Rain hung like gauze, and the River stretched white into the distance. A dark back swayed from side to side, appearing and disappearing as Black Snake swam with his head raised through waters that merged with the sky.
There was no need to hurry on the return trip. A comfortable cruising speed would do.
Whenever he spotted a wooden boat or smoke rising from houses along the bank, he sank about three feet below the surface and sped along.
When hunger struck, he caught a few plump fish to fill his belly.
People standing on the banks or at the bows of boats could not see the dark shape traveling three feet underwater. Only the egrets flying overhead noticed the enormous black creature.
On the way back, he could clearly feel that the water had risen.
The entire River had turned a muddy yellow, carrying branches, scraps of grass, and even the occasional animal carcass as it surged downstream in a mighty torrent.
He shifted deftly sideways, avoiding a tree with green branches and leaves drifting downstream.
Black Snake suddenly remembered the Sunken Wood on the riverbed.
The walking corpse and the Yin Soul had both sheltered there. It was probably an ominous place that gathered yin energy and nourished souls. On his way back, he would drag the tree out, lest it stir up trouble later.
A broad swath of floating firewood and broken timber drifted toward him, bobbing densely on the muddy waves.
He sank deeper and passed beneath the jumble of debris.
He saw a small wooden boat drift overhead. Someone must have failed to tie it securely, allowing the Floodwaters to sweep it away.
Only when the floating wood began to thin did he raise his head.
Ahead, at a bend in the River, the once-towering