Lin Yueru kept screaming, as though she had seen something dreadful. Still, she could not open the door.
Lin Xianguo seized my hand in desperation. 'An, you've got some skill, haven't you? Do something! Open the door and see what's happened to Yueru!'
He was plainly frantic for his daughter. I was about to act when a sound came from the entrance below.
I turned. A black snake as thick around as a bucket was crawling slowly in through the doorway.
The servants scattered in fright, each finding somewhere to hide.
Where could such a huge snake have come from? There were no mountains nearby. Had it come through the gates, surely the bodyguards would have tried to stop it.
Yet it seemed to have appeared from nowhere and was now making its slow way upstairs.
Lin Xianguo recoiled at the sight.
I felt no fear. I had seen this snake before, when it helped carry away Grandfather's coffin.
Its presence was oppressive and commanding, like a king among snakes. Though it seemed to move slowly, it was soon before us.
Lin Xianguo stood frozen, too frightened even to move away from the enormous snake in front of him.
I looked at it, and it looked back. Its gaze was remarkably human.
I could almost see a wish to communicate in its eyes.
With a light flick of its tail, it struck the door. Strangely, nothing broke. The door simply swung open.
Then the snake flashed out of sight like a streak of black lightning. Its speed bore no resemblance to that leisurely climb up the stairs.
I heard a wail, like an animal crying out as it died.
When I looked again, a red fox hung from the snake's mouth, caught in its powerful jaws.
The fox struggled once and went still. It was unusually large, almost the size of a Chinese village dog.
Beside the black snake's enormous body, however, it looked small.
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Many glossy black hairs grew along its back. This was plainly a fox that had cultivated spiritual power.
But why had it come to attack Lin Yueru?
Uncle Qiu had warned me that she would be in danger. That was why he had sent me to check on her.
Was this fox the danger he had meant?
And what was the black snake doing here?
The snake swallowed the fox in one mouthful. It looked at me once more, then crawled slowly out through the window.
Through it all, Lin Xianguo had stood rigid in the doorway, unable to collect himself.
Once the snake had gone, he rushed into the room. Lin Yueru had already fainted.
I went over and examined her. She had been badly frightened, but was otherwise unharmed. I let out a breath of relief.
'Uncle Lin, this was a warning. You haven't honored your promise to Grandfather. I don't know where this will end. I came only because Uncle Qiu said Yueru might be in danger. But I can't appear in time on every occasion. If you intend to break your word, I hope you can bear the price.'
Now that the danger to Lin Yueru had passed, I meant to leave.
Before doing so, I looked at her father.
My words were no threat. I was stating a simple fact.
He had broken his agreement with Grandfather. No one could say what would follow, not even I, Grandfather's grandson.
Nor did I know why that fox had appeared in Lin Yueru's room.
I had a head full of questions and wanted to ask Uncle Qiu for answers.
'I'm not threatening you. If you insist on taking it that way, there's nothing I can say. Think how many influential men came for the Plain-Robed Ghosthand's final divination. That should tell you something of his reputation. A man can leave this world and still leave his influence behind. You can't undo it simply by finding some feng shui master.'
I gave Lin Xianguo one last sideways glance, then turned to go.
But as I reached the sitting room, the scene before me abruptly changed.
Darkness swept in through the front door. In an instant, everything around me went black.
I stood perfectly still.
What was happening?
Startled by the sudden darkness, I was about to react when two lanterns slowly appeared in it. Two red lanterns, in a blackness so deep I could not see my hand.
Looking more closely, I realized they were not lanterns at all. They were eyes.
The eyes of an immense creature, lantern-sized and burning red.
Anyone afraid of confined spaces, darkness, or enormous things would have felt they were suffocating here.
In that pitch-black space, all I could see was a pair of enormous eyes watching me, glowing red.
'Liu Kunlun!'
A voice came from the owner of those eyes.
It seemed to come from the world's primordial depths, carrying an irresistible force. I wanted to fall to my knees and submit.
But the moment that feeling arose, a powerful surge welled up inside me. Courage filled my chest and drove the impulse away.
Before I could do anything more, the darkness ebbed like a tide. It vanished as quickly as it had come.
The owner of those eyes was gone as well.
I was still standing in the Lin family's sitting room. Looking back, I saw Lin Xianguo upstairs, watching me in puzzlement.
Perhaps all he had seen was me start to leave, then stop abruptly in the sitting room.
He had no idea what had happened to me. Even I, who had experienced it, was full of bewilderment.
Liu Kunlun. That was what the terrifying creature had said, or so it seemed. It sounded like a name.
Whose name? And why had the creature come to find me?