Xiao Wu raised her head and glanced at Er Ming, who was sprawled by the lake, sleeping soundly.
Sunlight filtered through the canopy and fell across his brown-black fur. His enormous snores made the lake surface tremble faintly. He was sleeping deeply, with a glistening strand of drool hanging from the corner of his mouth.
Xiao Wu could not help but laugh.
She hopped down from the rock, her pink scorpion braid tracing a graceful arc through the air. Walking over to Er Ming, she lifted her toes and gave his hill-like shoulder a kick.
Er Ming rolled over, and his snoring abruptly grew louder. Then, amid a muffled grunt, he opened one lantern-sized yellow eye. Sleep still lingered in that eye.
"What is it, Sister Xiao Wu?" Er Ming's voice was muffled as he scratched his belly with a huge palm. "Did bad guys come? Where are they? Er Ming will beat them up!"
"There are no bad guys." Xiao Wu planted her hands on her hips and looked up at the foolish giant. "I'm just bored. Come take a walk with me. We'll just wander around nearby."
"Sure, sure!" Er Ming immediately scrambled to his feet, moving far too quickly for someone who had just awakened from a deep sleep.
Xiao Wu turned to look across the lake again.
There, an elegant figure was quietly resting atop a dark green boulder.
The nine-colored radiance flowing around the Nine-Colored Deer was even more brilliant than it had been a few years ago. The antlers on its head had also grown more slender and elegant, their tips wreathed in faint starlight. Its eyes were closed, as though it was cultivating—or perhaps merely dozing.
"Lord Auspicious Beast! We're going out for a stroll. We'll be back soon!" Xiao Wu called in