The Old Rogue was still wondering where Verdant Green Woman had gone.
He held his sword and looked around, but saw no trace of Verdant Green Maiden.
Seeing Liu Ji looking around, Lu Wan slapped his thigh and said, "Oh, big brother! Why are you still looking for that woman? She just tried to kill us!"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Verdant Green Maiden is my brother. Would my brother hurt me? Didn't you hear her say we should stay on Mangdang Mountain, and she'd send us everything we needed to eat and use?"
Liu Lao San snapped at Lu Wan, scolding him. "Is that trying to kill us? She's afraid we'll die if we go out."
Liu Lao San had a way with words.
At his words, quite a few people agreed with him.
"Whether she was trying to kill us or worrying about us, is this really the time to argue about it?"
Lu Wan looked up at the sky and said, "Big brother, shall we go?"
The sky was full of rolling thunderclouds. It clearly wasn't safe.
"Good point!"
The Old Rogue looked at the sky and nodded in agreement.
The group quickly left Mangdang Mountain and headed for Pei County.
Mangdang Mountain, in a river valley.
Thunder crashed!
At the center of countless bolts of lightning, a slender figure was battered again and again by Heavenly Lightning. Yet even as endless lightning lashed her, she refused to yield.
Verdant Green Maiden's clothes were torn, and her skin was scorched with the mottled patterns of lightning strikes.
Azure scales bristled at the corners of her eyes as she glared at the firmament.
"I refuse to accept this!"
Snake Girl roared.
"Why must all under Heaven follow your destined course?"
"If none of this can be changed, so be it. But you clearly allowed some things to change—why force them back onto their original course?"
"Ying Zheng here was never supposed to die!"
"Answer me, Heaven!"
Heaven remained silent, sending down thunderbolts without pause.
Heaven's light loomed vast and majestic. Azure scales gradually surfaced between Verdant Green Maiden's brows, and blood trickled down.
The gourd at her waist was shattered by the Heavenly Lightning. The three drops of heart's blood within floated up and dispersed amid the lightning. A red glow enveloped Verdant Green Maiden from head to toe.
"Roar—!!"
A beast's roar seemed to come from within the blood mist.
The thunder over Mangdang Mountain continued for more than a month before gradually subsiding. By then, Liu Ji had led his men to seize Fengpei and proclaimed himself Pei Gong.
From that time on, rumors spread that the lightning strikes there had been an auspicious sign, celebrating Pei Gong's uprising after slaying the White Snake.
Once that prophecy spread, even more people flocked to Liu Ji's side.
Later, at Xiao He's suggestion, he changed his name. He would no longer be called Liu Lao San; from then on, he was Liu Bang.
There was another legend, too: an Immortal Bird had descended to the mortal world and met Liu Bang.
The title of Pei Gong became all the more legendary.
By a stream.
An Old Woman was washing clothes.
A young man came over. Seeing her washing clothes, he crouched beside her and was just about to speak when she turned to look at him.
"Han Xin! You're here again? But I don't have any food for you today."
At her words, Han Xin immediately shook his head. "Han Xin didn't come to beg for food!"
The Old Woman looked him up and down, then smiled.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "How about this? Run an errand for me, and I'll give you a flatbread as payment. What do you say?"
Han Xin nodded. "Old Woman, what would you like me to do?"
The Old Woman took some coins from her pocket and gave them to Han Xin. "Go buy some medicine for me, something to stop bleeding and fade scars. It's not convenient for me to go alone, so sorry for the trouble."
"Old Woman, are you hurt?"
Han Xin took the coins. Then he noticed bloodstains on the clothes she was washing and frowned with concern.
The Old Woman shook her head. "Of course not. It's a little girl who lives with me."
At that, Han Xin grew puzzled. He had known the Old Woman for a long time, but had never heard that there was a little girl in her household.
Still, it was her private business, so Han Xin didn't ask. He simply nodded. "Leave it to Han Xin."
The Old Woman smiled and nodded.
After entrusting the medicine errand to Han Xin, the Old Woman carried the clothes in her wooden basin home.
Inside the humble Earthen House, a fair-skinned young woman rested quietly on a couch. Even coarse linen clothes couldn't hide her stunning beauty.
A scale pattern the size of a grain of rice adorned Verdant Green Maiden's brow.
Beneath the loose strands of hair at her temples, faintly visible were dark green, hornlike protrusions, like newly grown antlers—though much smaller.
When the Old Woman returned, Verdant Green Maiden tried to sit up.
The Old Woman hurried over and gently stopped her. "Oh, Little Immortal Aunt, don't move around. Mind your wounds."
She pressed Verdant Green Maiden back down, then continued, "I washed your clothes clean, but unfortunately, they're torn in too many places. They'll be difficult to mend. I'll go to the county town in a few days and see if anyone can patch them."
"No need to trouble yourself. It's only a piece of clothing. If it's ruined, it's ruined."
Verdant Green Maiden shook her head. She looked at the Old Woman and said softly, "You saved me. Thank you."
The Old Woman waved her hands, flustered. "I couldn't possibly let an Immortal Aunt thank me!"
"You deserve my thanks. If you hadn't fished me out of the stream, who knows where I would have drifted?"
Verdant Green Maiden smiled, soothing the Old Woman.
The Old Woman no longer refused her thanks. She continued, "Oh, right. I've already sent someone to buy medicine for you, Little Immortal Aunt. You must treat those wounds properly."
At that, Verdant Green Maiden frowned. She had never bought medicine, but she knew that medicine was expensive in this era.
She continued, "My wounds will heal soon. Hurry and get the money back!"
The Old Woman still didn't believe her, but Verdant Green Maiden rolled up her sleeve, revealing that the lightning wounds on her arm had already healed most of the way.
Only then did the Old Woman believe her. Even so, she didn't listen to Verdant Green Maiden and go retrieve the money.
Verdant Green Maiden asked, "Who did you send to buy the medicine?"
"A young man from around here, named Han Xin. Don't worry, Little Immortal Aunt. He's dependable."
The Old Woman was talking to Verdant Green Maiden, but when she heard the name Han Xin, Verdant Green Maiden fell silent. For a moment, she seemed dazed and asked without thinking, "Who?"
"Han Xin. What is it, Little Immortal Aunt? Do you know him?"
The Old Woman repeated the name.
Verdant Green Maiden paused, then suddenly smiled. "Old Woman, when he gets here, tell him to come see me."
The Old Woman didn't know why Verdant Green Maiden wanted to see Han Xin, but she didn't think much of it. She nodded in agreement.
But Han Xin didn't come back until much later.
When he arrived, he looked rather grim, and his clothes were covered in dust.
Seeing him like that, the Old Woman frowned and asked with concern, "Han Xin, what happened? Did you fall? Are you hurt?"
Han Xin shook his head. He handed the medicine to the Old Woman, cupped his hands, and said, "Han Xin takes his leave!"
"Hey, hey, Han Xin, wait!"
The Old Woman hurriedly stopped him. "Someone wants to see you."
"See me?"
Han Xin was taken aback. He gave the Old Woman a puzzled look.
The Old Woman glanced around, then whispered to Han Xin, "It's a Little Immortal Aunt. Just come with me, and don't ask questions."
Before you continue