"He's not here. He went traveling."
Verdant Green Maiden ate a piece of fruit and shook her head.
Hearing that, Ji Fa continued, "How does the scenery of my Great Zhou compare with Yin Shang?"
Verdant Green Maiden swallowed the fruit and glanced at Ji Fa.
"The mountains are much the same, and so are the rivers. This realm still belonged to Shang three years ago. How could the seas turn to mulberry fields so quickly?"
"King Shang belonged to the Zi Clan,"
Ji Fa reminded Verdant Green Maiden.
Verdant Green Maiden fell silent for a moment, then took the fruit from Ji Fa's hand and said crossly, "You're not getting any more."
"The gentleman has lived for a thousand years, yet his temperament is as candid and innocent as a child's. That is rare."
Ji Fa watched Verdant Green Maiden take the fruit from his hand and managed a strained smile. He spoke slowly. "Speaking of surnames, there's something I've always wondered about. I'd like to ask your advice, sir."
"Go ahead. I might not answer."
Verdant Green Maiden looked at Ji Fa. Seeing that he didn't have long to live, she didn't refuse.
"Your name is Shao Dian Qing Nü. Is the Shao Dian Clan connected to the legendary Yellow Emperor?"
Ji Fa stared directly at Verdant Green Maiden.
If Verdant Green Maiden really was connected to the legendary Yellow Emperor, who had ridden a dragon up to heaven, then wasn't she a true Banished Immortal?
Verdant Green Maiden nodded. "Yes. He gave me my name."
Her true form was a green snake, and that was how she got her name.
Back then, she had even served as the totem of the You Xiong Tribe!
But later, as the tribe grew and more and more small tribes joined it, their totemic images gradually blended together.
She had even witnessed the birth of the "dragon."
"You truly are a Banished Immortal from this world, sir!"
Ji Fa sighed with feeling.
Verdant Green Maiden waved a hand and smiled with narrowed eyes. "What immortal? I'm an Immortal Snake."
Ji Fa grinned, then suddenly hesitated. After fumbling for a moment, he asked, "Sir, in your eyes, have I been a good king?"
A ruler cared about how posterity would remember him, and Ji Fa was no exception.
Verdant Green Maiden thought of the judgments people in later generations had made. "You had ability, ambition, and vision. You were a Chosen One."
"Chosen, huh..."
Hearing Verdant Green Maiden's assessment, Ji Fa coughed a few times.
"You were the one who came to Xi Qi back then and helped me win this realm. So, are you Heaven?"
Verdant Green Maiden spread her hands.
"See? You've gone and killed the conversation again."
"Cough, cough..."
Ji Fa chuckled between coughs.
Night deepened, and Ji Fa felt his consciousness growing hazier and hazier.
He knew he was close to death.
He looked at Verdant Green Maiden, his gaze clouded, and spoke softly. "Sir, is there truly no Art of Longevity in this world?"
After asking, Ji Fa didn't seem to expect Verdant Green Maiden to answer.
His breathing grew quieter, until it stopped altogether.
Verdant Green Maiden looked at Ji Fa. After a long while, she sighed. "I told you, there isn't..."
At dawn, when the palace attendants entered the bedchamber, Verdant Green Maiden had already left. Ji Fa lay motionless on the bed with his eyes closed, long since lifeless.
Only the ripe red fruit he still held in his hand remained.
"The Great King has passed away!"
The piercing cry rang throughout Hao Jing's palace and beyond.
The people were all shocked.
Verdant Green Maiden left Hao Jing and followed the Wei River east, making her way to Ying Qiu in Qi State.
In the palace at Ying Qiu, Verdant Green Maiden met Jiang Ziya.
"Ji Fa is dead."
Snake Girl came straight out with that one sentence.
Jiang Ziya was so startled that the carving knife fell from his hand and hit the ground. He looked up in shock toward the doorway, and was even more astonished when he saw Verdant Green Maiden standing there.
"Sir, how could you..."
"I came from Hao Jing to see you."
Verdant Green Maiden walked in and looked around. "The palace of the Qi State Ruler is rather plain, though it does have plenty of books."
Jiang Ziya watched Verdant Green Maiden enter, his brows drawn tight.
"You just said His Majesty...?"
Verdant Green Maiden nodded. "He's dead. It happened half a month ago. The messenger is probably still on the road."
After hearing confirmation, Jiang Ziya fell silent.
After a long while, he suddenly asked, "Did you have anything to do with it, sir?"
Verdant Green Maiden shook her head.
"It had nothing to do with me. He died of illness."
Hearing Verdant Green Maiden say she had nothing to do with Ji Fa's death, Jiang Ziya finally breathed a sigh of relief, then let out another sigh of feeling.
"His Majesty had been ill for two years. I knew about it too. I never thought..."
"No, I have to go to Hao Jing!"
Jiang Ziya immediately called for the people outside and ordered them to prepare a carriage for the journey to Hao Jing.
Then he clasped his hands and bowed to Verdant Green Maiden.
"Thank you for telling me!"
Verdant Green Maiden stepped in front of Jiang Ziya and waved him back. "Don't rush off. I didn't come here just to deliver the news."
"What else is it, sir?"
Jiang Ziya looked at Verdant Green Maiden in confusion.
Verdant Green Maiden said, "I heard from Ji Fa that you predicted Great Zhou would rule for eight hundred years."
Jiang Ziya didn't understand why she was asking, but still nodded. "That's right. I did tell His Majesty that. According to the results of my divination, Great Zhou would indeed last eight hundred years."
Verdant Green Maiden's eyes lit up. She took out a small bundle of sacrificial meat and waved it at Jiang Ziya.
"Could you teach me how to divine the future?"
Jiang Ziya was even more baffled.
"Have you not already seen through the events of the future? Why would you want to learn this Art of Divination from me?"
After Verdant Green Maiden had come to Xi Qi, everything she said had come to pass. In Jiang Ziya's eyes, she was an immortal who could see five hundred years into the past and future.
And now this immortal wanted to learn a mortal's Art of Divination from him?
It was truly strange.
Verdant Green Maiden wagged a finger. "That's different."
She had only relied on the history books she'd read to recite a few major events.
That was the skill of a historian, not her own.
Jiang Ziya didn't know what was different. As he wondered, Verdant Green Maiden directly brought out a Turtle Shell.
"I even went out of my way to ask some Turtle Elders to kindly provide their shells!"
"We can't let their contribution go to waste!"
"Well..."
Seeing that Verdant Green Maiden really did want to learn, Jiang Ziya could only nod. He said to her, "Learning the Art of Divination can't be done in a day or two. I still have to go to Hao Jing. How about I teach you when I return to Ying Qiu?"
"Then I'll stay in Ying Qiu. Go and come back quickly!"
Verdant Green Maiden put away the Turtle Shell and didn't stop Jiang Ziya.
Jiang Ziya arranged lodgings for Verdant Green Maiden, then hurried off to Hao Jing.
Several days after he left, the messenger from Hao Jing finally reached Ying Qiu. When he learned that Jiang Ziya had already set off days earlier, he was even more bewildered.
He could only marvel that Tai Gong Wang truly lived up to his name—he could actually foresee the future!
Jiang Ziya stayed in Hao Jing for more than a month.
When he returned to Ying Qiu, he didn't even have time to wash up before heading straight to Verdant Green Maiden's lodgings.
At the time, Verdant Green Maiden was roasting seafood in the courtyard.
"You're back?"
Verdant Green Maiden glanced at Jiang Ziya, who was travel-worn and looked much more haggard, then waved him over. "Don't just stand there. If you want some, go grab yourself a stool."
Jiang Ziya brought over a stool and sat down.
Verdant Green Maiden generously shared some of the roasted seafood with him, but noticed that he looked rather grave.
She broke off a crab leg and asked as she ate, "What's wrong? Don't you like it?"
Before you continue