlight fell upon the river, Yan Zi immediately put aside her sorrow and dashed into the woods behind her. With a sweep of her palm, she chopped down a tree as thick as a bowl, carried it to the lakeshore, and hurled it with all her strength. She leaped into the air, and just as the tree hit the river, she landed lightly atop it. She drove her True Qi with both hands, and the tree swiftly began gliding across the water.

She had gone no more than a hundred yards west when the river suddenly surged, erupting in a terrifying splash more than thirty yards across. Yan Zi jumped in fright and