Halfway up the mountain, at Giant Rock.
Black Snake's scales had polished the rock until it shone like jade. The sun blazed overhead, yet it could not dispel the weakness that seeped into his marrow. He dimly realized that all the strength he had painstakingly gathered throughout the rainy season had been exhausted in the battle at the bottom of the pool. He desperately longed for a torrential downpour and dazzling thunderbolts.
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A noisy commotion rose from the courtyard.
Barking, angry shouts, and Chi Ke's frightened cries shattered the valley's tranquility.
He turned his head and glanced over.
All the heat signatures making a fuss were familiar. He could not be bothered to join the commotion. Two-legged beasts were always so unwilling to settle down.
The gates of Lone Crag Courtyard were tightly shut.
Chi Ke poked his head above the wall and shouted at the hunter on the platform outside.
"Speak! Are you a man or a ghost?"
The hunter was utterly bewildered. How had things turned out like this after a single trip down the mountain? Where would a ghost come from in broad daylight? Had his employer lost his mind?
"Sir! It's me!"
"How can you prove you're human? Step back! Stay away from the gates! I'll summon our mountain friend to subdue... subdue you!"
Seeing the hand crossbow poking over the wall, the hunter hurriedly backed away and held his bundle in front of himself. He had no desire to be shot clean through by his deranged employer. The arrowhead was smeared blood-red, as though coated in cinnabar. A wound from that would be difficult to treat.
The yellow dog barked wildly and leaped about inside the courtyard, desperately trying to scramble over the wall.
Seeing the shadow beneath the hunter's feet, Chi Ke felt somewhat reassured. He thought the hunter was probably human, but could not be entirely certain. What if some evil thing had possessed him?
Gritting his teeth, he motioned for Book Boy to open the gate a crack.
The moment the gate opened, the yellow dog squeezed through, rushed to the hunter's feet, and wagged its tail furiously, eagerly licking his hand.
After some thought, Chi Ke still felt uneasy. He told Book Boy to take the snake shedding outside and drape it over the hunter. Deep down, he trusted Black Snake's power more.
The hunter could only submit. He watched Book Boy approach cautiously and drape the snake shedding over him. The smell of snake rushed straight into his nostrils.
"Phew... all right. You're human."
Chi Ke let out a long breath.
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It was enough that the hunter was alive. He had been terribly worried that something might have happened to him, and knowing he was safe set his mind at ease.
Cooking smoke rose from the courtyard, restoring its familiar bustle of everyday life. The three began searching the mountains and valleys for snake sheddings, and they had to be ones shed by Black Snake.
The valley's spring water remained clear. Birdsong and insect calls wove together, filling the place with flourishing life.
With a plump wild mouse in its mouth, the fox leaped onto a smooth, clean boulder beside the stream. It lowered its head and leisurely tore into its meal.
Suddenly, its ears swiveled alertly.
It spotted a figure wearing a straw hat in the distance. The brim was pulled low, concealing the face, but the stooped posture revealed that the person was no longer young.
It sniffed. A human-and a Qi Refiner at that.
But the person's gait was a little awkward. The fox hurriedly gulped down the remaining food in a few bites, lightly leaped onto a higher rock, and silently watched from a distance.
The old man stopped in front of the rock and looked up.
"To think there's a Fox Cultivator in these desolate mountains. Hiss... that hurts!"
His mouth twisted as he sucked in a breath.
The fox narrowed its eyes for a closer look. Beneath the straw hat's shadow was a swollen, distorted face. His cheeks bulged as though stuffed with chestnuts, and his exposed wrists and ankles were swollen shiny. He smelled of yellow poison wasps. No wonder he staggered when he walked-wasp stings had left him in this state. So even human Qi Refiners could be reduced to such a sorry mess by tiny mountain insects.
The old man's speech was muffled. His entire body hurt and itched, leaving him both angry and amused.
"A rotten little brat set me up. He looked honest enough, but his belly was full of wicked schemes. Ow... it hurts something fierce..."
He crushed the medicinal herbs clutched in his hand, squeezed out their green juice, and grimaced as he smeared it onto the swollen areas. As he worked, he grumbled and groaned, muttering that he would catch that wicked boy and let him taste the poison wasps too.
After recovering a little, he looked up and continued speaking to the fox.
"Have you seen any evil spirits or vicious ghosts? Most of them amount to little, but one is particularly dangerous."
The fox nodded.
"Oh? You saw it? Which way did it flee?"
The old man's eyes lit up. He had already given up hope of catching the evil spirit, yet here was a spirit monster in the mountains that had actually seen it.
The fox lightly jumped down from the rock, walked a few steps, then looked back. A gentle flick of its tail signaled for the old man to follow.
The old man hurried after the fox, though doubts stirred in his mind. Why was this Fox Cultivator leading him there personally instead of simply pointing the way?
After walking some distance, he saw the Thatched Hut. Its fence was badly broken, though the hut itself remained intact. Only the door hung crookedly, propped up by two pieces of timber to keep it from falling.
Clearly, no one had lived there for a long time. All signs of human habitation in the valley were concentrated in Lone Crag Courtyard halfway up the mountain.
The old man's brows knitted tightly. He caught a stench of decay mixed with blood, and judging by the withered plants surrounding the hut, he suspected that something sinister had run rampant here.
With a soft cry, the fox continued leading the way and brought the old man to the deep pool.
The old man crouched, scooped up a handful of clear water, and sniffed it carefully. There was no strange odor. He took a sip as well; the water was cool and clear, nothing unusual.
Seeing the fox crouched motionless in the crooked-necked old tree, he examined the surroundings again-the pool, the cracks in the rocks, the soil-yet still found not the slightest trace of lingering deathly energy.
But surely this Fox Cultivator had not led him all this way just to toy with him.
He steadied his mind and turned his gaze back toward the deep, dark pool.
Hmm?
This water... such a strong trace of thunder arts.
He closed his eyes.
The fox tilted its head and watched the old man. He remained motionless with his eyes shut as an indescribable energy slowly extended outward, probing deep into the pool like feelers.
It waited patiently, then witnessed a wondrous sight: something rose unsteadily from the bottom of the pool!
It looked like a splinter of bone dug out of the earth, a thin little piece. Probably not edible.
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The old man reached out, scooped up the object, and pinched it between his fingers.
He blinked, scarcely able to believe it. Almost no deathly energy remained in the Bone Fragment.
"It was destroyed? Who did it?"
Looking at the fox crouched nearby and watching curiously, the old man believed he had guessed the truth.
"Was it an elder of yours? My thanks to our friend dwelling deep in the mountains for taking action. I never expected to find someone so well versed in thunder arts here."
The fox tilted its head. It did understand a little human speech, but this sentence left it completely lost in the clouds.
The old man took out a piece of red cloth, carefully wrapped the Bone Fragment, and put it into his cloth pouch. He nodded to the bewildered fox.
"Farewell."
With that, he turned and retraced his steps, unable to resist scratching his red, swollen face as he walked.
He paid no attention to Lone Crag Courtyard halfway up the mountain, and perhaps he had also forgotten to settle accounts with that rotten brat. He had been stung, and that was that. He would count it as treatment for his old ailments.
Halfway up the mountain, Black Snake watched the unfamiliar heat signature leave through his thermal senses. He lowered his body again and focused on basking in the sun. The memory of the phantom's rampage was already growing hazy. Only one thought remained clear: his head needed to grow bigger. A bigger head would frighten more beasts and give him a stronger bite.
He dozed off groggily. When he woke and examined himself carefully, only an extremely faint wisp of mist slowly seeped out.
Lightning really was wonderful.
He paid no heed to the passage of time, and the darkness of night quietly receded.
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The fox leaped onto Giant Rock, found a corner to sit in, and gave a lazy yawn.
The fat weasel climbed up too.
Three sets of heavy footsteps approached. Chi Ke arrived with the hunter and Book Boy. The hunter and Book Boy greeted the three wild cultivators, then sat beneath the nearby grass shelter to doze. Chi Ke expertly laid out his cushion in his usual spot. Too lazy to sit upright, he simply lay on his side, waiting quietly for the mountain mist and morning sun.
The sky gradually brightened. Cool morning mist washed over the valley like a tide, and the four wild cultivators drew deep, great breaths.
Chi Ke could not be bothered to assume a rigid posture. He felt that breathing practice flowed more smoothly while lying like this.
Once the white mist dispersed, he took out a book and began his lesson. The fox and fat weasel listened attentively. Only Black Snake flicked his tongue and stared blankly at the clouds.
As noon approached, the wild cultivators went their separate ways, leaving only Black Snake basking in the sun and waiting for rain.
Chi Ke had the hunter bring two pheasants to thank him for saving their lives.