Talk After Daybreak

"Twanged!"

A zither note rang out sharply, like cloth being torn apart.

Sima Xiangru's eyes filled with horror as his right hand swiftly struck up another tune.

The clear, tinkling notes of snow-covered bamboo quickly rang out.

The transition from High Mountains and Flowing Water to Spring Snow was as sudden as a plunge from the height of summer into the depths of winter.

Zhang Qian touched his cheek and felt a trace of cold pass through it.

Snowflakes fell from the sky, giving the area a climate entirely different from that outside it.

Zhang Qian's heart grew cold as well.

He stared ahead expressionlessly, watching the images on the white cloth rapidly turn into a dense mass of flames before quickly fading.

From within the white cloth surrounding the spellcasting area came Dong Zhongshu's violent coughing.

His gaze was even more horrified than Sima Xiangru's, though it was mixed with a measure of relief at his narrow escape.

With his mind safely returned to its place, he regained control of his body. He reached out and grabbed Zhang Xuezhou, touching the Spirit-Communicating Jade at his waist.

A warm, smooth sensation reached him. Dong Zhongshu's body swayed three times, and the sound of wailing ghosts and howling wolves rang out in the air.

"Are you all right?"

Sima Xiangru stopped playing and quickly asked.

"I'm all right!"

Dong Zhongshu let out a long breath.

The horror in his eyes quickly faded.

The swift return of his mind to his body had weakened his spellcasting, but it had also given him a safe, secure harbor, where he would no longer be easily invaded by outside evil.

He held out his left hand. A trace of cold still lingered in its palm.

Dong Zhongshu knew this kind of presence well.

If he