After nightfall, wind swept up along the rock face. The mountain grew colder than it had been during the day, and Jin Si found a huge horizontal crevice along the ridge that sheltered him from wind and rain. Its widest stretch had just enough room for him to curl up out of the wind.
Xiao Yu and Red Clothes squeezed in too. The crevice was considerably warmer than outside.
The Black Flood Dragon rested his enormous head on a rock, occasionally lifting it to glance at the cooking smoke rising from the cliffside terrace, anxious yet helpless.
Unable to help himself, he wriggled a little. The spikes on his back and his scales scraped against the walls of the crevice with piercing creaks, particularly distinct in the silent night. As the night deepened, Red Clothes gazed toward the terrace and spoke coldly.
"Yin souls and uncanny creatures are coming."
Jin Si raised his enormous head and glanced that way.
Sure enough, he saw many indistinct black shadows drifting up the cliff like smoke, utterly silent. He withdrew his gaze and went back to lying there.
The five Daoists and their Path-Guarding Spirit Beasts were hardly there for decoration. A few yin souls should not be beyond them.
"Let's wait a little longer."
With that, he rested his head on the rock again.
Everyone on the terrace stood together. The young martial artist and the middle-aged man had gone pale, but forced themselves not to retreat.
The five Path-Guarding Spirit Beasts attacked first. The White Crane's long beak pierced the black shadows' vital points with the precision of a sword. The Plum Blossom Deer lowered its head and charged, faint spiritual light bursting from its antlers as it shattered the uncanny creatures.
Every black shadow that drifted up was held at