Suddenly, a red-eyed white snake with a peach blossom atop its head emerged from each of the two black boots beneath the bed. As thick as chopsticks, they slipped silently into the bed curtains.
The two translucent Peach-Blossom White Snakes crawled slowly along the woman's body and onto Zhang Yulin's arms, slithering over his sweat-soaked skin.
Zhang Yulin noticed nothing.
Through Li Qingxian's eyes, the two Peach-Blossom White Snakes slipped silently into Zhang Yulin's nostrils, then traveled down his windpipe into his lungs.
Zhang Yulin's chest swelled and contracted, then slowly returned to normal.
Once he was finished, Zhang Yulin grabbed a little breakfast and headed to the Ministry of Justice Yamen.
Dragon hour.
The sun had just risen.
Zhang Yulin left the Ministry of Justice Yamen with several subordinates, cursing as he headed to a restaurant to investigate a wanted criminal's whereabouts.
He left Ministry of Justice Street and entered an adjoining street, where vendors' stalls lined both sides and cries rang out incessantly.
A black pig's head hung at a pork stall. Suddenly, its tongue broke off and fell to the ground, inching forward like a worm.
A white dog slowly approached the roadside, its dark green eyes fixed on Zhang Yulin. It whined softly in its throat, saliva dripping from the corners of its mouth and flowing slowly across the ground.
One dog tooth after another fell into the saliva, forming a line that slowly flowed toward Zhang Yulin.
A dead blue-green carp leaped down from a hanging fishing net, slapping the ground and twisting its body as it hopped toward Zhang Yulin.
Not one person in the crowded street saw any of it.
The pig's tongue, dog teeth, and dead fish all struck Zhang Yulin without a sound.
Marks from nets and bites appeared across Zhang