The spirit beasts gathered in a hollow in the cliff to shelter from the rain. A fire had been lit again inside the Thatched Hut, and its flickering glow was visible through the crack in the door. Smoke mingled with the rain and mist, drifting through the mountain.
It was warm inside. Everyone boiled water and brewed tea as they waited for dawn. Outside, the rain roared, drowning the entire mountain in its clamor.
The middle-aged man sat before the stove, using a wooden stick to push scraps into the firebox. The firelight reddened his face, still clouded with shock and uncertainty.
He hesitated for a long while before finally speaking in a low voice.
"Just now... I think I saw someone who died years ago. Why would they appear here?"
He kept his voice very low, afraid that the things outside would hear.
The woman remained composed, her voice as calm as still water.
"It's all right. Pay it no mind."
Everyone believed the downpour had held the evil spirits in check, and that with the uncanny creatures gone, they were safe for the moment.
No one noticed the long, dark silhouette slowly swimming through the depths of the pitch-black curtain of rain. Jin Si swung his tail, weaving through the downpour and silently circling the level ground on the cliff again and again.
As he patrolled and searched, he gulped down rain essence.
Watching the water surge in wave after wave through the hollow in the cliff, he thought that if this rain lasted until dawn, it would spare them considerable trouble.
He swam some distance away from the mountain. Only after flying farther out did he realize that the torrential rain was confined to the tall mountain, pouring down so heavily that it almost enclosed the entire