"Sigh... Asking you is no use. I'd better ask Turtle Elder."
Verdant Green Maiden sighed and took out the turtle shell that had been with her for many years. She tossed a few coin shells inside.
"Turtle Elder, Turtle Elder, give me a hint. Should I go meet this so-called Queen Mother of the West?"
Verdant Green Maiden muttered as she cast the coin shells.
"I shouldn't go?"
Looking at the divination result, Verdant Green Maiden furrowed her brow. She cast again, but the result still said she shouldn't go.
"So I'm not allowed to go..."
Verdant Green Maiden raised her head and looked toward Jiang Ziya's grave.
The tomb was silent and still.
"Turtle Elder says I shouldn't go. Jiang Ziya, what do you think?"
Verdant Green Maiden murmured, "If it's really true and I don't go, won't I be missing out on a fortune?"
What a dilemma. Such a dilemma!
After Verdant Green Maiden finished speaking, a leaf drifted down in front of her and happened to cover one of the coin shells, turning the divination result from "shouldn't go" into "should go."
"Did it really work?"
Verdant Green Maiden's eyes widened in surprise. She slapped the ground again and again. "This time, I'll listen to you!"
Sorry, Turtle Elder. I won't listen to you this time.
If Turtle Elder's spirit was watching over her, he'd surely be cursing her. Why ask for advice if she wasn't going to listen?
Verdant Green Maiden packed her belongings and headed west.
She moved quickly and soon caught up with King Mu of Zhou's party, though they had set out long before her.
But when Verdant Green Maiden gazed from afar at the royal carriage among the Western Six Divisions, she sensed something was amiss. She wrinkled her nose, looking disgusted.
"Why does it smell like a corpse?"
Verdant Green Maiden rubbed her eyes and spotted wisps of Deathly Aura curling above the royal carriage.
How strange.
At this point in time, King Mu of Zhou should have been in the prime of life. Where had this Deathly Aura come from?
To be safe, Verdant Green Maiden kept her distance and followed far behind.
A snake's life mattered. Verdant Green Maiden didn't dare risk getting close. She might be good in a fight, but what if a zombie carrying Dragon Qi suddenly sprang out? Who knew which of them would beat the other?
Inside the royal carriage.
King Mu of Zhou Ji Man sat facing an old man.
The old man looked withered, his eye sockets sunken. He seemed as if someone had stretched a layer of skin over a skeleton.
If Verdant Green Maiden had caught sight of him, she might have cried out in shock.
This man was Yao Jiang!
The young man who had once knelt and begged her to take him as a disciple now looked like a walking corpse!
Ji Man watched Yao Jiang, who sat with his eyes closed, resting. Then he lifted the carriage curtain and glanced outside a few times, taking in the boundless grasslands. Unease stirred in his heart.
"Immortal Master, how much longer until we reach Kunlun?"
Yao Jiang opened his eyes halfway and replied, "Soon. We'll arrive in another half month."
His voice was hoarse, nothing like a normal person's.
"Will the Queen Mother of the West see me?"
Ji Man asked again.
Yao Jiang gave a slight nod. "She will. You are the Great Zhou Son of Heaven, the ruler of all under Heaven. The Queen Mother of the West will certainly see you."
Hearing Yao Jiang's praise, Ji Man laughed.
He made a solemn promise to Yao Jiang.
"If I can attain immortality this time, I'll help you wipe out that Green Snake Demoness!"
She was just a mere Snake Demoness.
Great Zhou was powerful now, and the Four Barbarians had all submitted. How much trouble could she possibly cause?
Yao Jiang seemed to be smiling.
After coughing softly a few times, he closed his eyes to rest.
With a blade of grass in her mouth, Verdant Green Maiden ambled behind the Western Six Divisions when she suddenly sneezed. She rubbed her nose in puzzlement and murmured, "Who's talking about me behind my back?"
The sky stretched high above, the grass lay low, and the wilderness spread all around. The only people nearby were the Western Six Divisions ahead.
Verdant Green Maiden rubbed her turtle shell.
Yellow Emperor's Grandfather, who exactly was thinking about a snake?
After nightfall, the Western Six Divisions set up their cooking pots and made dinner.
Verdant Green Maiden wandered nearby, looking for a chance to snatch some meat.
Yao Jiang and Ji Man climbed out of the royal carriage.
Verdant Green Maiden glanced at them from afar. The man dressed in finery and carrying Dragon Qi was undoubtedly the Great Zhou Son of Heaven. But who was that shriveled-up fellow beside him?
She narrowed her eyes and took a closer look.
If she hadn't looked, it would've been fine. But the moment she did, Verdant Green Maiden flew into a rage!
"No wonder I kept feeling like someone around here was thinking about snakes. So it was that brat!"
How many years had it been? He was still alive!
Verdant Green Maiden stared at the terrifying Deathly Aura swirling around Yao Jiang and shivered.
How had he survived?
They weren't exactly enemies meeting face-to-face, but it was certainly a case of running into an old adversary. With Yao Jiang here, Verdant Green Maiden no longer felt like stealing food from the Western Six Divisions. She turned and left.
Over the following days, Verdant Green Maiden put even more distance between herself and the Western Six Divisions.
No other reason. She was disgusted!
Kunlun Mountain—or, more precisely, the Kunlun Mountain Range—was a towering range stretching across the western lands, majestic and steep.
It was simply too high, and not a suitable place for snakes to live.
Verdant Green Maiden passed the Western Six Divisions and reached Kunlun Mountain Foot ahead of them.
She searched around at the foot of the mountain and found a path leading up.
But when she reached the summit, all she saw was a vast expanse of white snow atop Kunlun Mountain Peak, desolate and barren, with not a blade of grass or a tree in sight. There was no Jade Pond, and no Queen Mother of the West.
"The stories in myths are all lies meant to fool snakes!"
Verdant Green Maiden angrily kicked a loose stone on the ground.
"Crack—"
The little stone she'd kicked made a cracking sound.
Verdant Green Maiden twitched her ears, surprised.
Could all the meat she'd been eating lately have made her stronger? She'd given the stone only a light kick, yet she'd broken it. She'd have to be careful and kick people less from now on, lest she accidentally kick someone to death and incur needless bloodshed.
The little stone moved.
"Hm?"
Verdant Green Maiden took a few small steps closer and stared at it.
On closer inspection, this wasn't a stone at all!
It was an egg!
A little green bird squeezed out through the cracked shell. It flapped its wings, landed on Verdant Green Maiden's shoulder, and pecked her earlobe.
"Ah—"
Verdant Green Maiden's earlobe stung. She wondered if this little bird was a snake-eater, instinctively trying to eat her as soon as it was born.
She couldn't let herself get eaten!
Verdant Green Maiden immediately waved it away.
"Little bird, little bird, don't peck me. Snake meat doesn't taste good!"
"Stupid!"
Suddenly, a clear, bright voice rang beside Verdant Green Maiden's ear.
Verdant Green Maiden frowned and looked around, instantly on guard.
"Who? Who called me stupid?"
"Stupid! I'm on your shoulder!"
The voice continued.
Verdant Green Maiden turned her head and looked down at the little green bird perched on her shoulder. Her expression filled with surprise. "Oh, so Kunlun Mountain really is a blessed land of the Immortal Family. Even a bird can talk! But why are you calling me stupid?"
"You can't even tell a stone from a bird's egg, and you kicked me! Tell me, don't you deserve to be called stupid, you stupid snake?"
The Qing Niao hopped on Verdant Green Maiden's shoulder.
Verdant Green Maiden rubbed her nose, embarrassed. "This thousand-year-old snake has poor eyesight. Please be understanding."
"I waited here so long for you, too..."
Qing Niao muttered.
At that, Snake Girl perked up. She grabbed Qing Niao and held her in front of her face. "Who told you to wait here for me? Was it the Queen Mother of the West? Are you Qing Niao?"
"Oh, dear... Stupid snake! Let go, you're squeezing too hard!"
Qing Niao pecked at Verdant Green Maiden's hand.
After Verdant Green Maiden let go, Qing Niao flapped her wings and flew up, circling Verdant Green Maiden's head once before landing on her shoulder again and smoothing her feathers.
"Bird Sister, care to answer me?"
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