Yun'er

Yun'er was married off.

There was no fanfare, no wedding banquet. A concubine's status was only slightly higher than a maid's. Although the mountain folk were poor, they were all free people. A concubine was merely a man's plaything, essentially half a slave.

A small sedan chair came to pick Yun'er up. She only took a small bundle with her.

Yun'er's parents, their faces streaked with tears, refused to let go...

The White Snake turned its head and saw a young man kneeling on the mountainside not far from Yun'er's home, weeping bitterly. It was the Brother Wang that Yun'er had spoken of. Perhaps he was cursing himself for being useless, unable to provide enough food for Yun'er. Perhaps he was hating Steward Guo for ruining a good girl. But he could do nothing, only watch as the sedan chair carried away the girl he loved.

The snake's body parted the rice paddies and accompanied the sedan chair as it left, seeing Yun'er off on her wedding day.

A hand reached out from the sedan chair, lifting the curtain. The gaze fell upon the long, white figure in the rice fields. Yun'er's pretty face, streaked with tears, broke into a happy smile...

Passing the stone bridge at the village entrance, walking along the field ridges, the sedan chair carried the girl from years past, carrying her dreams of a full meal away from the mountain village.

Green bamboo swayed. Inside the sedan chair, the girl gazed at the familiar scenery gradually receding. Faintly, she heard familiar voices from the village behind her shouting her name. A line of tears trickled down.

Perhaps she had regrets, but recalling the bitter taste of grass roots and bark during the famine years instantly solidified her resolve.

Perhaps she had wronged the Brother Wang who loved her deeply by marrying the old steward as a concubine. But so what? Fate had tormented her for over a decade. She didn't want to starve herself to leave food for her children. She just wanted to not go hungry, to live. She could only blame this world, this fate.

The White Snake followed all the way, wanting only to know where Yun'er would live. The sedan chair bumped along the mountain road, and by noon, it arrived at an estate outside the town.

The White Snake climbed a large tree and watched from afar as the sedan chair entered through the back gate of the estate.

Concubines had low status, not qualified to use the main gate, nor to perform the wedding rituals or hold a banquet. To call it taking a concubine was, to put it plainly, finding a tool to be played with at will. The White Snake hoped Yun'er would find happiness.

It watched from the tree for a long time, until the sun began to set.

Lanterns were hung around the estate. The White Snake tried hard to remember the location, then turned to leave, returning to its own Hundred Thousand Mountains, silently praying for the once innocent and lively girl in its heart.

Under the ginkgo tree, the White Snake remembered that pretty face, smiling yet full of tears.

The White Snake could do nothing about the fate of the human world. Yun'er had chosen her own destiny. Whether it was right or wrong, it was already decided. Could Yun'er, who had lived in the mountains since childhood, defend herself against the schemes and intrigues within a large family?

Clouds gathered and dispersed, the valley as serene as ever.

Through Yun'er's experience, the White Snake hoped that cultivation could change its own destiny, so that it wouldn't have only two choices, but could forge its own path. It didn't know when or how it would achieve immortality – a hundred years? A thousand years? It didn't matter. Even if it took ten thousand years, it would persevere. If one day it became strong enough, it could control its own destiny.

Time flowed on, as silent as ever.

One year later.

The White Snake, cultivating under the ginkgo tree, saw a stumbling figure rush into the valley. Its clothes were torn, its body covered in scratches, its face a mask of blood. It ran as if mad, and an inexplicable sense of foreboding washed over the White Snake.

Perhaps the person was shouting, but it was too far away for the White Snake to hear.

As the figure drew closer, the White Snake finally recognized its identity – Yun'er's Brother Wang. The White Snake's heart turned cold...

"Snake Immortal... Snake Immortal, please, save Yun'er..."

The figure flickered. The White Snake, which had been under the old ginkgo tree moments ago, transformed into a streak of white light and flew out of the mountains. The young man named Wang found a white snake scale in his arms. It bore the White Snake's aura, allowing him to safely pass through the forest and out of the mountains.

Regret. If only it had stopped Yun'er back then...

A white figure churned up fallen leaves and sped through the forest. Its six-meter-long body moved through the mountains faster than a horse, crossing ridges and streams without pause.

It was the same mountainside. Yun'er's parents and the villagers were accompanying the dying girl.

A white shadow flashed, and the giant White Snake appeared beside them.

Except for Yun'er, a large group of people knelt down. Yun'er, lying on a mat, looked at the familiar White Snake and smiled. Her smile was so relaxed, so tragically beautiful.

The snake's eyes swept over Yun'er. Now a married woman, her body was covered in wounds, likely from beatings.

"Snake Immortal, please save my Yun'er..."

The old man knelt and pleaded with the White Snake, full of hope.

Unfortunately, the White Snake could not save people. The severe blows had damaged her internal organs, and no medicine could heal her. Shaking its head, the cries of sorrow on the mountainside intensified. In their eyes, if the Snake Immortal could not save her, then no one could.

Yun'er waved her hand, signaling that there was no need to trouble itself.

"Great snake, I... cough... I want to lie on you and look at the sky and clouds."

Nodding, the snake's tail gently coiled around Yun'er's frail body, lifting her onto itself. It coiled into a protective circle, and together they looked up at the sky.

"Thank you..."

Her pale face smiled, a smile so tragically beautiful.

Yun'er was gone...

Life is so fragile, yet so strong. Life is fleeting, and yet eternal.

It was the same quiet mountainside. A new grave had been erected. The smell of the fresh earth on the grave was so clean. The White Snake coiled beside the grave, simply gazing at the new mound. Yun'er had left the mountain village, only to return in the end. This was her belonging.

The young man named Wang, his body covered in scratches and abrasions, sat before the grave.

"Yun'er didn't have a good life in the manor. That old man didn't treat her like a person. His main wife bullied Yun'er every day, often beating and scolding her without reason. She really wanted to come home, but Steward Guo wouldn't let her."

"A few days ago, Steward Guo wanted to exchange Yun'er for another concubine with Master Zhao of the Zhao Family. Yun'er refused to go, and his main wife ordered the house guards to beat her with clubs. By the time Yun'er's father and I arrived, she was already dying. She was only holding on by a thread."

The White Snake could not show its emotions; its anger was known only to itself.

In this era, a concubine was merely a tool for amusement. Exchanging concubines, or even giving them away for free, was a common practice in ancient times. It was just a group of old men who had grown tired of their playthings and wanted something new. They had no status whatsoever. If they were beaten to death by the main wife, even if reported to the authorities, the penalty would be a mere ten taels of silver. Yes, that was the status of a concubine.

The White Snake decided to do something.

She raised her snake head, looked at Brother Wang, then crawled away into the distance, looking back again.

The young man surnamed Wang looked at the White Snake, then gazed in that direction.

"Are you going to avenge Yun'er?"

The snake head nodded twice.

Brother Wang was stunned for a moment, then his face showed struggle, but he quickly gritted his teeth, picked up his wood-cutting knife, and slung it over his back.

"I'm going too! I'll kill Steward Guo's entire family!"

The man and the snake walked towards the town...

The White Snake was not afraid of killing people, nor was she afraid of karmic repercussions. Those people had killed her friend Yun'er, and she had the right to seek revenge. That's right, this was revenge. If one didn't dare to avenge a grudge while alive, they might as well be reborn as a stone. A snake's life couldn't be lived timidly!

That night.

In Steward Guo's manor, no one survived except for the laborers and low-ranking servants and maids. The steward and the higher-ranking maids couldn't escape either. The personal maid by the side of the first wife actually held a higher status than a concubine. She was snobbish and cruel and had often bullied the helpless Yun'er. The White Snake knew about the scheming and dirty deeds in the inner courtyard and couldn't let them off the hook. The wounds were all snakebites, and a tiny bit of venom could kill a living person. The White Snake didn't want this incident to cause trouble for the young man surnamed Wang, and she didn't believe those people would dare to go into the Hundred Thousand Mountains to catch a snake.

Truly, when the White Snake was angered, blood splattered on the spot.

After returning to the mountain village, the young man surnamed Wang told Yun'er that revenge had been taken and that he would also find a girl to marry and have children in the future.