Chapter Nine:Whispers by the Fire
The four riders made good progress through the day, their path winding along the edge of green valleys and pine-shadowed hills. By nightfall, they found a small clearing near a stream, the water reflecting shards of moonlight.
Wei Xie gathered dry branches while Yun Mao lit the fire.
Wang San sat cross-legged on a rock, lazily playing a tune on his flute. It was a light, cheerful melody — but Yun Zhan noticed something. The notes were just a little too sharp, too watchful.
"You're scanning the forest," Yun Zhan said flatly.
Wang San smirked but didn't stop playing. "Maybe. Or maybe I'm just making sure you don't fall asleep bored."
Wei Xie returned with an armful of wood. "If he's nervous, I'm nervous."
They ate in relative quiet. The night was cold but calm… until the calm broke.
It began as a faint ripple in the stream, too slow for wind.
Then came the sound — a wet, dragging hiss, as if something enormous was moving just beneath the water's surface.
Yun Mao's eyes lifted toward the sound. "It's too far from the lake for the serpent."
"Or maybe it's scouting," Wei Xie muttered, hand drifting toward his sword.
The water's surface bulged — not enough to break, but enough for a shadow to ripple against the moonlight.
Yun Zhan stood, sword already drawn. "Wake the horses. If it's following us—"
But before he could finish, a single drop of water splashed onto the bank.
It steamed.
Wang San stopped playing and slipped the flute into its case. "Yeah," he said quietly, "that's not normal."
From the shadows at the far bank, a pair of glowing eyes blinked open.