Return Journey

The Tang Emperor's birthday banquet was held as scheduled, making all of Chang'an even livelier as it shared in the prosperity of the age.

Xu Ling slept soundly in her room. Bai Yujun did not dare go to the imperial city to freeload on food and drink. That was where the Human Emperor lived, protected by the Heavenly Dao, a place demons and evil beings could not approach. A mere snake demon would be easily injured if she came too close. Only if the Human Emperor or the imperial family invited her could she enter. In Bai Yujun's eyes, even an invitation was not something to accept lightly. Those above were watching closely.

Without bodyguards, she did not dare venture far. Bai Yujun came to the back gate of the Daoist Temple and stood there in a daze.

Pilgrims streamed endlessly through the front hall, while outside the back gate was merely an alley packed with homes. Children played and frolicked there, lending the place a peculiar leisure. She brought out a stool, sat at the entrance, and held some fruit to quench her thirst.

Before long, those wildly playing children caught Bai Yujun's attention.

The game they were playing was none other than Demon Subjugation.

"Ha! Demon, take my sword!"

A little boy waved a Wooden Stick, laughing and chasing after the child playing the demon. The group soon caught the demon and began discussing its punishment. Some said it should be captured and locked in a dungeon, while others said it should be tied up and burned alive. The child playing the demon cooperated wonderfully, crying out in pleading.

"Ahh~ I'm going to die~ Spare me~"

The children marched their captive demon around like generals who had won a great battle, while the adults nearby smiled as they watched them play.

For no reason, a bleak sorrow washed over her. Those not of our race must surely harbor different hearts. Did that make her a snake in Cao's camp with her heart in Han? Even if she took human form, it could not change the truth. Besides, she had never intended to become human in the first place. Being a snake was quite nice.

The drums and music of Daming Palace echoed in the distance. She sighed. It would be better to come down the mountain less often in the future. The human world belonged to humans in the end.

Still, it was not bad to come down and have some fun.

The sunlight was warm and felt wonderfully comfortable on her body. The temple keeper kindly brought her a jug of wine, saying it could ward off evil and keep out the cold. The instant Bai Yujun tore off the seal, she nearly bit that bleary-eyed old temple keeper to death. Of all the wines this mortal old man could have brought, why did it have to be a bottle of Realgar Wine? Wasn't this thing precisely for warding off evil and cold? Was he trying to anger a snake to death?!

In Chang'an's bustling streets, the White Snake rarely found such leisure, yet a jug of aged realgar wine nearly drove her mad.

Night fell.

Chu Zhe, Yang Mu, and the others returned to the outpost, but the two men did not look well. Xu Ling ran off to ask the elder who had entered the palace with them, only then learning what had happened inside. No one had been causing trouble—rather, two handsome men had caught the Princesses' eyes...

Chu Zhe and Yang Mu possessed immortal bearing, handsome faces, elegant grace, and an otherworldly air. How could the mortal world often see such men? During the palace banquet, they naturally caught the Princesses' attention, who even revealed their intention to take them as imperial sons-in-law. Chu Zhe was better off; he was older, had seen more, and could face it with a smile. Yang Mu's face became even colder. He had come to offer birthday congratulations only to convey his master Yu Rong's goodwill, not to become an imperial son-in-law.

The one interested in Chu Zhe was an older Princess. She had previously had an imperial son-in-law, who was said to have been angered to death because the Princess liked handsome men and had put countless green hats on his head. Now she had set her sights on Chu Zhe.

The one troubling Yang Mu was a little Princess of around ten, already awaiting marriage. Xu Ling laughed uproariously without the slightest concern for her image.

Yang Mu was truly frightened.

"Senior Brother, how about we set out tomorrow and return to the mountain early? We haven't cultivated since coming down the mountain, and it's delayed our progress."

Chu Zhe rubbed his temples with a headache. Hearing this, he thought it made sense.

"Fine. Once we finish dealing with Chang'an's affairs, we'll return to the mountain."

The moment Yang Mu heard the words "return to the mountain," he breathed a sigh of relief. He turned and shot Xu Ling, who was still laughing loudly, a vicious glare. He truly could not stand her exaggerated, affected smugness. Hearing that their senior brother was being pursued, she was not angry at all. What a tremendous change.

"Still laughing? Keep laughing, and be careful that those imperial princes in the palace take a fancy to you and drag you back to be a concubine. Then you can spend every day fighting a pack of jealous women for favor." His words were thoroughly venomous, instantly darkening Xu Ling's face.

"You dare insult me? Hmph! When we get back, I'll beg Master to make you come to Chang'an and become an imperial son-in-law!"

Beside them, Bai Yujun smiled as she drank her tea.

It was lively when they tore each other down, but it was only bickering. Bai Yujun had seen them quarrel far more fiercely than this. She truly did not know what these fellow disciples, who had lived in the same palace for so long, had to fight over.

Everyone said the two were a golden boy and jade maiden. By the usual course of events, they should at least have become a Dao companion pair envied by all. Yet reality was the opposite. Yang Mu and Xu Ling could not stand each other, and secretly playing tricks and throwing stumbling blocks in each other's path was as common as daily meals.

Bai Yujun was glad Xu Ling had not gone to the banquet. Otherwise, some imperial prince might have exhausted every means to keep Xu Ling behind.

Bai Yujun could not guess what those Princesses were thinking. After all, it was rather forcing a snake to do what she could not bear. Unexpectedly, the restless Princesses were somewhat impatient and actually begged the Tang Emperor to send someone to ask.

Fortunately, matters involving power struggles never lacked people eager to tear things down.

There were many ministers' spies in the palace. The Princesses had long been regarded by the major ministers as golden keys to drawing closer to the imperial clan and elevating their own families' power. How could they let the Princesses fly into ordinary households? Even if their legitimate sons did not wish to become imperial sons-in-law, did they not still have concubine-born sons? By the time the Emperor sent someone out, they had already secretly informed the cultivators at the Chunyang outpost through special channels.

Thus, a terrified Chu Zhe directly cast a spell, swept Bai Yujun and the other two along with him, and transformed into a streak of sword light as they flew away...

When the palace attendants reached the Chunyang outpost and learned that the people they sought had already left, they could only return to the palace to report.

Mount Hua.

Whether a leisurely life was comfortable varied from person to person. Some cultivated diligently, while others were greedy and lazy. Strangely, there was not much difference in their cultivation levels. It could only be said that each person's Dao was different, yet all roads ultimately led to the same destination.

The greedy and lazy one was Xu Ling.

At dawn, clouds and mist filled the air as purple qi rose.

The room door opened.

Bai Yujun yawned, her hair disheveled, and stretched lazily. Swaying in an S-shape, she walked to the cliff's edge and began Swallowing Clouds and Exhaling Mist. Xu Ling, so sleepy her eyes were half-closed, slowly dragged her sword along the ground as she went out for morning practice. Yang Mu had already washed and dressed, and was practicing swordsmanship by the cliff.

Xu Ling arrived at the training ground, tossed her sword onto the ground, and began meditating to catch up on sleep.

On the mountain across the gorge, a group of young disciples were running in the morning. They darted along the winding paths through the picturesque immortal mountains. The sea of clouds churned, palaces appeared and vanished through the mist, and even running no longer felt tiring.

After breakfast, Bai Yujun saw Yu Rong drag Xu Ling into the study by her ear.

"Master... It hurts... I was wrong..."

Yu Rong released Xu Ling and carefully examined her little disciple. She normally did not pay much attention, but looking closely now, Xu Ling really was a beauty in the making. Yet after all those days traveling down the mountain, why had there been no progress at all?

"Ling'er, during those days you traveled down the mountain, did you... have anything happen in terms of romance?"

Xu Ling blinked her large eyes, not understanding.

"Down the mountain? Romance? Let me think. There seemed to be a little."

Yu Rong's eyes lit up.

"Tell me about it."

"I just felt that Big White was amazing and pitiful. Master, you didn't see how incredible Big White was at solving cases—it was simply divine. Sigh, it's a pity she's a demon. People constantly wanted to beat or kill her, and she was even caught in the Demon Binding Net. If Senior Brother and I hadn't been there, Big White might have been broken down into materials and Sword Sheaths."

After speaking, she even shook her head.

"Compared to us humans, Big White really has it too hard."

Yu Rong rubbed her forehead. This girl could never grasp the important point. She had clearly asked about romance, so how had the subject turned to Big White?

"Go practice. You are not allowed to be lazy again."

"Oh."

Xu Ling felt that her master had been rather inexplicable this morning.