Er Ya's heart pounded. She had always been brave since she was a child, and climbing trees and catching fish were no problem for her.
Tell me about the amazing things she did: Er Ya dared to risk being beaten up to snatch an egg from her younger brother's mouth!
Despite encountering such a fantastical and bizarre event, she wasn't frightened at all. Instead, she felt a surge of excitement and vaguely knew that she was about to make it big!
"Liu Xian, shall we set off now?"
Ling Xiao looked at the dirty little girl in front of him, whose skin was half black and half yellow, and whose hair was like dry straw. He lazily rolled his snake body and rubbed his scales.
"Don't rush, there's still one more thing to do."
Er Ya asked curiously, "What is it?"
The white snake flicked its long, slender, bright red tongue, and a woman's voice, cold yet alluring, chuckled as she spoke:
"So, I'll avenge you too?" The voice carried a subtle, chilling malice.
"Life must be tough for you. Running out in the middle of the night must mean you've suffered some great injustice. Should we sell you to a brothel, or throw you out as a child bride?"
"Anyway, none of these are good things. So, here's an opportunity for you. If you agree, I'll help you get revenge."
Ling Xiao, the White Snake, watched Er Ya with great interest. Would she soften her heart and let go of her so-called family, or would she agree to take revenge?
The space fell silent for a moment, with only the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves outside.
I hovered lightly on the roof beam, observing this "tool" and wanting to hear her answer.
Will they die?
Er Ya's calm voice echoed in the small temple.
"Hahahaha, whatever you wish! This demon can spoil its disciple!"
Ling Xiao laughed loudly. The meaning behind her question was clear: she wanted revenge. She showed off to the system:
"See? This host is really lucky. I just randomly picked up a tool, and it's so compatible with me."
Heh, the system is all smiles and flattery on the surface, but secretly it's suffering.
The big devil found a little devil, whose life was as miserable as if he had been soaked in bitter melon water!
Er Ya breathed a sigh of relief. In her opinion, the snake demon was just itching to do something bad.
Even among humans, there are far more bad than good people, let alone demons. Good female demons are only encountered by scholars, so isn't it only natural that she would meet this wicked snake demon?
As for revenge, Er Ya thought nonchalantly, as long as she doesn't die, it's fine. Her parents even want to sell her corpse for money.
She was in great pain when she was beaten until her skin was torn and bleeding, and she still had to do laundry and chop firewood.
"When the night is dark and the wind is high, it's the perfect time for murder and arson. If we don't want to kill, then let's set fires!" White Snake Ling Xiao happily commanded.
Er Ya felt her eyes light up and then dim, and she arrived at her doorstep. In the blink of an eye, the world had changed.
She was so shocked that her mouth gaped open.
"My God, Liu Xian, you're amazing!"
After becoming proficient in operating the system, she dismissed those words with disdain, thinking, "Hmph, what an ignorant little girl."
It was late at night, and the Li family had all gone to bed. Before going to sleep, Er Ya's mother was still muttering that she would catch that brat tomorrow, give her a good beating, and not give her any good food.
“They’re so disobedient!” Er Ya’s mother said matter-of-factly.
As she was sleeping, the surroundings suddenly became hotter and hotter. Er Ya's younger brother was the first to start crying and waking up the family. When they opened their eyes, they saw...
A loud shout pierced the night:
"Ah, there's a fire!"
The villagers live close together and are all relatively poor. Few houses have bricks or tiles. If one house catches fire, everyone has to go and put it out, otherwise, if the fire gets too big, the whole house could be burned down.
People from all over rushed over with buckets of water, only to be horrified to find that the water they poured on the fire did not extinguish it at all, as if the fire was not burning on wood!
The system gave Er Ya a critical look, then started calculating on its abacus: "Gasoline cost three points, let's multiply that by a hundred."
We must make her work and earn it back!
A series of loud cracking and banging sounds rang out, accompanied by cries for help:
"Help! Help!"
When the villagers looked ahead, their legs were cramping; not a single member of the Li family had escaped the house!
The main gate was clearly burned and could be passed through, but the Li family members stood by the gate, their faces filled with terror, frantically pounding and kicking the door, their hands and feet covered in large blisters.
"Is this divine retribution?"
A trembling voice rang out from the crowd. Seeing this strange thing, how could the others not be afraid? Some were already having second thoughts, and they echoed the sentiment.
People began listing the mistakes the Li family might have made.
Just then, a small figure suddenly appeared in front of the door, staring at the Li family members with a strange look.
"It's Er Ya, how come she's..." The voices gradually faded as the villagers noticed that Er Ya was standing in the fire, yet she was completely unharmed.
Even a fool could see something was wrong. Er Ya had either turned into a ghost to take revenge, or she had run into some god or demon.
"The Li family beats Er Ya terribly, they beat her to death, I've seen it several times."
"I knew it..."
Whispers continued, and Ling Xiao clicked her tongue lightly, her alluring voice ringing in everyone's ears:
"You really don't need me to kill them; this demon is being unusually kind."
The white snake detached from her wrist, its slender body slowly growing larger, coiling around the little girl. Its jade-like scales opened slightly, and its snake eyes turned crimson...
The bizarre and vivid scene elicited a series of screams, and the Li family was driven mad with fright.
Everyone was convinced that a snake demon had come to avenge Er Ya. Some people looked indignant, saying that it was only natural for parents to discipline their children, and how could they allow evil spirits to harm their parents?
Unfilial!
Er Ya lowered her head, suppressing her excitement, and said, "I originally wanted to beat them up again, but now I'm afraid of breaking the blisters and getting filthy, so I'll pass."
Ling Xiao, the White Snake, nodded slightly, then used her tail to flip over the door, sending sparks flying into the crowd before casually saying:
"Boring, I was hoping to see a show."
Having said that, her icy snake-like eyes turned to the Li family, and she said coldly, "From this day forward, Li Erya is severing all ties with the mortal world. Her person and soul belong to me—Willow Immortal of Kunlun. Do you understand?"
The Li family members nodded vigorously, enduring the pain, and the white snake, carrying the little girl, flew away into the sky in full view of everyone.
The crowd remained, discussing loudly and excitedly, for they had witnessed the snake demon in person!
The news quickly spread throughout the surrounding villages. The Kunlun snake demon, who called himself Willow Fairy, left his mark on this world for the first time.
…………
At this moment, the capital was on the verge of a major upheaval. The founding emperor sitting on the throne was undoubtedly a first-rate hero, and few in history could compare to him.
He was considerate of the people's livelihood, strict in governing officials, and punished corrupt officials, so the people were quite supportive of him.
But it's terrible for officials!
They get beaten for no reason, and if they embezzle more than fifty taels of silver, they'll be skinned alive and burned like a sky lantern!
There's a popular story among officials in the capital: they have to say goodbye to their families when they get up in the morning, because they might not be able to come back that night.
The Hongwu Emperor was ruthless in dealing with his subordinates, even showing no mercy to veteran officials, important ministers, or meritorious officials who had supported him all the way.
Even such a stern emperor had people who could persuade him, and Empress Ma, Zhu Yuanzhang's wife, was one such person of special status.
But now, Empress Ma, who is only fifty years old, is about to die.
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