Hong Luan

Snake Girl was obsequious after being arrogant—thinking about it made one laugh.

She stared eagerly at Bird Sister.

But Bird Sister still ignored the snake, only letting out a haughty little hum after preening her feathers.

"Jiu, Bird doesn't know!"

At this, Qing Nü's once-bright gaze quickly dimmed.

She raised a hand to shoo the Qing Niao away.

"Shoo, shoo, shoo. Wasting Snake's feelings."

"What kind of snake are you!"

The Qing Niao dodged her hand, stubbornly refusing to leave. "Hmph! I'm not going anyway. I'm sticking with you! Stupid Snake, you kicked me out, so you have to take responsibility! Since when is there a rule in this world that you can kick a bird out and not take responsibility?"

"Snakes don't follow human rules!"

Heaven and Earth as my witness!

Was a good snake supposed to be stuck with this?

Qing Nü stared wide-eyed at this shameless bird, about to grab it, when she heard someone coming up the mountain.

"Huh?"

Her expression shifted, and she hid behind a boulder.

She saw Yao Jiang and Ji Man walking up, surrounded by Guards, which made Qing Nü click her tongue in surprise.

"How did they get up here?"

Ji Man was one thing, but Yao Jiang's build—climbing this high and not dying halfway?

Had he actually succeeded in cultivating the Dao?

Qing Nü thought it over, then suddenly had an idea. She poked the Qing Niao with her finger. "Birdie, do Snake a favor! After it's done, I'll cover your whole bird life. Deal?"

"A deal?"

"Good Snake keeps her word—never cheats anyone!"

The Qing Niao raised a wing and tapped it against Qing Nü's palm. "What favor?"

"Help me trick someone!"

The Qing Niao: "..."

Qing Nü whispered a few instructions to it. The bird wobbled its head, dazed, and she asked, "Got it?"

"No!"

Qing Nü rolled her eyes. Her long hair stirred without wind, and she sighed helplessly at the Qing Niao. "Fine, just watch my performance later and say a few lines! It's not many words—you can remember that much, right?"

"That I've got down."

The Qing Niao nodded, indicating it wasn't that stupid.

Qing Nü thrust her hand forward, and rubble and Wind and Snow rose together, hurtling toward Yao Jiang and Ji Man in a sky-blotting wave!

"You Mortals, how dare you trespass on the Kunlun Holy Land?"

She pitched her voice and barked out the rebuke.

The Qing Niao also flapped its wings at the right moment, circling overhead and calling out, "Kunlun is a place of purity—Mortals, begone!"

A bird that talks!

Ji Man and Yao Jiang stared in shock at the Qing Niao in the sky, hastily clasping their hands in salute.

"Imm... Immortal!"

"This Lonely One is Ji Man, the Great Zhou Son of Heaven, come to Kunlun to seek an audience with the Queen Mother of the West and beg for the Art of Longevity!"

Yao Jiang knelt even more thoroughly, dropping to both knees and bowing deeply.

"Disciple Yao Jiang pays respects to the Immortal! I wish to follow the Immortal in cultivation and seek a glimpse of the Great Dao of longevity!"

Qing Nü held back her laughter, deliberately drawing out her tone. "I am the Qing Xiao Jade Maiden, attendant to the Queen Mother of the West, stationed here by Her Majesty's command to guard Kunlun. You are but Ordinary Mortals, greedy for immortality yet disrespectful to Heaven and Earth—how could you be worthy of seeing Her Majesty's true form?"

Yao Jiang asked hastily, "May I ask the Jade Maiden, how can we gain an audience with the Queen Mother of the West?"

"Easy, easy—kneel and kowtow! Your heart must be sincere, and your movements must be proper!"

Qing Nü swayed her head behind the Giant Stone, beaming with delight.

"Kowtow! Kowtow!"

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The Qing Niao repeated those two words from the sky.

Ji Man and Yao Jiang, suspecting nothing, both knelt and bowed, their voices only urging them to keep going, though they had no idea how many kowtows would be enough.

Just as Yao Jiang secretly lifted his head to look, he saw Qing Nü sitting atop the Giant Stone, a mocking expression on her face.

"Grandson's manners are truly impeccable. This grandmother is quite pleased."

"It's you!"

Yao Jiang's pupils contracted. In a panic, he hastily steadied Ji Man and said to him, "Great King, stop kowtowing! She's a fake! She's that Snake Demon!"

"What? Snake Demon!?"

Ji Man's expression was stunned.

He stared at Verdant Green Maiden atop the Giant Stone, dazed for a moment. "A Demoness with such looks?"

"Great King!"

Yao Jiang roared.

Ji Man snapped back to his senses and immediately called to the Guards behind him. "Men! Seize this Demoness for Gu! But all of you be careful—don't harm her face!"

"Pah! You reckless fool, even your Ancestor wouldn't dare speak to me like that!"

"Catch a snake? Try in your next life!"

Verdant Green Maiden made a face at the two of them, rolled off the Giant Stone, and vanished from sight like a snake.

In the sky, Qing Niao spread its wings and disappeared into the mist.

The Guards searched Kunlun for half a day without finding any trace of Verdant Green Maiden, which sent Ji Man into a furious rage! Not a shadow among the Grass and Trees on the Mountain Peak, and yet they'd let a living person that big slip away!

All a bunch of Idiots!

He summoned the Western Six Divisions to comb through Kunlun inch by inch, vowing to find Verdant Green Maiden!

Snake Girl slithered away swiftly.

She crossed the Clouds and Mist, stepped onto the Gravel Road, glanced at Qing Niao flying beside her, and asked, "Birdie, do you have a name?"

"I'm green, so call me Qing Niao!"

Qing Niao replied.

Verdant Green Maiden shook her head and said, "No, that name's too similar to mine. How about I give you a new one?"

"Change it to what?" Qing Niao asked.

Verdant Green Maiden thought it over. Ahead, a bright red flower caught her eye, and she said, "How about I call you Hong Luan?"

"Stupid Snake, I'm green—why would you call me Hong Luan?"

Qing Niao pecked Verdant Green Maiden's Ear Lobe in protest.

Verdant Green Maiden rubbed her Ear Lobe and said, "I've decided—you're Hong Luan!"

"Stupid Snake, stupid snake!"

Hong Luan stamped its feet, but it was useless—its name was set!

After leaving Kunlun, Verdant Green Maiden wasted no time and headed east, finally reaching the foot of Qi Mountain just before the Winter Day. She built a Small Nest in the Deep Mountain Forest to use for hibernation.

Before that, the Wild Rabbits in the mountains suffered another wave of misfortune.

"Full and content, time to rest!"

Verdant Green Maiden curled up Inside the Cave, covering herself with a thick Animal Skin Blanket. She wiggled her feet and said, "Hong Luan, remember to wake me when spring comes."

Hong Luan was at the Cave Entrance, watching the snowflakes fall from the sky. Hearing this, it whipped its head around.

Before it could speak, Verdant Green Maiden had already fallen into a deep sleep.

Heavy Snow blanketed the mountains, quickly covering them entirely. The peaks were a silvery white, with Small Black Dots moving about—those were Bear Hunters out hunting bears. They chose this time to enter the mountains; though it was cold, the bears were all hibernating, making it the perfect chance to hunt!

Hong Luan carried branches to seal the Cave Entrance, lest bear hunting turn into snake hunting and that carefree Snake Girl get caught.

If that happened, all that would be left was a Snake Skin for it to clean up.

The snow fell for a month, but the Winter Day lasted three or four months! By the time Verdant Green Maiden woke up, the air Inside the Cave was foul. She wrinkled her nose in disgust, crawled out of the Cave Entrance, and glanced at the scattered branches.

"Who has no sense of public decency and blocked my Ventilation Hole?"

She sniffed, disgusted by her own smell, and quickly found a stream. Shifting into her True Form, she swam a few laps to wash off the odor.

When Hong Luan returned, the sky fell.

"Where's the snake!"

"Where's my big snake!"

It had guarded against everything all Winter Day—how did it fail when spring came? Had she really been caught by hunters and turned into soup!

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