The night was thick as ink, mountain silhouettes rising and falling beneath the moonlight. Black Snake sped close to the ground, scales brushing grass and gravel with faint rustles, winding up steep slopes before plunging into deep valleys.
Xiao Yu flew overhead to guide the way, sometimes landing on the tips of tall branches along the ridges. She opened her eyes wide, struggling to survey the terrain below, and corrected Black Snake's course with short cries.
They crossed one silent mountain ridge after another and forded streams on the valley floors.
Before noon, Black Snake and Xiao Yu returned to the familiar little valley. Black Snake coiled on the grass outside the fenced courtyard, flicking a forked tongue, while Xiao Yu landed on the doghouse, folded her wings to bask in the sun, and turned to preen her feathers.
The black dog ran off to find its master, whining and howling.
A short while later.
Xu Jin returned with a freshly cut log on his shoulder.
"It's been days since I last saw you two. Did you pick up any treasures on this trip?"
Black Snake flicked a forked tongue, and Xiao Yu drooped her head. Both were troubled and did not know where to begin.
Xu Jin set down the log. His gaze swept over the pile of odds and ends before Black Snake, and his eyebrows lifted slightly.
"You really did find something. Why does it smell of blood?"
Black Snake briefly recounted the previous night's events. When Xu Jin heard that Xiao Yu had been injured, he went inside to rummage for wound medicine. Whether it would help or not, they could apply it first.
Once the wound had been treated, the man, snake, and bird gathered outside the courtyard gate to discuss the cave and the