Two months later.
Under bright, glorious sunlight, several village women washed clothes beside the lotus pond.
After washing the clothes clean, they helped one another wring them dry, then carried their wooden basins away amid laughter. The lotus pond returned to stillness, and no one noticed the giant snake hidden beneath the lotus leaves.
A frog hopped back onto that rock and croaked away.
Suddenly!
One side of the giant rock bulged open, revealing a beast's vertical pupil. The pupil rolled, then fixed upon the frog squatting on its nose bridge. The foolish frog remained motionless, croaking away, unaware of the danger it faced.
With a shake of her head, she flung off the frog and twisted her serpentine body. The enormous white snake carved an S-shaped wake across the water toward the shore. By the time she raised her snake head onto land, she had already transformed back into human form.
She stretched lazily and rolled her neck.
Whenever she transformed, her tendons and bones always felt uncomfortable. Being a snake was still better—her whole body felt wonderfully at ease. Transforming into a human really was unpleasant.
It was time to continue on her journey.
Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly paused and turned to look toward the town, confusion appearing on her face.
"It feels like there's something unfinished here that I can't leave behind. How strange. Could it be that this place is about to suffer a snake calamity?" By now, she could even divine her own future.
Since there was still unfinished business, she might as well build a Bamboo House in the bamboo grove and stay for a while to see what it was.
The bamboo-covered hills were suitable for snakes to live in, as they preferred cool shade. Otherwise, Bai Yujun