Ch 110: The Malevolent Monster Just Wants To Farm

She couldn’t react for a moment and foolishly asked, “Does transforming also come with a Dao companion?”

Jiang Lin: “…”

Zong Yu: “…”

Jiang Lin put on a stern face. “What are you thinking? Of course not. Zong Yu and I have known each other for many years.”

Xiao Qing was puzzled, thinking, Then why didn’t I know about this?

She looked at Zong Yu with envy and said, “Brother Jiang Lin’s Dao companion is also a powerful transformed demon. That’s great!”

Zong Yu suddenly found this little green snake particularly pleasing to the eye. Feeling in a good mood, he reached into his storage ring, took out a small white jade bottle, and poured a pill the color of vermilion into his palm. The red pill floated from his hand and landed on Xiao Qing’s head. As soon as it touched her scales, it seemed to melt and was absorbed into her skin.

Xiao Qing felt a warm sensation all over her body. Although she didn’t know what it was, she could tell it was something good.

“A little gift,” she heard this handsome and generous demon say.

Xiao Qing, delighted, said, “Thank you, sir.” Remembering something she had read in a storybook, she added thoughtfully, “I wish you and Brother Jiang Lin a happy and long life together for a hundred years.”

Jiang Lin: “…”

Zong Yu couldn’t help but smile as the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. He cleared his throat and corrected her, “A hundred years is what mortals strive for; we demons aim for ten thousand years.”

Xiao Qing was momentarily taken aback but then followed his lead, saying, “Then I wish Brother Jiang Lin and his Dao companion ten thousand years of happiness together.”

Jiang Lin: “…”

He couldn’t be bothered with these two silly creatures and turned to walk into the house.

But he didn’t see Bai Suzhen.

He asked Xiao Qing, “Did Suzhen go to the Xu household again?”

Xiao Qing replied, “Yes, we found a tree full of sweet pears today. I washed a few and left them in the hall. Sister said she wanted to bring some to her benefactor to taste.”

According to her usual routine, Bai Suzhen would visit the Xu family during the day and return quietly at night. But that night, she didn’t come back.

The next morning, when Jiang Lin still hadn’t seen her, he felt a vague sense of unease. He used his spiritual sense to locate her, and his expression changed slightly.

At the Xu household.

In the main hall, Xu parents were looking at their son with serious expressions.

Xu Xuan sat on the other side, with a cage at his feet. Inside was a very beautiful white snake.

The cage door was open, but the snake hadn’t come out. Its elegant body was coiled up, and it was slightly raising its head, looking at the family.

It turned out that the previous day, when Bai Suzhen brought pears to Xu Xuan, she happened to arrive when one of Xu Xuan’s friends had just given him a jar of homemade fruit wine. The wine was exceptionally fragrant, with a rich aroma and a hint of fruitiness, very mellow with a long-lasting finish.

By the time Bai Suzhen arrived, Xu Xuan had already had several glasses and was slightly tipsy. Being somewhat drunk, he did something that he probably wouldn’t have done while sober.

“My little white snake friend is here,” he said with a cheerful smile, pouring a glass of wine for the white snake. He warmly invited her, “Come and try it; it’s very fragrant.”

Bai Suzhen trusted her benefactor completely, and the pale golden liquid in front of her indeed smelled quite pleasant. She stuck out her tongue to taste it, and her body instantly recoiled.

So spicy!

Having never tasted alcohol before, the white snake was not at all accustomed to it. She thought, My benefactor actually tricked me!

But before she could get upset, the initial spicy sensation on her tongue faded, replaced by a lingering sweet and mellow flavor.

Huh?

Maybe my benefactor didn’t deceive me after all?

She hesitantly moved closer, extended her tongue again, and cautiously took another sip, even closing her eyes to savor the taste as if she were an expert. Before she knew it, the entire cup of wine had been consumed.

Xu Xuan, while drinking his own wine, watched this scene unfold. His eyes and brows were filled with a tipsy amusement, and he laughed, “It seems that my friend’s brew truly is a fine one, even a white snake has come to love it.”

With that, he retrieved some paper and ink from his study, and with a few swift strokes, a lifelike painting of a white snake drinking wine came to life on the paper.

Xu Xuan lifted the artwork to show the snake. “Look, do you think it looks like you?”

But when he looked, he saw that the white snake had collapsed limply on the stone table, completely drunk.

Xu Xuan chuckled, amused by the sight, and in his drunken state, he continued to write an essay titled A Day of Drinking with My Snake Friend on the paper. Eventually, the effects of the alcohol caught up with him, and he fell asleep in the courtyard.

As evening approached, the little servant boy came to fetch his young master for dinner. Upon entering the courtyard, he caught a whiff of alcohol and, from a distance, saw his master slumped over the table. Shaking his head, he thought, Drinking like this without worrying about catching a chill.

But when he got closer, the servant boy nearly had the fright of his life—there was a snake, several feet long, lying beside his master on the stone table!

Not daring to disturb them, the servant boy carefully approached and inspected his young master. Seeing that Xu Xuan was unhurt and breathing steadily, clearly sleeping soundly, he finally felt reassured.

As for the white snake…

Upon closer inspection, it was incredibly beautiful, with scales so pure they almost seemed to glimmer with a silvery light—clearly an extraordinary creature.

The snake appeared to be asleep, so the servant boy dared not touch it. Instead, he called for the household guards, instructing them to capture the white snake using some equipment.

When the guard saw the white snake, his eyes gleamed with greed. “A rare white snake like this must be worth a hundred gold coins!”

He found a cage with a fine mesh and carefully captured the drunken white snake, reporting the matter to the master and madam of the house.

Master Xu and Madam Xu were startled but felt relieved once they were sure Xu Xuan was unharmed.

They woke Xu Xuan and told him about the incident with a tone of relief and gratitude.

However, Xu Xuan’s expression immediately changed. “Where is the white snake?”

Madam Xu replied, “He Shan captured it and plans to sell it tomorrow morning.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Xuan let out a sigh of relief.

He then spoke seriously, “Mother, you’ve misunderstood. This white snake is not a harmful creature—it’s my friend.”

Madam Xu was bewildered. “What?”

Xu Xuan then recounted his experiences with the white snake. He smiled and said, “I happened to save it once, and it hasn’t forgotten me since, often bringing me tasty treats. It’s a creature that knows how to repay kindness—better than many people, even though it’s just a snake.”

But instead of easing their worries, Master Xu and Madam Xu became even more concerned upon hearing this.

“Well…” Master Xu, a merchant who had traveled far and wide in his younger days and seen many things, pondered aloud, “If that’s the case, this white snake might be something extraordinary. Such intelligence is almost akin to that of a demon.”

For common folk, demons were mysterious and fearsome beings.

Master Xu decisively said, “Our Xu family is just an ordinary household; it’s best not to get involved with such spiritual creatures. Xu Er, when the white snake wakes up, you should have a good talk with it and tell it not to come back again.”

Xu Xuan, however, disagreed. “Father, I’ve already told you, Xiao Bai is my friend. I just happened to save its life, and it remembers that, often coming to visit me. What’s there to fear about a snake that understands gratitude?”

“……”

When the white snake slowly regained consciousness, it overheard the argument between Xu Xuan and his parents.

Being naturally clever, it only needed to listen for a moment to understand what had happened.

It quietly glanced at its benefactor, then at Master Xu and Madam Xu.

The white snake suddenly moved.

It slowly slithered out of the cage at Xu Xuan’s feet, making its way toward the head of the table where Master Xu and Madam Xu sat.

As it moved, Master Xu and Madam Xu stopped talking, and their entire bodies tensed up as they watched it approach.

The white snake slowly wrapped itself around the corner of the table and climbed up to where a fruit platter was placed.

Somehow, with just a twist of its tail, it managed to lift a pear from the platter and balance it securely on its head.

Carrying the golden pear, it slithered over to Madam Xu, its pale golden eyes gazing up at her, while the tip of its tail playfully flicked in her direction.

Madam Xu didn’t react at first, but after a few moments, she realized: Was it offering her the pear?

Xu Xuan laughed and said, “Mother, Xiao Bai is trying to make you happy by offering you a pear. Please don’t be afraid of it.”

Indeed, Bai Suzhen’s striking appearance worked in her favor. After years of cultivation, her scales were pure white and flawless, each one glowing like the finest jade, devoid of any of the slimy, frightening qualities of ordinary snakes.

Madam Xu hesitated, but seeing the little snake patiently holding up the pear with its tiny head, which looked pitifully small in comparison, she finally softened and gently took the pear from it.

Bai Suzhen happily rubbed her head against Madam Xu’s wrist, to Madam Xu’s horror, before repeating the gesture and offering a pear to Master Xu.

Jiang Lin, who had hidden himself to check on things and ensure Bai Suzhen wouldn’t be mistreated, was left speechless: “…”

Alright, no need to worry.

As expected, only such open-minded and kind parents could raise someone like Xu Xuan. Now that they had accepted the pears, the words they had spoken earlier naturally no longer held any weight. The elder Xu couple reluctantly agreed to let their son handle the matter with the white snake as he saw fit.

It turns out that a cute, well-behaved little creature is loved no matter which world it’s in. At first, Madam Xu was quite afraid of the little white snake, but within half a month, the snake was already allowed inside the house, and Madam Xu even held her in her hands openly. The white snake became even closer to her than she was with Xu Xuan.

As the weather grew colder, Madam Xu even remarked, “Snakes must be afraid of the cold, right? Should I make a little outfit for Xiao Bai to wear?”

Bai Suzhen lived happily at the Xu household. She used to stay no longer than half a day or a full day, but now, she sometimes stayed for two or three days. When she returned to Donghua Mountain, she happily told Jiang Lin that Madam Xu had made her a beautiful little basket, lined with soft satin embroidered with flowers and plants, as a small bed for her to sleep in.

Judging by Madam Xu’s actions, she had likely started treating Bai Suzhen as a beloved pet.

Remarkably, though Bai Suzhen enjoyed the warmth and kindness of the Xu family, she never slacked off in her cultivation. She was still eager to transform into a human soon, hoping to give her benefactor a surprise.

Zong Yu, not showing favoritism, had given a top-quality spirit pill to both Xiao Qing and Bai Suzhen. It took Bai Suzhen two or three months to fully absorb the pill’s medicinal power. When she emerged from her seclusion, it was already spring.

She went to visit the Xu family, but soon returned with a worried expression.

Xiao Qing was playing on a swing—something she had invented herself, using the tip of her tail to hook onto a branch and swing her whole body back and forth. Honestly, a snake playing this way was quite a terrifying sight, but since no one usually visited this area, no one bothered her.

Seeing Bai Suzhen’s troubled expression, Xiao Qing curiously asked, “Sister, what’s wrong?”

Bai Suzhen replied, “Something happened at my benefactor’s house.”

To be more precise, it wasn’t exactly trouble at the Xu household.

Xu Xuan had been engaged for two years. The young lady he was betrothed to was the daughter of a scholar, reputed to be gentle and beautiful, though her only flaw was her frail health, prone to frequent illnesses. Originally, the two families had planned to hold the wedding after the new year when the weather improved. But unexpectedly, the young lady caught a cold in the winter, and her condition hadn’t improved since. Recently, with the sudden onset of a cold spell in the spring, her illness had worsened.

Madam Xu had visited the young lady twice, and each time she returned with a deeply worried expression. When Bai Suzhen visited the Xu family, she keenly sensed the tense atmosphere.

Xu Xuan continued to save lives at the clinic, but he no longer visited friends or drank alcohol. Madam Xu spent much of her time in the small Buddhist shrine at home, praying for blessings.

Bai Suzhen quickly learned the situation from the Xu family’s servants. She quietly sneaked over to the Liu family to see for herself. The young Miss Liu, who was Xu Xuan’s fiancée, had been frail from birth and had recently caught a cold, leaving her weak and listless, with an aura of impending doom. She appeared to be on the verge of death.

By now, Bai Suzhen understood human affairs quite well. She knew that Miss Liu, as Xu Xuan’s betrothed, held a relationship akin to that of Xu parents. If Miss Liu passed away, Xu Xuan and his entire family would be deeply grieved.

Bai Suzhen returned to Donghua Mountain and pondered the situation all night. The next day, the white snake was gone. Xiao Qing and the others assumed she had gone down the mountain to visit the Xu family, so they didn’t pay much attention.

Three days later, while Jiang Lin was eating, his expression suddenly changed, and he vanished from his seat. Shortly after, he returned, carrying a severely injured and barely alive white snake.

“Sister!” Xiao Qing was startled and quickly slithered over.

Bai Suzhen opened her eyes weakly, looking at Xiao Qing and Jiang Lin. With great difficulty, she spat out a fruit she had been holding in her mouth.

“Jiang Lin, can you do me a favor? Please deliver this to my benefactor. If Miss Liu continues like this, she really won’t make it.”

Jiang Lin placed the fruit in a box, his face darkening as he scolded her, “You disappeared without a word, just for this? If you had told me, I could have helped you directly.”

Bai Suzhen replied earnestly, “But I wanted to help my benefactor’s family. This is my responsibility; how could I drag you into this and make you take risks for me?”

“So you knew this was a risk,” Jiang Lin said as he used his spiritual power to slowly heal her wounds. But he received no response from Bai Suzhen.

It turned out that the white snake had already lost consciousness and fainted.

Xu Xuan had a dream. In the dream, a person dressed in white, whose face was unclear, handed him something: “This is a precious item my sister risked her life to find for you. If you give it to your fiancée, she will be cured.”

Xu Xuan asked the person, “Who is your sister?”

The person in white replied, “The white snake you saved.”

Xu Xuan suddenly woke up, realizing that he had fallen asleep at his desk. It was a dream, born out of his deep concern for Miss Liu’s health…

But then his gaze focused.

In front of him on the table was a small box, identical to the one the person in white had given him in his dream.

The Xu family definitely did not own such a box.

Xu Xuan hesitantly picked up the box and opened it, only to be greeted by a fragrant aroma. Inside was a small, thumb-sized, pale green fruit that looked crystal clear and extraordinary.

Xu Xuan’s expression changed as he recalled the dream, where the person in white had said that Xiao Bai had risked her life to obtain the item.

How was Xiao Bai doing?

He quickly got up to find Xu father and mother. When they heard about the situation, they were shocked, and upon seeing the fruit, though they didn’t recognize it, they could sense its extraordinary nature.

“So, Xiao Bai brought this to us?” Madam Xu clasped her hands together and recited a Buddhist prayer, her expression filled with concern. “But where is Xiao Bai?”

Xu Xuan shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Madam Xu looked at the box and asked, “Should I take this to the Liu family?”

Xu Xuan shook his head and tightened his grip on the box. “If the dream was real, the person in white said that Xiao Bai risked her life to get this. We can’t just accept it without doing something in return.”

Suddenly, he began to stride toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Madam Xu asked.

“I’m going to find Xiao Bai!” Xu Xuan replied.

He knew that Xiao Bai lived in Donghua Mountain.

Xu Xuan hurried to Donghua Mountain, unsure of where exactly to find Xiao Bai, so he decided to start by revisiting the place where he had saved her before. However, just as he reached the foot of the mountain, he encountered a familiar face.

It was the same young boy who had guided him down the mountain last time.

The boy, upon seeing Xu Xuan, said, “My master has asked me to invite you to the residence.”

Xu Xuan quickly responded, “I appreciate the kind offer from Mr. Jiang, but I have urgent matters to attend to and can’t visit right now.”

The boy tilted his head and looked at Xu Xuan, saying, “Aren’t you here to see Miss Bai?”

Xu Xuan: ?

The boy continued naturally, “Our master is Miss Bai’s brother.”

Xu Xuan: ?

He stood there in a daze, trying to process what the boy was saying.

The boy had already turned and was walking ahead.

Xu Xuan instinctively followed him, his mind swirling with confusion: Could it be that someone as extraordinary as Mr. Jiang was not actually human?

Could Xiao Bai really be a demon?

And what about Mr. Jiang’s sister…

Suddenly, he remembered the two young women he had met at Mr. Jiang’s residence.

That night, when the girl in white had knocked on his door, her demeanor had been so innocent, almost overly so.

He had thought that perhaps the Jiang family didn’t strictly educate their children, but now he realized… they weren’t human, so naturally, they didn’t understand human customs.

The path up the mountain felt especially long, and when Xu Xuan finally saw the familiar mansion, he found Jiang Lin waiting at the entrance, alongside a man Xu Xuan had never met, who was strikingly handsome and exuded an overwhelming presence.

Xu Xuan approached them with a complex expression. “Mr. Jiang.”

Jiang Lin nodded at him. “I apologize for concealing our true identities earlier, fearing you might overthink things.”

Xu Xuan shook his head. “There’s no need to apologize. I was lost in the mountains, and you took care of me. I’m grateful to you for that, and your identity doesn’t change that fact.”