At the summit, Xiao Yu saw the familiar figure return, and Black Snake raised his great head.
Moonlight reflected in his slit pupils as he flicked his tongue out of habit.
Black Snake went over the incident again and again. A golden-body illusion was not something just anyone could conjure, especially an ordinary mortal. He suspected the old man might belong to some faction.
Today's events had inexplicably earned him an enemy, and more trouble might follow.
How annoying.
He needed a way to erase the rumor that he had been enlightened and subdued. Rather than waste his breath denying it, he might as well find another solution and wipe out its influence altogether. He turned to Xiao Yu.
"Go back to the Spirit Realm first. I have something to take care of."
Xiao Yu nodded in understanding, spread her wings, and shot into the sky. In an instant, she vanished into the sea of clouds.
After pondering for a while, Black Snake finally came up with a plan.
Without further delay, he slithered swiftly over mountains and ridges, heading straight for the great River.
He lingered in the waters around Lin Family Crossing for several days. Few people crossed the River during that time, just scattered handfuls that amounted to little. Too few people would not do; word would never spread. A crowd would be better. One would tell ten, and ten would tell a hundred. That would work better than shouting about it everywhere himself.
One windless afternoon, the number of people crossing the River suddenly increased.
Black Snake rose from the riverbed, exposing his back above the surface, and swam gently with a swish of his tail. His five-zhang body stood out against the calm River. He deliberately approached a ferry laden with travelers as it slowly