Xiao Mo! I-I've Made Up My Mind!

"You big liar!"

"I'm never playing with you again!"

"Big liar!"

"Stinking liar!"

"Liar, liar!"

As Bai Ruxue ran, she rubbed the tears from the corners of her eyes with her little hands.

After who knew how long, Bai Ruxue finally stopped.

Looking back, Xiao Mo had already fallen far behind her.

"Xiao Mo! You big liar!"

Bai Ruxue shouted toward the way she had come, then turned and ran toward her cave.

Outside the cave, beside a small pool, a little girl in a blue Ruqun Skirt gazed at her reflection in the water with satisfaction.

The little girl wore her hair in two braids. Her round little face was as fair and tender as a freshly peeled egg, touched with a healthy, faint blush as though brushed with the lightest rouge.

Beneath a pair of curved brows sat two bright, dark almond-shaped eyes, clear as water. Her long eyelashes fluttered like dewdrop-damp butterfly feelers, and the corners of her eyes tilted up ever so slightly, lined with a tender hint of green.

Her small nose tilted up a little, its tip round and adorable.

Her petal-like lips were naturally pink. At that moment, they were gently pursed, revealing two shallow dimples like little hollows filled with honey.

The little girl was Xiao Qing.

That morning, Xiao Qing had woken up too.

When she saw that her older sister wasn't beside her, and only her sister's shed skin remained, Xiao Qing didn't think much of it.

She figured her sister had gone to look for that human man again.

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

"When my sister comes back and sees that I can take human form, she'll be so surprised, right? And I should be about as tall as she is, shouldn't I?"

Xiao Qing twirled the hem of her blue skirt, very pleased with her human form.

Just as Xiao Qing was admiring her new appearance, footsteps sounded nearby.

She looked up and saw a grown young woman walking toward her.

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

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

But that made sense. Her sister had been cultivating for more than thirty years.

By human standards, she could already have had several children.

It was just that snakes who embarked on the path of cultivation grew slowly before taking human form.

After they transformed, they grew much faster.

Her sister had long been able to take human form, and after this recent shedding, it was only natural she'd become a grown young woman.

"Big sister." Xiao Qing rose onto her tiptoes and waved happily.

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

Seeing her sister looking dazed and lost, with tears clouding her eyes, Xiao Qing jumped in fright and hurried over. "Big sister, what's wrong? Who bullied you? I'll bite them to death!"

"N-no one bullied me," Bai Ruxue said, pretending nothing was wrong. "By the way, Xiao Qing, you can take human form now too. You're so cute."

"Big sister, it doesn't matter whether I can transform." Xiao Qing grasped her sister's fair wrist tightly. "Did that Xiao Mo make you angry?"

Bai Ruxue lowered her head.

"I knew it was him!" Xiao Qing clenched her little fists in anger. "I'm going to bite him right now!"

"Xiao Qing, don't." Bai Ruxue held her hand. "You're a venomous snake. If you bite him, he'll die..."

"Don't worry, big sister. I'll control the venom. At most, he'll be bedridden for two days."

"That won't do either. He'd suffer so much."

"But, big sister..." Xiao Qing looked like she might cry. "He bullied you..."

Bai Ruxue fell silent.

"Big sister, what happened?" Xiao Qing asked anxiously, wondering if her sister's identity had been exposed and he'd called someone to exterminate her.

"He said he was going away to study, and he doesn't need to gather herbs anymore, so he won't come up the mountain much in the future," Bai Ruxue said quietly.

"That's all?" Xiao Qing blinked, her eyes even showing a hint of delight. "Isn't that a good thing? Humans and demons follow different paths. Wouldn't it be better if he stopped coming to She Mountain?"

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

Bai Ruxue transformed back into a snake and slithered into the cave, hiding beneath the stone inside to grieve alone.

Xiao Qing changed back into her original form too and slithered over to stay beside her sister.

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

But seeing her sister so heartbroken made Xiao Qing unhappy too.

"Ah? I've got it!"

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

"The book says it well: trees are rooted in place, but snakes can move. He's going away to study and won't come up the mountain much, so why don't I go down the mountain with him?"

Bai Ruxue transformed into human form and ran out of the cave. Her voice drifted back inside from behind the young woman.

"Xiao Qing, don't prepare any mice for me for dinner today."

"Big sister..."

Xiao Qing called from the cave entrance, feeling hurt and aggrieved.

If you go off with that human, what about me?

I'm your little sister!

Bai Ruxue ran through the woods toward the patch of flowers they had visited before.

She ran faster and faster.

"Ah!"

After tripping over a branch, the young woman got back to her feet and kept running.

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

"Thank goodness, he's still here."

But when Bai Ruxue remembered the angry things she'd said to Xiao Mo just moments ago, she felt too embarrassed to face him.

As Bai Ruxue struggled with indecision, Xiao Mo turned around, looking right in her direction.

Bai Ruxue jumped in fright, hunching her shoulders and quickly hiding behind a tree.

"Miss Bai," Xiao Mo called.

Bai Ruxue clasped her hands behind her back, fingers clenched tight, and walked out with her head bowed, like a little girl who had done something wrong and wanted to be forgiven.

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

Xiao Mo shook his head. "I upset Miss Bai, so I couldn't leave with peace of mind."

Bai Ruxue lowered her head, her fair fingers fidgeting restlessly.

"Xiao Mo! I... I've made up my mind!"

At last, Bai Ruxue worked up her courage, lifted her head, and looked straight into Xiao Mo's eyes.

"What is it?" Xiao Mo asked.

"I'm going down the mountain with you!"

Xiao Mo fell silent.

"I-is that not okay?" Bai Ruxue asked, lowering her head as disappointment clouded her eyes again.

"Of course it's okay. But, Miss Bai, won't your parents object?"

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

"Catching mice?"

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

"Then I must have misheard."

"Then it's settled." The young woman's eyes curved into a smile. She stepped forward, took Xiao Mo's large hand, and placed a translucent, silvery-white scale in his palm.

"Miss, what's this?"

"It's a snake scale I found."

The young woman lifted her head, looked straight into his eyes, and said earnestly,

"I know I'm silly and make mistakes easily. I can be a bother, too.

"But Xiao Mo, you can scold me or hit me, but you can't send me away.

"If one day you really can't stand me anymore, put this snake scale under my pillow.

"The next day, I'll pretend nothing happened and sneak away.

"Okay?"