By evening, news of a dragon falling from the sky had spread like wildfire through the County Seat.
A black dragon had fallen when the morning thunderstorm ended, crashing into a field and gouging out a great pit. Not only the caravan but people elsewhere had witnessed it too, and their accounts agreed on both the time and the place.
Some panicked, some refused to believe it, and some, half-convinced, pressed for details. The more the news spread, the more outlandish it became.
The opera at the City God's temple continued, but its gongs and drums could not drown out the unease sweeping through the County Seat.
Black Snake picked up on something different.
People were still discussing the fallen dragon over and over. At first, they merely spoke of old myths, but later, someone began spreading a particular interpretation everywhere.
They said a dragon falling in the wilderness was Heaven's sign that the court's allotted fortune was nearly spent. A new dynasty should rise, and someone else should rule the land.
Black Snake looked utterly bewildered.
I only fell because I wasn't used to flying yet. What did that have to do with the court's fortune?
Already disgusted by those rude insults, Black Snake found these absurd, far-fetched rumors even more draining and lost all desire to watch the opera.
Black Snake simply got up and left.
Under cover of darkness, Black Snake bounded across the rooftops, discarded the cloak and straw hat, and climbed over the city wall. Back at the Lotus Pond, Black Snake slipped into the body, swished the tail, and emerged from the water, floating low over the grass in a winding glide. While swimming along, Black Snake built a passage to the Spirit Realm, darted upward, and vanished on the spot.
With experience entering