Xiao Mo! I've Thought It Through!

"Big liar!"

"I'm never playing with you again!"

"Big liar!"

"Stinking liar!"

"Liar, liar!"

Bai Ruxue ran forward, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes with her small hands.

After an unknown amount of time, Bai Ruxue finally stopped.

Looking back, Xiao Mo had already been left far behind.

"Xiao Mo! You big liar!"

Bai Ruxue shouted towards the path she came from, then turned and ran towards her cave.

Outside the cave, by a small pool, a little girl in a green tunic was admiring herself in the water with satisfaction.

The little girl had two braided pigtails, a round face as tender as a freshly peeled egg, with a healthy, faint blush like the lightest rouge.

Beneath her curved eyebrows were two bright, almond-shaped eyes, clear to the bottom. Her long eyelashes were like dew-kissed butterfly antennae, fluttering. The slightly upturned eyeliner was tinged with a tender green, like grass.

Her small nose was slightly upturned, with a round, cute tip.

Her petal-like lips were a natural pink, currently pursed slightly, revealing two shallow dimples like tiny nests filled with honey.

This little girl was Xiao Qing.

This morning, Xiao Qing had also woken up.

Seeing her sister wasn't by her side, only her sister's shed skin, Xiao Qing didn't pay it any mind.

She figured her sister must have gone to find that human man again.

After all, her sister had said that the man named Xiao Mo would return in early spring.

"When sister comes back, she'll be so surprised when she sees I can transform! And I should be as tall as sister, right?"

Xiao Qing twirled the hem of her green skirt, very satisfied with her human form.

Just as Xiao Qing was admiring her human appearance, she heard footsteps approaching from not too far away.

Lifting her head, Xiao Qing saw a young woman walking towards her.

Xiao Qing didn't recognize her at first, but upon closer inspection, those distinctive peach blossom eyes clearly belonged to her sister.

After shedding her skin, her sister had grown so much. She looked like a grown human woman now.

But then again, her sister had been cultivating for over thirty years.

In human terms, she should have had several children by now.

It was just that for the Snake race, their physical development was slower before they could transform.

After transforming, it would be much faster.

Her sister could have transformed long ago, and after this shedding, it was normal for her to have grown into a young woman.

"Sister." Xiao Qing tiptoed, waving happily.

Hearing her sister's voice, Bai Ruxue looked up.

Seeing her sister's tear-filled, lost expression, Xiao Qing was startled and quickly ran over. "Sister, what's wrong? Who bullied you! I'll bite them to death!"

"N-no one bullied me," Bai Ruxue said, pretending to be fine. "By the way, Xiao Qing, you can transform now too. So cute."

"Sister, whether I can transform isn't important," Xiao Qing said, tightly gripping her sister's fair wrist. "Did that Xiao Mo make you angry?"

Bai Ruxue lowered her head.

"It was him!" Xiao Qing clenched her small fists hatefully. "I'm going to bite him right now!"

"Xiao Qing, no," Bai Ruxue stopped her sister's hand. "You're a venomous snake. If you bite someone, he'll die."

"Don't worry, sister. I'll control the dosage. I'll just make him lie in bed for two days at most."

"That's still not okay! He'll be in so much pain!"

"But sister," Xiao Qing said, on the verge of tears, "he bullied you!"

Bai Ruxue: "..."

"Sister, what exactly happened?" Xiao Qing asked worriedly, wondering if her sister's identity had been discovered and he had invited someone to deal with the Yao.

"He said he's going away to study and doesn't need to collect herbs anymore. He'll be coming to the mountain much less often from now on," Bai Ruxue said in a low voice.

"That's it?" Xiao Qing blinked, her eyes even showing a hint of joy. "Isn't that a good thing? Humans and Yao are from different paths. Isn't it better if he doesn't come to She Mountain anymore?"

"Xiao Qing!" Bai Ruxue pouted. "I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Bai Ruxue transformed back into her original form and crawled into the cave, hiding under a rock inside and grieving quietly.

Xiao Qing also transformed back into her original form and crawled over, staying by her sister's side.

Actually, Xiao Qing was quite happy that her sister wouldn't be seeing that man anymore.

But seeing her sister so sad, Xiao Qing became unhappy again.

"Eh? I've got it!"

Just as Xiao Qing was thinking about how to comfort her sister, Bai Ruxue lifted her snake head.

"The book says it well: trees are dead, snakes are alive. He rarely comes up the mountain to study, so why don't I just go down the mountain with him?"

Bai Ruxue transformed and ran out of the cave, her voice echoing back into the cave from behind the girl.

"Xiao Qing, you don't need to prepare my mice for dinner tonight."

"Sister."

Xiao Qing called out from the cave entrance, feeling a bit sad and wronged in her heart.

Sister, you're leaving with that human, what about me?

I'm your sister.

Bai Ruxue ran through the woods towards the flower patch she had been to before.

Bai Ruxue ran faster and faster.

"Ah!"

Tripping on a branch, the girl stood up and continued to run.

When she reached the flower patch, the girl breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest.

"Thank goodness, he's still here."

But Bai Ruxue remembered the angry words she had said to Xiao Mo not long ago, and felt too embarrassed to see him.

As Bai Ruxue was feeling incredibly conflicted, Xiao Mo turned around and happened to look in her direction.

Bai Ruxue was startled, her shoulders shrinking, and she quickly hid behind a tree.

"Miss Bai," Xiao Mo called out.

Bai Ruxue clasped her hands behind her back, her fingers clenched tightly, and walked out with her head down, like a little girl who had done something wrong and wanted forgiveness.

"You, you haven't left yet?" Bai Ruxue said softly.

Xiao Mo shook his head, "This humble student has angered Miss Bai and cannot leave in peace."

"." Bai Ruxue lowered her head, her fair fingers continuously kneading.

"Xiao Mo! I, I've thought it through!"

Finally, Bai Ruxue mustered up her courage, raised her head, and looked directly into Xiao Mo's eyes.

"What?" Xiao Mo asked.

"I want to go down the mountain with you!"

Xiao Mo: "."

"Can I, can I not?" Bai Ruxue said with her head down, her eyes once again clouding with disappointment.

"Of course, you can. But Miss Bai, do your parents have any objections?"

"My parents passed away long ago. My sister Xiao Qing and I depend on each other. But my sister will be fine, she's much better at catching mice than I am, so she won't starve."

"Catching mice?"

"Eh? What catching mice? Did I say that?"

"Then I must have misheard."

"Then it's settled." The girl's eyes curved. She walked forward, took Xiao Mo's large hand, and placed a crystal clear, silvery-white scale in his palm.

"Miss, what is this?"

"This is a snake scale I found."

The girl looked up, met his gaze, and said earnestly.

"I know I'm stupid and make mistakes easily. And I'm annoying too.

But Xiao Mo, you can scold me, you can hit me, but you can't drive me away.

If one day, you really can't stand it anymore, just place this snake scale under my pillow.

The next day, I'll pretend I don't know anything and leave quietly.

Okay?"