Back on the familiar mountaintop, Black Snake coiled around a smooth rock, closed his eyes, and soon fell asleep in the warm sunshine.
His enormous head rested on the rock, his tail tip occasionally twitching without his knowing.
The mountains were peaceful after all.
Or rather, anywhere the Abbot was felt safe. He wondered what she thought of last night's events.
In any case, she had her own arrangements. He knew nothing of winding schemes and plots; he only needed to do his work in peace.
Be cautious, live safely and long. Aim for five hundred years first.
Black Snake stayed on the mountaintop the whole time and did not go guard the mountain at night either. He planned to stay around the summit and the Stone Terrace whenever nothing needed doing, and avoid the crossroads for now.
He would only guard the mountain from the Stone Terrace outside the Mountain Gate. He would keep things steady for a couple of months first.
He still did not draw in the mist at dawn.
That morning, several young female Daoists who had only recently entered the Daoist path came up the mountain, climbing along a small ridge together to gather mushrooms. Now and then, their blue-robed figures appeared through gaps in the leaves, and their clear laughter carried over.
Black Snake shifted to the other side of the rock, lowered his head, and continued sunning himself.
The laughter in the woods drew closer, though the women did not roll up their sleeves to climb the rocks.
The wind on the summit rose and fell. Without it, the mellow sunlight warmed his whole body; when it came, only a clear, penetrating coolness remained.
Many crows circled in the distant sky.
The scorched stench in the air had faded. It seemed he could