Hong Luan

Snake Girl had been haughty one moment and obsequious the next. The thought of it was laughable.

She gazed longingly at Bird Sister.

But Bird Sister still ignored the snake. Only after she had smoothed her feathers did she give an arrogant little snort.

"Jiu, Bird doesn't know!"

At her words, the light in Verdant Green Maiden's eyes quickly dimmed.

She raised a hand to shoo the Qing Niao away.

"Shoo, shoo, shoo! You're wasting Snake's feelings."

"What's wrong with you, Snake?"

The Qing Niao dodged her hand, refusing to leave. "Hmph! I'm not going anywhere. I'm sticking with you! Stupid Snake, you kicked me, so now you're responsible for me! What kind of logic is it to kick a bird and not take responsibility?"

"Snake doesn't follow human logic!"

Heaven and Earth were her witnesses!

Was a Good Snake supposed to get saddled with this?

Verdant Green Maiden stared wide-eyed at the shameless bird. Just as she was about to grab it, she heard someone coming up the mountain.

"Huh?"

With a puzzled look, she ducked behind a boulder.

Yao Jiang and Ji Man came into view, surrounded by their guards. Verdant Green Maiden couldn't help clicking her tongue in amazement.

"How'd they get up here?"

She could understand Ji Man, but with Yao Jiang's build, he'd climbed all this way and hadn't dropped dead halfway up!

Had he really succeeded in cultivating the Dao?

As Verdant Green Maiden pondered it, an idea suddenly came to her. She poked the Qing Niao with a finger. "Bird, do Snake a favor! If it works, I'll bankroll your whole bird life. Deal?"

"Pinky promise?"

"Good Snakes keep their word. We never lie!"

The Qing Niao tapped its wing against Verdant Green Maiden's palm. "What favor?"

"Help me trick someone!"

The Qing Niao: "..."

Verdant Green Maiden quietly explained what to do. The bird bobbed its head, looking dizzy and dazed. She asked, "Understand?"

"No!"

Verdant Green Maiden rolled her eyes. Her long hair fluttered in a wind that wasn't there, and she told the Qing Niao helplessly, "Never mind. Just watch me and say a few lines when the time comes! There aren't many. You can remember that much, right?"

"I've got that part."

The Qing Niao nodded. It wasn't that stupid.

Verdant Green Maiden thrust out a hand. Loose stones rose with the wind and snow, sweeping across the sky toward Yao Jiang and Ji Man!

"Mere mortals, how dare you disturb the sacred grounds of Kunlun?"

She put on a theatrical voice and scolded them.

The Qing Niao took flight at just the right moment, circling above them and calling, "Kunlun is sacred and serene! Mortals, leave!"

The bird could talk!

Ji Man and Yao Jiang stared at the Qing Niao in astonishment. They hurriedly clasped their hands and bowed.

"Imm... Immortal!"

"I am Ji Man, Great Zhou Son of Heaven. I have come to Kunlun to seek an audience with the Queen Mother of the West, and to beg for the Art of Longevity!"

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

"Your disciple Yao Jiang pays his respects to the Immortal! I am willing to follow you in cultivation and seek a glimpse of the Great Dao of Longevity!"

Verdant Green Maiden suppressed a laugh and deliberately drew out her words. "I am Qing Xiao Jade Maiden, servant of the Queen Mother of the West, and I have been entrusted with guarding Kunlun. You are but ordinary mortals, yet you covet longevity and show no reverence for Heaven and Earth. How could you ever hope to behold the Queen Mother's true form?"

Yao Jiang hurriedly asked, "May I ask the Jade Maiden how we might earn an audience with the Queen Mother of the West?"

"Simple, simple! Kneel and kowtow! Be sincere, and make sure your form is perfect!"

Behind the boulder, Verdant Green Maiden swayed her head and beamed.

"Kowtow! Kowtow!"

The Qing Niao repeated the two words from above.

Neither Ji Man nor Yao Jiang suspected a thing. They both kowtowed, while the voice kept urging them to continue. But they had no idea how many bows would be enough.

Just as Yao Jiang furtively looked up, he saw Verdant Green Maiden sitting on the boulder, her expression mocking.

"My grandson is so respectful. Grandma's very pleased."

"It's you!"

Yao Jiang's pupils contracted. In his panic, he hurriedly helped Ji Man up and said, "Great King, stop kowtowing! She's a fake! She's that Snake Demon!"

"What? A Snake Demon?!"

Ji Man looked bewildered.

He stared at Verdant Green Maiden on the boulder, then paused. "The demoness is that beautiful?"

"Great King!"

Yao Jiang roared.

Only then did Ji Man come to his senses. He immediately called to the guards behind him, "Guards! Seize that demoness! But be careful—don't hurt her face!"

"Pah! You shameless lecher! Even your ancestor wouldn't dare speak to me like that!"

"Catch Snake? Maybe in your next life!"

Verdant Green Maiden pulled a face at them, then flipped off the boulder and vanished from sight like a snake.

Above them, the Qing Niao flapped its wings and disappeared into the mist.

The guards searched Kunlun for most of the day without finding a trace of Verdant Green Maiden. Ji Man was furious! The mountaintop was bare of trees and plants, yet they'd still let a grown woman get away!

A pack of useless fools!

He summoned the Western Six Divisions and ordered them to search every inch of Kunlun, vowing to find Verdant Green Maiden!

Snake Girl was quick to slip away.

She crossed the clouds and followed the rocky path. Glancing at the Qing Niao flying beside her, she asked, "Bird, do you have a name?"

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

The bird answered.

Verdant Green Maiden shook her head. "No, that name's too much like mine. I'll give you a new one."

"What name?" the Qing Niao asked.

Verdant Green Maiden thought it over. A bright red flower ahead caught her eye, and she said, "I'll call you Hong Luan!"

"Stupid Snake, I'm blue. Why would you call me Hong Luan?"

The Qing Niao pecked Verdant Green Maiden's earlobe in protest.

Verdant Green Maiden rubbed her ear. "I've decided. Your name is Hong Luan!"

"Stupid Snake, stupid Snake!"

Hong Luan hopped about in protest, but to no avail. That was how its name was settled!

After leaving Kunlun, Verdant Green Maiden didn't stop for a moment. She headed east and finally returned to the foot of Qi Mountain before winter arrived! She built herself a little nest in the Deep Mountain Forest to sleep through the winter.

Before that, the mountain hares had suffered another round of misfortune.

"Full belly, plenty to drink. Time to rest!"

Verdant Green Maiden curled up in her cave and covered 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 snowflakes drift down from the sky. Hearing this, she whipped around.

Before she could say a word, Verdant Green Maiden had already fallen fast asleep.

The Heavy Snow blanketed the mountains in no time. The whole landscape was draped in silver, with little black dots moving across it: the Bear Hunter hunters. They'd chosen this moment to enter the mountains. It was cold, but the bears were hibernating, making it the perfect time to hunt them!

Hong Luan carried over branches and sealed the cave entrance, lest the Bear Hunter hunters turn into Snake Hunters and beat this heartless Snake Girl to death.

Then all that would be left was Snake Skin, and she'd have to clean up the mess.

The snow fell for a month, but winter lasted three or four. When Verdant Green Maiden woke, the cave stank. With a disgusted look, she crawled out and glanced at the branches scattered all over the place.

"Who has no sense of public decency and blocked up my ventilation?"

She wrinkled her nose, repelled by her own stench, and hurried to a stream. She turned into her true form and swam around a few times to wash off the smell.

When Hong Luan returned, her world collapsed.

"Where's the snake?!"

"Where's my big snake?!"

She'd kept watch all winter. How had she failed to protect Verdant Green Maiden once spring came? Had the hunters really caught her and made her into soup?

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