Black Snake descended the mountain, snapping shrubs and sending loose stones rolling in a crackling clatter wherever he passed.
Had a herd of wild boars been at the bottom of the valley, Black Snake would certainly have given them a wide berth. These blurred, distorted phantoms did not fall within his understanding of deadly threats. Even with their bizarre forms and grotesquely twisted faces, Black Snake could not recognize anger or venomous hatred, and so felt no fear of them.
Black Snake slithered closer but found none of the prey he had expected.
There were only strange phantoms writhing and struggling all over the ground.
A frenzied phantom charged over, breached his safe perimeter, and slammed hard into him. Though the phantom dissipated, Black Snake confirmed that he had been attacked. There was a threat!
That unmistakable signal instantly ignited his fighting instincts, and he abruptly accelerated into an attack!
His pitch-black body plunged into the stream, splashing up water, his raised head towering over the dense grass.
Without a roar, he swiftly summoned his cool energy and charged coldly into the tightly packed phantoms. He had intended to attack his targets with his venomous fangs, but unexpectedly, the phantoms dissipated on contact. He simply barreled through them and crushed them instead!
Black Snake discovered that when he activated his stored energy, he dealt severe damage to any eerie creatures he touched.
He had spent the entire rainy season coiled on the mountaintop, drawing lightning to temper his body. Not only had he completed the initial patching of his deficiencies, but he had also retained a little of lightning's supremely yang, supremely unyielding aura.
There was not much, but it was enough to deal with these eerie creatures.
At the sight, the fox could no longer contain its excitement and darted out, slashing with sharp claws and biting viciously with pointed teeth. The ghostly shadows, already scattered by Black Snake, fell into even greater disarray.
As the battle raged, some of the eerie creatures inexplicably began tearing at and wrestling with one another.
The fat weasel stood atop the Thatched Hut, waving its paws as though carefully manipulating something. Like the fox, it had grown much stronger than before.
Chi Ke shouted exuberantly.
"Thank you, my two mountain friends, for saving my life!"
Unable to see the roof from inside, he assumed that two mountain spirits had come to his aid.
No sooner had he spoken than the fat weasel took offense. In a few bounds, it sprang from the roof to the doorway and waved its paws repeatedly, setting several more phantoms wrestling with each other.
Seeing this, Chi Ke hastily corrected himself.
"That was an oversight on my part. Thank you, all three of you, for saving my life! I will certainly engrave this kindness upon my heart!"
Though tonight had been perilous, it had truly been spectacular as well. How many times in a person's life could they witness such a scene firsthand? Even if only a corner of the supernatural world had been lifted, it was enough to leave an account for posterity.
Black Snake slaughtered the phantoms fastest; a mere brush against him destroyed them. The eerie creatures lunged frantically, and the more frenzied they became, the more they stirred his ferocity.
The fox was like a leaping ball of fire, igniting ghostly shadows wherever it went. Its attacks were cunning and nimble, bearing traces of deliberate planning. Though its ferocity fell short of Black Snake's cold ruthlessness, it excelled in quick wits and agility.
The eerie creatures were slower than the fox and Black Snake and were rapidly cleared away.
Perhaps realizing that the tide had turned against them, the remaining eerie creatures scattered and fled in every direction.
The fox glanced at the fleeing phantoms, turned, and ran into the Thatched Hut. It lay down and went motionless. In Black Snake's unusual vision, a warm fox-shaped shadow left its body and bounded lightly after the phantoms, striking them down and destroying them one by one.
It could go out without getting sleepy and falling asleep?
Black Snake slithered over the ruined fence to the foot of the Thatched Hut's wall, coiled his body, and covered his eyes with his nictitating membranes.
How exactly had the fox done it? Stay still, then go out?
Right, its body seemed to have lost some of its warm aura earlier. Black Snake tried mobilizing his own cool aura while imagining his consciousness going outside.
When he saw himself coiled at the foot of the wall, Black Snake knew he had learned how.
He became a streak of black light, darting through the dim, colorless valley, precisely locking onto the phantoms fleeing in all directions and extinguishing them one by one!
He was faster than the phantoms anyway. He only had to catch up, bite once, and turn toward the next target.
The Thatched Hut.
The fat weasel watched its two neighbors weaving through the woods with appreciation.
Chi Ke looked at the motionless fox on the floor, worried that a vicious ghost had harmed it. Its steady breathing did not suggest danger. Earlier, he had been able to see Black Snake wreaking havoc outside by the firelight, knocking down the fence with brute force and stirring the dead leaves into a rustle. Now there was no sound or movement from him either.
He rubbed his face hard. He remembered a red fox-shaped shadow rushing out in a moment of distraction just now. Why were his eyes playing tricks on him again and again...
Not daring to act rashly, he could only sit beside the brazier and keep watch.
About as long as it took to add two pieces of dry firewood later.
The fox's ears twitched, and it raised its head and yawned.
At the foot of the wall, Black Snake slowly raised his head as well. The chase had taken a little mental energy; he figured absorbing some more mountain mist would restore his strength.
Seeing the fat weasel enter the hut, Black Snake curiously slithered to the doorway and poked his head inside to look around.
The fox padded back to the brazier and lay down again, while the weasel moved close to the fire to dry its damp upper body.
And so, a wondrous scene appeared inside the Thatched Hut.
Chi Ke sat furthest inside, with the brazier in the middle and the fox and weasel warming themselves on either side. Black Snake, the largest of them, lay coiled outside the doorway with his head poking indoors, his gaze fixed intently on the flames, occasionally flicking out his tongue to catch scents.
The inexplicable calamity of the eerie creatures had brought these wild mountain spirits, who usually kept to themselves, into an alliance.
The four half-trained wild cultivators in the valley had gathered together. Chi Ke counted as a wild cultivator too; without a master's teachings or any clear cultivation method, he naturally belonged among them.
Chi Ke bound his fingers with strips of cloth. Sitting amid the surrounding spirits, he felt an unprecedented sense of safety envelop his heart.
The fox gave a squeak.
The weasel stood upright and squeaked twice, seemingly in reply, while Black Snake casually twitched the tip of his tail.
Chi Ke blinked, then nodded as though he understood.
Next came a discussion between the fox and the fat weasel. They called back and forth, and sometimes the fox's cries carried a tone that seemed almost like laughter.
Seeing Black Snake remain silent, Chi Ke felt a little better. At least there was someone else who could not get a word in, just like him.
You'll never believe why I moved to... Hsinchu
My life in emojis: ️ , , ,️
MeetSingles
You'll never believe why I moved to... Hsinchu
My life in emojis: ️ , , ,️
MeetSingles
Looking for someone in Hsinchu today
Willing to lie about how we met
Singleflirt
oL
oking for someone in Hsinchu today
Willing to lie about how we met
Singleflirt
The discussion continued. Firelight reddened four very different faces. After half a night of terror and tension, Chi Ke grew drowsy in the warmth of the fire, sleepiness washing over him.
Had someone blundered into the Thatched Hut at that moment, the strange sight might have frightened them into fainting on the spot.
A faint streak of fish-belly white showed through the fog-shrouded sky.
The fox called to Black Snake, and this time he understood. The fox said the threat had not been completely eradicated. Something was still hiding somewhere, but it had searched everywhere without finding it. They had to keep searching; they absolutely could not leave a hidden danger in the valley.
Black Snake flicked out his tongue and twitched the tip of his tail in agreement.
He loathed any potential threat. His reactions would become sluggish during hibernation. With danger lurking beside his pillow, he would have no sense of safety whatsoever.
So the threat had to be rooted out completely!
The sky gradually brightened as the four half-trained wild cultivators conferred.
Hungry, exhausted, and half asleep, Chi Ke suddenly heard Book Boy's voice outside, seemingly near the stream. He immediately thought, This is bad!
He had only survived by the protection of his three friends. Had Book Boy not walked straight into the tiger's jaws by leaving the little courtyard alone?
He hurried to his feet and strode out into the disordered yard. Sure enough, Book Boy's voice came from beside the stream.
"Sir-! Where are you-!"
He hastily called back.
"I'm at the Thatched Hut! Come over here! Quickly!"
Warmth filled Chi Ke's heart. Book Boy must have woken up, found him missing, and ventured out to search for him. He appreciated that loyalty, but it was dangerous outside. A vicious ghost could be lurking anywhere. What would he do if something happened?
The fog was still thick, the sky not yet fully light, and everything around him was hazy.
Footsteps approached from a distance, and a moving figure gradually emerged from the mist. Chi Ke held his breath, his palms sweating with worry.
When Book Boy ran up to him, panting and leading the yellow dog, Chi Ke froze in place, momentarily unsure what to say.
Book Boy had not left the little courtyard entirely unprepared.
He had draped a shed snakeskin over himself as though wearing a straw rain cape...