Snakes see off
Xu Yi was fast asleep and naturally didn't hear anything.
The next day, Xu Yi was awakened by a strong fragrance, like the feeling of a starving person encountering a feast. Since her death, Xu Yi had never experienced anything like this again.
She followed the scent with great surprise and arrived at a man in the cave who was getting dressed. She looked up and saw a face that resembled Bai Da's, and blurted out, "Bai Er?"
"Yes, it's me." Bai Er's handsome eyebrows relaxed as he nodded to Xu Yi.
Xu Yi exclaimed to Bai Er, "You smell so good, Bai Er." She then uncontrollably moved closer to Bai Er and sniffed him a few more times, finding the fragrance increasingly intoxicating...
Bai Er frowned, clicked his tongue, and used his fingers to pry Xu Yi's head open slightly, stopping him, "That's enough..."
"But...you smell so good..." Xu Yi was a little dazed, and leaned closer to Bai Er to sniff again.
Bai Er rolled his eyes and lazily said to Wu Zi, "Aren't you going to do anything about it?"
Wu Zi merely glanced at Bai Er and busied himself tidying up the magical artifacts scattered on the ground. Bai Da, on the other hand, smiled frankly: "You've just taken human form, and your entire body is overflowing with spiritual energy. To Miss Xu, you are indeed sweet and delicious... What's wrong with letting her smell you a little more?"
Bai Er, after hearing his brother's words, fell silent, only looking at Xu Yi's intoxicated expression with disdain... Xu Yi smelled it again and again, trying to resist, but still couldn't help it, so she looked up shyly and asked Bai Er in a low voice, "Can I... take a bite?"
"Huh?" Bai Er exclaimed in surprise, "Take a bite?"
Xu Yi swallowed hard and said weakly, "I think I... I should be able to eat the spiritual energy you have..."
"No, it's hopeless." Bai Er refused decisively.
Bai Da exclaimed, "Generally, spiritual energy is a very ethereal form of energy and cannot be consumed like food. However... Miss Xu's path of cultivation is indeed unusual, so it's worth a try."
Upon hearing Bai Da's agreement, Xu Yi blinked her starry eyes and looked at Bai Er again...
Bai Er rolled up his sleeves, speechless. "You can eat this?" he asked, then reluctantly offered his arm.
Xu Yi grinned foolishly at Bai Er, then picked up Bai Er's arm and bit down. She felt a trace of tasteless moisture in her mouth, but it was too little, so she sucked harder a few times, which made Bai Er hiss.
Xu Yi quickly let go of Bai Er's arm and patted the skin where she had just bitten Bai Er in a conciliatory manner, afraid of angering the bad-tempered snake. She quickly apologized, "Did I hurt you? I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Unexpectedly, Bai Er paused, lowered his head, and silently straightened his sleeves. After a long while, he whispered, "It doesn't hurt, it's just... a little itchy..."
Bai Da, standing to the side, clearly noticed the sudden blush behind his younger brother's ear. He raised an eyebrow and smiled knowingly, "It's nothing. My brother is ticklish. Don't worry, Miss Xu, it'll be fine in a bit."
"Oh," Xu Yi, fearing the giant snake might get angry, quickly moved closer and continued to apologize, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, don't be angry, don't be angry..."
Unexpectedly, Bai Er turned his head away from Xu Yi's gaze and only responded with a "hmm" through his nose.
As a fellow man, Wu Zi naturally noticed as well, and called out to Xu Yi, "Xu Yi, come here."
"Oh." Xu Yi obediently went over. Wu Zi saw that Xu Yi's eyes were clear and empty, so he knew that this girl really didn't feel anything. He then changed the subject: "What does it taste like?"
"It has no taste, it's like water vapor, very little, and very small." Xu Yi was very honest: "Like dried sugarcane, you have to use a lot of force to bite out a little bit of water... It's not even a drop of water..."
Xu Yi continued her description without noticing that Bai Er's face was growing increasingly red as she spoke. Bai Er laughed and stepped in front of her younger brother, blocking Wu Zi and Xu Yi, making it easier for her brother to turn around and calm down...
Wu Zi noticed this as well, and gave Bai Erfang a very amused look. Xu Yi was about to turn her head when Wu Zi cupped her face with both hands and turned her back: "Okay, then we won't eat it, it's not interesting."
Xu Yi thought to herself: I wouldn't dare bite him again... so she nodded obediently: "Okay."
After a while, Bai Er calmed down and walked over to hand Xu Yi the skin he had shed: "Here, it's all for you."
The silvery-white snakeskin looked incredibly soft, and even after being folded many times, it didn't appear tall; it was exceptionally light... The iridescent light on the snakeskin moved with the sunlight on its surface... It was even more pleasing to the eye than the finest silk. Xu Yi exclaimed, "So beautiful..." Her hand unconsciously rose to stroke the snakeskin; it felt cool to the touch, yet very hard. Xu Yi asked uncertainly, "Give it all to me?"
“Hmm,” Bai Er nodded, “I… don’t really need to keep it.”
"Oh, thank you," Xu Yi said with a grin, taking the snakeskin and handing it to Wu Zi: "Here you go."
Bai Er watched as Xu Yi handed over what he had given him to Wu Zi like a treasure, utterly speechless. He turned his head to the side and rolled his eyes in exasperation...
He successfully made Wu Zi laugh: "Hahaha, she's a bit silly, don't mind her, brother..." He said that, but his hands quickly put away the snakeskin... In the end, he even patted Bai Er's shoulder reassuringly.
Bai Er ruthlessly shook Wu Zi's hand away before taking out another bell and handing it to Xu Yi: "Take this. In the future, when you look for me... or my brother, just call our names into this bell. If I'm within a hundred miles, the bell will glow; if I'm very close, it will ring, and the closer you are, the louder it will be. Got it?"
"Oh, I understand." Xu Yi nodded and took the bell.
Just as Xu Yi was about to ask Bai Er how to put the bell away, the bell transformed into a beam of light and entered Xu Yi's brow, then disappeared. Xu Yi touched his brow but couldn't find anything. Fearing that losing the bell would anger the giant snake again... he asked urgently, "It's gone! What should I do?"
Bai Er said helplessly, "Just think about it, and it will appear."
"Hmm?" Xu Yi quickly thought of the bell, and sure enough, the bell appeared in her hand the next second. She called out to the bell, "Bai Er?"
When Bai Er heard Xu Yi's soft voice coming from the bell, his heart started to itch again, so he quickly covered the bell with his hand to stop her, saying, "I heard it... stop calling."
Xu Yi complained softly, "It doesn't even work if I try?"
"no."
Xu Yi didn't know why the giant snake was angry again, and dared not argue back. She could only look at Bai Er with a wronged expression, tears welling up in her eyes...
Bai Da stepped in at the opportune moment to ease the tension, saying, "The bell is fine, I heard it just now too. It's just that each use consumes some true energy, so..." Bai Da glanced at Bai Er and smiled slightly, "It's better not to use it normally."
"Oh?" Xu Yi was taken aback by Bai Da's very serious explanation and nodded repeatedly, "Okay, I understand." She then solemnly put the bell away.
Bai Er visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Wu Zi, who seemed to understand something, chuckled and retorted, "Yeah, Xu Yi, Bai Er's true energy isn't enough for you to wreak havoc. What if you can't take it?"
Bai Er glanced at Wu Zi but didn't say anything in rebuttal, which left Xu Yi bewildered. She then looked at Bai Er weakly and asked, "Then... how many times can your true energy last?"
Bai Er rolled his eyes, but couldn't be honest, so he just mumbled, "It's okay, you... use it however you like."
Xu Yi was even more confused now. One minute he said his true energy wasn't enough to unleash, the next he said to use it freely. He didn't dare to ask the snake again and annoy it, so he could only look at Wu Zi. Wu Zi couldn't help but laugh out loud twice before giving Bai Er a way out: "Since Brother Bai said it won't affect anything, then it won't affect anything. You can just not use it normally."
"Oh, okay..." Xu Yi understood now; the bell could only be used in a critical moment.
Bai Da had been watching the show for a long time when he finally remembered that it was time to end. He walked over and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Wu Zi, saying, "Thanks to Fellow Daoist Wu's help, my brother was able to transform smoothly. We are truly grateful. Then, my brother and I will... not disturb you any longer."
Wu Zi nodded in return, "You're welcome." He glanced at Bai Er again before leaving with Xu Yi. They had only taken two steps when Xu Yi heard Bai Er call her, "Xu Yi..."
"Huh? What's wrong?" Xu Yi's heart skipped a beat, fearing that something had happened to the giant snake again.
Unexpectedly, Bai Er only said, "Take care."
"Oh..." Xu Yi was a little confused, but still responded politely, "You too."
Wu Zi, standing to the side, glanced at Xu Yi, who looked completely bewildered, and then at Bai Er, whose eyes were full of Xu Yi's affection. He smiled and pulled Xu Yi up, urging her, "Let's go..." and then led her away.
Once the cave had returned to calm, Bai Da glanced at Bai Er and asked, "Really not coming along?"
"No, if we're truly destined to meet, we'll meet again." Bai Er shook his head.
"Heh..." Bai Da chuckled and patted Bai Er's head reassuringly: "Little brother has grown up too."
Because Bai Er had successfully transformed into human form, the small snakes that had gathered together dispersed, and the entire path down the mountain was very smooth, without any abnormalities, as if nothing had ever happened in the mountains.
Wu Zi was in a good mood and said to Xu Yi as they walked, "We can't use all these snakeskins. We'll sell the rest when we get down the mountain."
"Sold it? You asked Bai Er for the snakeskin to sell?" Xu Yi really hadn't expected that.
"Of course, the skin of a thousand-year-old snake demon can be used to forge magical artifacts and armor. It is a top-quality material that is priceless and hard to find."
Xu Yi was somewhat disapproving: "This... after all, it was given to us by someone else... should we... just take it and exchange it for money?"
"What's the big deal?" Wu Zi chimed in, "Once it's given to us, it's ours to use as we see fit. Besides, there will be plenty of times when we'll have to pay out of our own pockets. How can we travel the Three Realms without exchanging for more valuable goods?"
"Huh?" Xu Yi couldn't argue with Wu Zi, but she still felt quite sorry for the Bai brothers.
After they descended the mountain, Wu Zi led Xu Yi straight to the Ghost Market, where they exchanged a small portion of snakeskin for several large boxes of gold and a whole box of high-grade spirit stones. Only then did Xu Yi realize how precious the things Bai Er had given her were…
She stared wide-eyed at Wu Zi: "You can exchange this much?"
Wu Zi patted his storage bag with satisfaction and looked at Xu Yi with a smug expression: "Of course, I told you, it's priceless."
"Huh?" Xu Yi felt a little awkward, so she asked Wu Zi, "Then...should we return some of it?"
Wu Zi glanced at Xu Yi disapprovingly: "What's there to repay? The money and goods are settled, what's there to repay?"
"But..." Xu Yi still felt a little guilty.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
