Chapter 2

I had cultivated for many years. I might not understand scripture, but I understood the Way of Heaven.

All living things possessed spirits, and the Three Realms had to remain in balance.

When the Way flourished, monsters arose in the world.

When monsters multiplied, monks gained power.

When power grew too great, the Way destroyed the monks.

The Way followed nature.

Sooner or later, Yuanzhen’s deeds would recoil upon him.

I led the young woman out of the woods and found her family to take her home.

She cried and refused to leave. “Ah Yuan, where are you? You promised we’d run away together! You’re not a monster. You’re not, are you?”

I could not bear the racket. I was also afraid she might cry herself blind, so I cast a spell and put her to sleep.

She had shown me how humans shed tears. I could not let her lose her sight.

I curled up in a tree to sleep.

“Aren’t you afraid?” a little centipede asked me.

I ignored him.

“That wicked monk often kills monsters and cuts out their cores to strengthen his own cultivation,” he whispered.

I looked down. “Surely not?”

“That’s what everyone says. Why else would he kill monsters?” Centipedes ought not to have so many legs. They ought to have several tongues instead, better suited to all their gossip.

I ignored him again.

The night was silent until someone came down the path and disturbed my sleep.

I opened my eyes. A man with a book chest on his back was strolling beneath the trees.

A female ghost followed him.

I warned her coldly, “Keep away. This is my territory.”

The ghost still tried to possess him. I flicked my tongue, and she fled in terror.

The man was not as beautiful as Yuanzhen, but he was pleasant enough to look at. As though sensing me, he sat beneath the branch where I was coiled.

Mortals could not see me. Curious, I changed into a little black snake and slithered toward him.

He looked harmless. When he saw me, he jumped, then patted his own chest. “Just a false alarm. I thought I’d run into a ghost.”

You had run into one.

I watched him in silence.

He looked back at me. “Hungry?”

“Do snakes eat travel rations?” he muttered to himself.

No.

But he could not hear me. Foolishly, he broke off a piece of hard flatbread and offered it to me.

He placed it on the ground and coaxed, “Go on. It’s all right. It tastes good.”

What an idiot.

Snakes did not eat bread.

I curled up beside him.

He was remarkably bold. He even reached out and tapped my head. “What an adorable little snake. Meeting like this must be fate. Why don’t I give you a name?”

I wanted to bite him. But he had offered me a name, so I cocked my head and fixed him with a dark stare.

“My surname is Su. Why don’t you take Su as well?” he asked tentatively. Then he thought for a moment and recited, “The black serpent leaps from the deep abyss; the rainbird dances in the wild court. What about Su Yuan?”

“No, no. Who gives a snake the name of a bird?” He racked his brains. At last, he touched my head in delight. “Then how about Yun Chongyu? The black serpent lies hidden in a sacred spring, summons cloud and rain, and leaps from the deep abyss. It’s a wonderful name.”

Yun Chongyu.

I had never studied and did not understand all his reasoning, but I thought the name beautiful.

“Little snake, do you think I’ll pass the imperial examinations?” The wretched scholar kept stroking my head. I dodged him, annoyed.

A red light shone at the center of his brow. He would pass the provincial examination and even become the top scholar. But calamity waited in his fate, and he would not live past the following year.

I did not interfere in human affairs.

I ignored him.

The scholar departed at first light, leaving the hard piece of bread behind.

Was he stupid?

Snakes did not eat bread.

But I, too, was going to the capital. I had to tell the handsome monk that I had a name now.

Yun Chongyu. It truly was beautiful.

When I found the wicked monk, he was chanting sutras at the Great Buddha Temple.

Someone called him the abbot.

I sashayed inside. I disliked heat, so while everyone else still wore cloaks, I swept through the crowd in a gauzy dress and a thin shift.

Many people stared at me.

I did not understand why.

Yuanzhen seemed to know. His face turned crimson. He seized me and dragged me to an empty courtyard behind the main hall. “What are you wearing?” he hissed.

I was baffled. “Clothes. This is how you mortals dress.”

“That is…” He turned his head, unable to look at me. “That is an undergarment!”

Under, over, east, west—what nonsense was he talking?

I frowned. “What undergarment? I brought these clothes from the north, so they must be northern garments.”

A cool aura clung to him. I could not help moving closer and melting against his chest. “Yuanzhen, I have a name. Yun Chongyu. Isn’t it lovely?”

Yuanzhen grew angry and shoved me away. “Leave at once. This is a solemn Buddhist temple, no place for you.”

“I’m not leaving. The Buddha hasn’t driven me out, so why should you?” I did not like being pushed. I stared at him balefully. “This is the Buddha’s temple, his dwelling. You’re only a monk who sweeps his courtyard. What right have you to cast me out?”

I moved close again. If he pushed me a second time, I would certainly bite him.

Yuanzhen looked away. I found that very strange. “Yuanzhen, why won’t you look at me?”

“Am I ugly?” I had never seen what my human form looked like. I slowly touched my face. “Or do you hate me?”

He ignored me and turned to leave. “Go back to your mountain. You have not harmed anyone, so I will not fight you.”

I refused.

I changed into a snake as slender as a little finger and wound myself around the arm beneath his wide sleeve.

“Stop this nonsense!” He tried to shake me off.

I spoke into his mind. “You’re so concerned for every living soul. You should guide me onto the righteous path. You’re the only person I know in the mortal world.”

Yuanzhen would not listen. He kept trying to fling me away.

I was not afraid. “If you throw me off, I’ll take human form and lie in the temple until you let me stay.”

Just then, someone arrived whom Yuanzhen dared not slight. He had no choice but to endure me wrapped around his arm.

This man was deliciously cool. It felt wonderful.

Half asleep, I heard the visitor whisper, “…His Majesty is plagued by nightmares, and his health worsens every day. You must find some way to help him, Abbot.”

Yuanzhen promised that he would.

His monastic robe was voluminous. Even when I slipped inside and nestled against his chest, the visitor could not see me.

Mischief took hold of me. I dragged my tongue slowly across his chest.

His skin was so hot.

I could not stand it. I had to slither lower.

I had barely reached his waist when he shot to his feet and said through gritted teeth, “Rest assured, Eunuch. Yuanzhen will do everything in his power.”

The visitor left.

Sandalwood incense perfumed the room. Yuanzhen ripped me out of his robes and hurled me to the floor.

Fortunately, I was quick. In an instant, I took human form and landed seated beside his legs.

“You’re so cruel.”

I leaned between his thighs and gazed up at him pitifully. “You hurt me.”

Yuanzhen’s expression darkened. He turned to leave. I caught his leg and instinctively coiled my body around him. “You may not go. You still haven’t told me whether Yun Chongyu is a beautiful name.”

My breasts pressed against his waist. I wrapped both legs around his ankles and clung to his backside with both hands. Now I had him entirely in my embrace. There was no possible escape.

“Let go.” Afraid someone might see, he glanced nervously toward the window and scolded me under his breath.

No one had needed to teach me. I had already learned the mortal art of bargaining. I tipped my face up with a beaming smile. “I can let go. But you must let me stay with you.”

“You’re an eminent monk. By your side, I’m sure I’ll become an immortal in no time.”