Little Girl

The White Snake, who had been observing humans from the hillside behind the village, intended to return to the deep mountains. However, on the last day before her departure, she met a little girl.

The girl was six or seven years old, with pigtails and a washed-out coarse cloth skirt. She was hopping around the back mountain, catching butterflies and picking flowers. Normally, the back mountain was safe, with few animals. But today, a lame old wolf was lurking there. The disabled wolf, unable to catch prey, was already starving, its eyes glowing green. The tiny human happened to fall into the category of delicious and easy to catch. The wolf immediately opened its large mouth and lunged at the little girl...

The plot was rather cliché. Just as the little girl stood frozen, moments away from death in the wolf's jaws, a flash of white light streaked through!

The White Snake, with extreme speed, coiled around the old wolf, loop after loop. It was a snake's ultimate move: after coiling, it would contract its muscles, tightening until the prey suffocated or its bones were crushed.

The old wolf's survival instinct flared, and it frantically kicked and clawed. It dug up the ground, its claws leaving white marks on the snake's scales. The White Snake, wary of the wolf's snapping jaws, had coiled around its neck first. It tightened its coils, making it harder for the wolf to breathe.

The girl sat on the ground, staring blankly at the giant White Snake and the struggling wolf.

The wolf's eyes widened, bloodshot, and bloody foam sprayed from its nostrils...

The coiled snake and wolf rolled on the ground. Gradually, the old wolf's movements grew weaker. It was dying, unable to breathe fresh air or break free from the coils. Its consciousness began to fade.

The opponent was dead, but the White Snake still held it tightly, not releasing its grip. This was a snake's way of ensuring the prey wouldn't recover if suffocated for too short a time. The White Snake continued to constrict the wolf's corpse until its body temperature dropped.

She looked up and saw the girl peeking from behind a tree.

That little one has quite some courage. That fellow Wang Da back then was so scared he scrambled away, nearly passing out.

Releasing the old wolf, the White Snake coiled into a circle and curiously watched the girl. The girl gnawed on her dirty little hand, looking both frightened and curious. If she were cleaned up, she'd be quite pretty. Facing a fierce beast without fear, she's a brave and wise little girl.

Snake and human simply stared at each other in silence.

Finally, the girl, unable to contain her curiosity, spoke.

"Are... are you the Snake Immortal from the back mountain?"

"..."

The White Snake was speechless. It seemed the legends that had spread years ago had quite an impact. Even a little child knew about snake spirits and immortals. Otherwise, she would have been crying and running home by now.

The snake's head nodded twice, indicating yes.

Seeing the White Snake nod, the girl's surprised mouth formed an "O" shape, stunned once more.

"You can understand me?"

The snake's head nodded twice again.

The girl was amazed. She even imagined how much attention she would get if she told her friends back in the village about a big snake that could understand human speech. How magical!

After thinking for a moment, she asked another question.

"Will you eat me? Daddy says wild animals in the mountains all eat people."

The White Snake shook its head. Although it really wanted to nod and scare her, it decided against it. It was rare to find someone who wasn't afraid and could chat. Where would it find another?

"That's great~ I knew you were too beautiful to eat people~"

The girl's innocence shone through. If it were an adult or a more sensible child, they would have run away long ago. How could they stay here and wait to talk? Before the White Snake could react, the girl actually ran over and touched its scales with her small hand, looking incredibly envious.

"So pretty~ Whiter than my big ceramic bowl, so beautiful!"

"..."

On the hillside, an old wolf lay dead. Beside it, a six- or seven-year-old girl was manhandling the giant White Snake. The scene was indescribably bizarre. The White Snake began to suspect the girl's sanity...

And so, the White Snake, which had planned to return to the deep mountains, stayed near the village.

Every morning, as usual, she climbed the high mountain to inhale the mist. In the morning, she returned to the forest behind the village. A girl named Yun'er often came to chat and play with the White Snake. When Yun'er got tired of talking to herself, she would lie on the White Snake and sleep soundly.

To prevent Yun'er from encountering poisonous snakes or insects and getting hurt when she entered the mountains, the White Snake would drive away all venomous creatures at night. Unlike Wang Da, who was in his thirties, the White Snake didn't have to worry about betrayal or deception when dealing with this little girl. Yun'er just wanted to play and treated the White Snake as a friend. Perhaps it was her little secret, as she hadn't told anyone, including her parents.

Several months passed in the blink of an eye.

One day, Yun'er walked up to the White Snake, looking dejected, and sat directly on its body.

The White Snake turned its head to look at the girl. Its forked tongue brushed against Yun'er's neck, tickling her and making her laugh heartily. That's right, as long as she's happy. Why should a young child be so downcast?

When she was tired of laughing, Yun'er lay on the grass with the White Snake, gazing up at the sky.

"Mother wants me to learn needlework, but it's so hard. I've pricked my fingers several times with the needle. I also have to learn to cook and manage the fire. She says my life will be spent cooking, making fire, and mending clothes at home..."

The White Snake didn't know what to say. Cooking, making fire, and mending clothes were the entirety of a woman's life in this era. Oh, and bearing children. If they made a few wrong moves, they could even be put in a pig cage and thrown into the river. This was no joke. Countless pale skeletons in the river told tales of injustice. The term "drowning in a pig cage" had many variations, but women's status in the old era was truly low.

Poor Yun'er was just beginning to experience the hardships of being a woman.

Gradually, the conversation shifted from playing and fruits to Yun'er having to do this and that. She was the older sister. Ever since her younger brother was born, all the good food had to be given to him. When buying fabric, priority was given to making new clothes for him. Yun'er, with her small frame, had already started doing chores. Cooking was a given, and she also had to go and cut green grass for the pigs every day.

The White Snake could do nothing about this.

Summer quietly passed, giving way to the crisp autumn. Yun'er had to help her family with farm work and didn't have time to come out and play. After some thought, the White Snake decided to return to the mountains for a few days.

The mountain village didn't produce much grain. Therefore, in autumn, to "gain weight" and store food, people would form groups to hunt in the mountains. The White Snake did not want to conflict with them.

Winter arrived.

The Hundred Thousand Mountains were in the south. Even in winter, it remained warm, though the temperature was slightly lower than in spring and summer. As usual, the mountains and rivers were beautiful, and the greenery was lush.

The White Snake hunted and ate heartily in the mountains, storing enough fat for winter, and then emerged from the mountains again.

Crossing the ridges and streams, she followed the dense forest to the hillside behind the village. From afar, she saw a tiny figure sitting on the mountaintop, watching the clouds. Yun'er had become much thinner. The White Snake found it hard to imagine that in this season, even the monkeys in the mountains were plump, yet humans, the most successful in evolution, had become the most failed.

Yun'er was overjoyed to see her again. She hugged the snake's head and jumped around. The scene was still bizarre.

After the joy subsided, a strong sense of hunger set in.

"Big snake, I'm so hungry. The grain at home was confiscated by the village chief from the town. He said it was for imperial taxes, but Yun'er is so hungry..."

The White Snake understood. In this era, the common people were primarily organized by clans. The village chief and elders were like the local emperors of the villages and towns. All matters, from land division and sales to murder cases, were handled by the elders and chiefs. This was what "imperial power does not reach the villages" referred to. As the main branch, the chiefs and elders would resort to any means to extort money and grain. How could the poor households resist? The same surname and clan were merely a joke.

After some thought, the White Snake turned and burrowed into the forest