Cicadas shrilled in his ears. Stone steps, dampened by mist from the stream, climbed one after another like a stairway to heaven.
Black Snake thought the steps were a little high, perhaps because he was too short in human form. As for why he had originally turned into a little boy, even he could no longer remember. The girl in the filthy wedding dress followed behind him.
Every step took all her strength. Her knees went weak, and she panted hard. The stone stairs seemed to stretch on forever, their end always beyond reach.
If the small figure ahead had not kept stopping, she would probably have collapsed halfway up long ago.
Black Snake stopped every few steps to wait for her, then continued upward once she caught up.
Perhaps the upheaval of the myriad ghosts running rampant had yet to subside completely; no pilgrims came up the mountain that day.
The Azure Cloud Monastery was quiet, quiet enough to hear the waterfall.
Black Snake stopped and looked back expressionlessly.
He thought the girl resembled an animal bitten by a venomous snake, drained of strength and liable to fall headfirst and foam at the mouth at any moment.
When they finally reached the Stone Terrace, the girl bent over with her hands braced on her knees, gasping for breath. Sweat plastered her hair to her face, and waves of dizziness and nausea washed over her. At this hour, the Daoists in the monastery were all working, and no one noticed them.
Black Snake glanced upward. His Thermal Sensing picked out the Abbot standing behind the stone railing.
She had already seen them on the Stone Terrace. After a moment of silence, she sighed and started down.
The vibrations of her approaching footsteps were neither hurried nor slow.
Black Snake stood