Ch 106: The Malevolent Monster Just Wants To Farm

Jiang Lin was deceiving the two of them.

It wasn’t that the white fox had gained some sort of fortuitous opportunity; rather, when Jiang Lin entered this body, the Nine Spirits Technique directly transformed this demonic form. His current strength far exceeded that of someone who had just transformed.

Inside the space, Qingluo and the others were present. However, Jiang Lin considered that since the three demons had always depended on each other, it would be suspicious if powerful demons suddenly appeared around him, so he asked them to wait a bit. Qingluo and the others didn’t mind at all; they enjoyed being in the Jade Space, which was a wonderful place to stay.

Even though they didn’t come out, it didn’t prevent them from communicating with Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin’s transformation seemed to have spurred the white and green snakes into action. Not to mention the already diligent white snake, even the usually lazy Xiao Qing started to take cultivation seriously. She no longer played in the forest catching birds but instead practiced earnestly with the white snake every day.

After all, who wouldn’t be envious after seeing the divine powers Jiang Lin displayed post-transformation?

Every so often, the white snake would disappear for a few days. Jiang Lin and Xiao Qing both knew she was visiting her benefactor in Donghua Town. Every time she went, she would bring something—sometimes sweet and sour fruits from the mountain, other times herbs that were difficult to pick from steep places.

Xu Xuan was a perceptive person, and after encountering these incidents a few times, he realized something was amiss. He kept an eye out and soon discovered the white snake’s tracks.

The white snake returned to Donghua Mountain in a panic.

“It scared me to death,” she hissed, still shaken. “He suddenly appeared and caught me off guard!”

“And then?” Xiao Qing asked, listening intently.

“Then I ran away.”

The white snake was a bit worried. “Even though the benefactor isn’t afraid of snakes, if he knew I was trying to repay him, he might get scared.”

Despite her words, it wasn’t long before she sneaked down the mountain again.

A day later, the white snake returned happily.

“I saw the benefactor. He still remembers me and asked if I was the injured white snake from that day. He even thanked me for the gifts!”

Xu Xuan indeed seemed to be an extraordinary person. Seeing that this white snake was highly intelligent and capable of gratitude, he wasn’t frightened; instead, he was quite pleased.

Jiang Lin took a look around Donghua Mountain and found the scenery beautiful, the spiritual energy abundant, making it a great place to live. Since he was also curious about the further development of the white snake and Xu Xuan, he decided to settle down in Donghua Mountain by establishing a residence there.

Then he met Xu Xuan.

Xu Xuan was indeed a gentle and refined scholar, polite and kind to everyone, upright but not rigid. He had already started treating patients with simple illnesses, and when he encountered families too poor to afford his services, he would waive the fees if possible.

The white snake got along very well with him.

Knowing that her benefactor didn’t fear or reject her, she became bolder and often visited him openly.

Xu Xuan came from a well-off family. Although he lived with his parents, he had his own private courtyard with several rooms and a young servant boy to attend to him.

When he wasn’t attending to patients, Xu Xuan would have his servant brew a pot of tea. He would then take a medical book or some other reading material and sit there for several hours. During these times, the servant boy generally knew not to disturb him.

After visiting a few times, the white snake learned this routine. Knowing that Xu Xuan didn’t mind her presence, she would curl up on a stone bench in the courtyard and quietly watch Xu Xuan read. Surprisingly, the atmosphere between the man and the snake was quite harmonious.

After several such visits, Xu Xuan found the little snake amusing. One day, when the white snake came to see him, she noticed that in addition to the teapot on the table, there was also a plate of snacks—pickled candied plums with a hint of perilla, which tasted particularly good.

When Xu Xuan saw the white snake, he said, “I’ve always felt that you’re exceptionally intelligent, not an ordinary snake. Can you understand what I’m saying? These are plums I bought in the street. Many people like them. If you can eat them, you should try some.”

The white snake lightly flicked her tail, glanced at Xu Xuan a few times, and slowly slithered onto the table. Seeing this, Xu Xuan was delighted. He carefully picked up a plum and placed it in front of the snake.

The white snake slowly opened her mouth and took the plum.

Delicious!

After swallowing the plum, she looked up at Xu Xuan again. Somehow, Xu Xuan felt he could see a sense of enjoyment and longing in the snake’s eyes. He couldn’t help but laugh, gently pushing the plate towards her. “This was specially prepared for you. If you like it, feel free to eat.”

That day, the white snake devoured an entire plate of candied plums and returned to Donghua Mountain fully satisfied.

Over time, Xu Xuan grew fond of her intelligence and began teaching her to read. The idea struck him on a whim, and at first, he thought he was being foolish. But to his surprise, the white snake seemed to understand. When he read a word aloud a few times and wrote it down, the snake could actually find the same word in a book and point to it with the tip of her tail.

Xu Xuan was overjoyed and began treating this non-human student with extra care.

One day, the white snake returned to Donghua Mountain.

Since Jiang Lin had already transformed and didn’t want to settle for just any cave, he chose a place rich in spiritual energy and beautiful surroundings to build a large house. The white snake and the green snake benefited from this as well, each getting a room in the big house, so they no longer had to sleep exposed in the mountain forests.

When the white snake entered the house, she found Jiang Lin returning from the field with two freshly picked, crisp cabbages. After finishing the house, the first thing he did was use magic to create a large fenced garden around the house to grow vegetables.

The white and green snakes didn’t quite understand why a fox spirit would enjoy farming. At the very least, it wasn’t something they liked.

Xiao Qing even said, “If I could transform, I’d go down the mountain immediately. I’ve heard the human world is so much fun.”

But in their eyes, Jiang Lin, who had transformed first and seemed to know everything, was an incredibly powerful demon. Whatever he did surely had a reason.

So, in their eyes, farming also became a form of cultivation.

The white snake excitedly called out to Jiang Lin and then went to bring Xiao Qing over.

“I’ve already learned to recognize many characters from my benefactor,” she said proudly. “I’ve come up with a name for myself.”

“Bai Suzhen!”

She asked excitedly, “How is it? Does it sound good?”

Jiang Lin nodded. “It’s a very nice name.”

Xiao Qing, still a bit confused, tilted her head and asked, “What does it mean?”

The white snake thought for a moment and replied, “‘Su’ means white, which matches my scales. The character ‘Zhen’ is from a book I read; it has a beautiful meaning.”

“Oh.” Xiao Qing seemed to understand a bit, and she responded enthusiastically, “It sounds very nice!”

Seeing that the white snake had chosen a name, Xiao Qing felt envious. “I want a name too.”

The white snake was about to suggest a name for her but then remembered what Jiang Lin had said earlier. After thinking for a moment, she said, “How about I learn more characters from my benefactor and teach you when I return? Then you can choose your own name.”

Jiang Lin smiled and said, “There’s no need to go through all that trouble. I can teach Xiao Qing.”

Both Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing looked at him in surprise. “You know how to read?”

Jiang Lin nodded.

“But,” Xiao Qing was puzzled, “you’ve always stayed on the mountain. Where did you learn?”

Jiang Lin casually replied, “After transforming, I naturally understood many things.”

“Does transforming really have such benefits?”

Jiang Lin nodded seriously. “Yes, so you should work hard in your cultivation and strive to transform soon.”

The spirits in the Jade Space: “…”

The teacher has turned bad! He’s actually tricking these two naive little snake spirits!

However, it was settled that Jiang Lin would teach Xiao Qing to read. Not just Xiao Qing—since Bai Suzhen didn’t go down the mountain every day, when she was on Donghua Mountain, she would join Xiao Qing in attending Jiang Lin’s lessons.

One day, Jiang Lin was reading an essay on travel when he suddenly exclaimed, “Hmm?”

Xiao Qing, who was engrossed in listening to him read, asked, “Jiang Lin-gege, what’s wrong?”

The white snake also looked at him in confusion.

Strangely enough, even though she was older than the white fox, Bai Suzhen used to be called “sister” by both the white fox and Xiao Qing when the three of them were together. But ever since Jiang Lin transformed, despite his kind and easygoing nature and his habit of growing delicious food for them, Bai Suzhen inexplicably felt a bit of fear towards him and never mentioned having Jiang Lin call her “sister” again.

However, in the demon world, strength comes first. Although Bai Suzhen was a bit older than Jiang Lin, he had transformed earlier and was much more powerful. In terms of status and seniority, Bai Suzhen should indeed respect Jiang Lin as her elder.

Jiang Lin put down the essay he was holding and smiled, “A guest has arrived.”

“A guest?”

“An old acquaintance,” Jiang Lin added.

Earlier that day, Xu Xuan had set out with a medicine basket on his back, intending to gather a herb called shichongcao in Donghua Mountain. This plant was said to produce extremely vibrant and fragrant flowers that attracted many butterflies and bees during its blooming season. However, its petals and pollen were highly toxic, causing any insect that approached to be poisoned, die nearby, and eventually become nourishment for the plant.

Xu Xuan had visited Donghua Mountain many times, and his family had simply cautioned him to be careful before letting him go. But today’s trip wasn’t going well; shichongcao was rare, and despite searching for a long time, Xu Xuan couldn’t find any. Unknowingly, he had ventured deeper into the mountain, and by the time he felt hunger gnawing at him, the sun was already beginning to set. It dawned on him that it was getting late, and he should head back down before it got dark and dangerous.

However, when Xu Xuan turned to retrace his steps, he realized that he hadn’t paid attention to the terrain while collecting herbs. The area he was in was completely unfamiliar to him.

He tried to follow his memory and walk back, but the more he walked, the stranger and more remote the path seemed. He was lost.

Xu Xuan sighed, broke off a tree branch to use as a walking stick, and also for protection. But even as the sun sank halfway below the horizon, he still hadn’t found his way out.

Luckily, he had packed enough food, as he hadn’t planned on returning home that same day. Still, spending the night on the lower, safer parts of the mountain was quite different from staying overnight in the less-traveled areas of the higher slopes.

Ahead, another fork in the path appeared. Xu Xuan, with his tired legs aching, decided that if this path didn’t lead him out, he would find a spot to rest for the night. He looked at the two paths and chose the one on the left.

To his surprise, the narrow path, covered with fallen branches and leaves and barely resembling a path at all, gradually widened as he walked further.

His spirits lifted, and he quickened his pace.

Finally, he emerged from the dense forest, and the view before him was breathtaking.

Xu Xuan’s eyes widened in astonishment. He hadn’t known that Donghua Mountain harbored such a place! Before him lay a flat, open area where all the tangled trees had been cleared away. Neat fences enclosed a spacious and beautiful estate. In the background, a narrow waterfall cascaded down a steep cliff, forming a clear stream that flowed gently through the area.

The scenery was absolutely stunning.