Deep Mountain Herb Gatherer

The Hundred Thousand Mountains stretched boundlessly, filled with venomous insects, fierce beasts, and miasma-filled waters. The harsh environment meant few people ventured there, but this unique setting nurtured countless creatures and rare spirit medicines.

Places where spiritual energy gathered would birth special medicinal ingredients, imbued with the essence of heaven and earth and the refined energy of the sun and moon. Consequently, these ingredients often attracted wild beasts eager to consume them.

One day, White Snake was slithering through the mountain forest, hunting, unaware that a change was coming to her serpentine life...

Beasts and birds possessed an ability: without needing to learn or gain experience, they could discern good from bad purely on instinct, as if guided by some unseen force. This was called instinct.

White Snake raised her head, flicking her tongue to search for the scent of prey.

Suddenly, a scent particle that enticed snakes deeply stimulated her olfactory system. It was a fragrance she had never encountered before, a faint, pleasant aroma that made her feel comfortable. It was as if a voice in her mind urged her to eat it quickly. Drawing upon genetic memories from the depths of her soul, White Snake confirmed it wasn't a trap. After a slight hesitation, she twisted her body and followed the scent.

She slithered across a small stream, her tongue constantly catching the scent as she moved rapidly. The smell indicated it wasn't far. Climbing a slope, she found a hollowed-out spot in a mountain stream halfway up the mountainside. Inside was a small water pit, about a meter square. Beside the pit, she saw a tender green blade of grass. The small grass was emerald green all over, like glazed jade. Digestive fluid involuntarily dripped from the corner of her mouth. With almost no hesitation, she opened her snake mouth and swallowed the blade of grass, roots and soil and all. Then, White Snake felt a heat spread through her belly, her vision went black, and she fainted...

In reality, the green grass wasn't wild grass or some rare, exotic species. It was merely a potent tonic with sufficient medicinal effects, fortunate enough to be growing in a place where spiritual energy converged, making it a superior quality. White Snake knew nothing of such things; she only knew that eating it would be beneficial. Moreover, if she didn't eat it, other fierce beasts might come seeking it.

Being unconscious in the forest was dangerous, but fortunately, the small water pit was hidden halfway up the mountainside in a secluded stream.

The sun set and the moon rose. White Snake, who had been unconscious for a day, twitched her tail and slowly awoke.

Upon waking, she cursed herself for being careless. Thankfully, she hadn't been poisoned. She then felt as if her entire body was bound and tight, an uncomfortable sensation. Having shed her skin several times before, White Snake knew she was about to grow larger and longer. She twisted her serpentine body and began to descend the mountain.

She returned to her old lair among the rocks and burrowed into the jumble of stones, using the sharp edges of the rocks to scrape herself.

Snake scales were the outermost layer of keratinized skin, extremely tough, preventing moisture loss from within. They didn't grow with the body; she had to shed her old skin to become larger. White Snake was a little puzzled. It had been less than a month since her last molt, so why had she grown again?

First, the skin on her head peeled off. Using the rough edges, she continued to scrape, bit by bit, from head to tail, shedding the old skin. Finally, the tip of her tail molted, and the entire process was complete.

With human-like intelligence, White Snake used her tail to coil up the old skin and hide it in a crevice, doing so to avoid attracting the attention of hawks and falcons.

Shedding skin was very dangerous. Not to mention the constant threat of predators, failing to shed the old skin could lead to death and consume a large amount of nutrients. Many snake catchers took advantage of snakes shedding their skin, when their bodies were stiff and their temperaments docile, to capture them. Otherwise, White Snake wouldn't have burrowed into the pile of rocks.

Exhausted, she fell into a deep sleep once more...

The next day.

White Snake discovered that her scales were whiter and more beautiful, and she had grown longer. From head to tail, she was a full five meters long, making her a behemoth in this forest. A larger body meant greater combat power. White Snake didn't know her limit, but she knew that bigger was always better.

The weather was fine, so she slithered out of her cave to continue hunting.

The Hundred Thousand Mountains were difficult to cultivate and unsuitable for human habitation. The harsh environment meant few people ventured there, but precisely because of this, it had become a coveted destination for impoverished herb gatherers. Carrying various tools and insect repellent, these gatherers ventured deep into the mountains one after another, earning meager silver to support their families. Many never returned.

In a mountain valley, there was a water pool about a hundred meters in circumference. The pool was small but deep. By the water's edge was a cliff covered in moss. A man with a medicine basket on his back, appearing to be in his thirties, was clinging to it, gathering herbs.

He tightly grasped a vine with his left hand, while his right hand carefully plucked a complete herb from a rock crevice and placed it into his basket.

He slowly moved horizontally to another spot, holding onto the vine. Upon seeing the plant in the rock crevice, the herb gatherer rejoiced. It was Dendrobium officinale! This risky venture into the mountains had paid off handsomely! The money from selling it would be enough for his wife to buy a bolt of cloth to make clothes. The delighted herb gatherer began to pick the Dendrobium officinale, failing to notice that the vine in his hand was severely worn by the rock...

The herb gatherer suddenly felt his left hand go empty and tumbled backward! He thought to himself, My life is over.

Splash! Water sprayed everywhere.

Most poor people who lived in the mountains year-round knew how to swim. The man intended to swim to the shore, but his arm was injured when he fell from the cliff, making it impossible to exert force. He could barely float on the water's surface and couldn't swim. This greatly panicked the man.

"Help... help me..."

The cries for help echoed through the valley. Even though he knew there was no one nearby, he instinctively shouted for survival.

In the distance, White Snake raised her head.

Did she just hear a strange sound? Finding no anomaly, she lowered her head and continued crawling in search of prey.

In fact, the cries for help were loud, but snakes primarily used their undersides to sense vibrations, so she hadn't clearly heard the calls. It wasn't until White Snake reached the edge of the pool that she saw the person struggling in the water through her infrared senses.

Through the infrared image, she knew it was a human.

A human?

In her twenty years of existence, White Snake had never seen a single human. She had thought there was no one else in this world. The appearance of the person who had fallen into the water stirred memories deep within her soul.

In the time it took, the herb gatherer's struggles grew weaker, and he slowly sank into the water.

As the herb gatherer drifted, believing he was about to die, he saw a giant white snake swimming towards him. Truly, a man fallen into the water in the deep mountains, and to top it off, encountering a great snake.

Alas, my family, the old and the young...

Underwater, White Snake twisted her body and quickly swam to the herb gatherer. She wrapped her tail around his shoulder and forcefully swam towards the shore.

A moment later.

"Cough... cough..."

The man who had fallen into the water lay on the bank, coughing up water incessantly. Finally, he sat up abruptly, gasping for air. Before he lost consciousness, he remembered a large snake dragging him away. Waking up, he found himself on the shore. Where was that large snake?

He looked up to see a snake's head, as thick as a bowl, right in front of him.

"Ah..."

With a scream, the herb gatherer scrambled backward in panic. However, the cliff face was behind him, leaving him nowhere to retreat. The white snake didn't move and was even looking at him with an expression of disdain. Yes, disdain. The herb gatherer was certain that snake was looking down on his loud shouting.

From the details of the man's clothing and hairstyle, White Snake deduced that he was an ancient person, with yellow skin, black hair, and an Eastern facial structure. The weaving technology was rudimentary, and his clothing and hair bore a resemblance to the Qin-Han style. This meant it was an ancient world.

After observing for a long time, White Snake turned and left.

For some reason, the herb gatherer felt as if the snake had sighed, which was very strange.

White Snake was merely reflecting. A snake is a snake; no matter what its past life was, it's all in the past. Seeing the human didn't stir much emotion within her. Perhaps twenty years had allowed her to leave the past behind. The reason she saved him was simply the lingering trace of humanity in her heart. After all, he was the first person she had seen, and he held a small commemorative significance.

The herb gatherer breathed a sigh of relief. He examined the injury on his arm and found some herbs to treat it. After bandaging his wound, he realized the sun was setting rapidly. It seemed he wouldn't be able to leave today.

His medicine basket was lost, and with it, his provisions. Just as he was suffering from hunger, that white snake returned.

It dropped a strangled pheasant and then turned to leave.

The herb gatherer stared dumbfounded at the food on the ground and then at the retreating white snake. He quickly knelt down and kowtowed, mumbling incoherently