In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
Outside the Purple Bamboo Grove on Mount Putuo, mist drifted far and wide. A Black Bear Spirit hugged a gourd of pills as he lounged beneath a shady tree, one leg crossed over the other and swinging idly, utterly at ease.
He picked up a gleaming Golden Coffer Pill and held it toward the sunlight filtering through the shade, examining it closely. The longer he looked, the more delighted he became.
"Brother Black Bear, you certainly know how to enjoy yourself!" Just then, a voice suddenly came from beside him.
The voice sounded familiar. The Black Bear Spirit clenched the golden pill in his hand and turned to look.
With the light behind the newcomer, his face was somewhat indistinct, but the Black Bear Spirit recognized him at once.
"Haha, Brother Shen, what brings you here?" With a bear-sized kip-up, he sprang from the ground and called out excitedly.
The newcomer was none other than Shen Luo.
"I came back from Chang'an... with Cai Zhu," Shen Luo said.
"Brother Shen, I heard you and that girl Cai Zhu have already become Dao companions?" the Black Bear Spirit asked with a chuckle.
"That's right." Shen Luo nodded, readily admitting it.
"When will you hold a Dao companion ceremony?" the Black Bear Spirit asked.
"As soon as Cai Zhu returned, her master whisked her away to cultivate in seclusion, so we haven't discussed it yet. But I probably won't be staying here long either. If the timing doesn't work out, we'll have to choose a later date," Shen Luo said.
"That's no trouble." The Black Bear Spirit rubbed his belly and nodded.
"I came to see you partly because it's been so long and I wanted to catch up, and partly because