Su Qing left the Old Mother's Hall.
She went down the mountain the way she came...
She was not in a hurry to set off for Xi He Niu Zhou.
Instead, she decided to find a place to rest for a few days first.
After all, the journey to Xi He Niu Zhou was long...
Much farther than the trip to the Old Mother of Mount Li's Hall.
Su Qing searched around the foot of the mountain but found no ruined temples or dilapidated houses.
So, she simply slipped into a mountain cave.
The cave was quiet and seemed very deep...
But Su Qing had no intention of exploring its depths; she just found a suitable spot to sleep.
Su Qing slept for a long time, and when she woke up, it was already three days later.
She was more or less rested.
Su Qing set out on her journey once more.
Along the way, Su Qing passed by the old turtle's village again.
After a moment's thought, she went up to chat with the old turtle for a bit...
Success or failure, the turtle had given her directions. It was only polite to go up and greet him when passing by.
When the old turtle learned that Su Qing had not been able to become a disciple of Li Shan Lao Mu, he was not surprised...
Nor did he mock Su Qing.
He simply offered a few words of comfort...
Then, with the air of someone experienced, he advised Su Qing to become a minor mountain god, which would also be a free and easy life.
But unfortunately, Su Qing remained steadfast, having her own plans...
Becoming a minor god dependent on incense offerings was not what she wanted.
Perhaps it was indeed a good path.
But what she sought was higher.
She seemed to have no desires, with a calm temperament, but in reality, she had a higher pursuit.
Su Qing did not talk with the old turtle for long...
After a brief chat, she set out on her journey again.
This time, she was heading to Xi He Niu Zhou.
It was very far...
Su Qing was prepared for a long trek.
She felt neither anxious nor discouraged...
Even though she had been rebuffed at Mount Li.
But she had still gained something.
At the very least, how to find Patriarch Bodhi had become much clearer.
And with a map, the road ahead would be much easier to travel.
This time, Su Qing's progress was much faster.
She soon left the Qinling and Mount Li range completely, heading in the direction of Xi He Niu Zhou.
Su Qing traveled for a long time, walking and resting intermittently.
Su Qing didn't know how many months had passed...
She only knew that when she stopped, the leaves had gradually turned yellow and withered.
It was probably autumn already.
Su Qing thought for a moment and decided to pause her journey and get through the winter first.
Su Qing found a forest.
She prepared to catch some food and find a place to hide.
But while wandering through the woods, she happened to spot a snake hunter in the distance.
The snake hunter did not see Su Qing; he was focused on finding small snakes.
The snake hunter was skilled and soon caught a white snake... and in his bamboo basket, there seemed to be several other live snakes.
Seeing this, Su Qing flicked her tongue, not planning to interfere.
This matter had nothing to do with her...
However, just as she was about to turn and leave,
she happened to hear a cry for help...
The voice sounded very young, like that of a six or seven-year-old.
Su Qing turned her head and saw that the cry for help came from the white snake in the snake hunter's hand.
She couldn't help but be surprised... the white snake was only about two meters long, yet it had already cultivated spiritual awareness and even knew to ask her for help.
This moved Su Qing slightly.
Although she didn't like to meddle in other people's business... someone was asking her for help.
Her conscience wouldn't be clear if she did nothing.
Seeing that the little snake was about to be cut open for its gallbladder,
Su Qing had no time for further thought.
She quickly called out, "Snake hunter, stop!"
"Who, who's talking! Have I run into a ghost in broad daylight?"
The snake hunter was startled and looked around, but he couldn't find anyone speaking.
"Did... did I mishear?"
The snake hunter patted his chest and was about to resume what he was doing.
But when he turned his head, he saw a giant green snake!
The green snake's tongue flicked past his face, and a foul-smelling wind blew over him.
It scared him so much that he collapsed to the ground, unable to even think of running away.
He almost wet himself in fear.
He suspected that after half a lifetime of catching snakes, retribution had finally come for him.
"Great Immortal, spare my life! Great Immortal, spare my life!"
The snake hunter didn't have time to think and immediately knelt down to beg for mercy.
He didn't dare to have the slightest thought of resisting...
"I can spare your life, but you must release my kin."
Su Qing had no intention of killing the snake hunter; she only planned to save the white snake.
She couldn't be bothered with the rest.
"Release them, release them, I'll release them now! I only beg the Great Immortal to spare my life! Just don't eat me!"
How could the snake hunter dare to disobey? He quickly let the little snake go.
He also released all the other small snakes in his bamboo basket that had not yet gained spiritual awareness...
He even made a show of kowtowing a few times.
It almost made Su Qing laugh.
Su Qing flicked her tongue. Seeing that he had released the snakes, she let him go.
But she also warned him, "You must not speak of what happened today! If I find out you've told anyone, I will come looking for you."
Of course, Su Qing wouldn't be able to find him; she was just scaring him.
The snake hunter, hearing this, nodded repeatedly.
His courage had already been shattered, and he didn't dare to disobey in the slightest.
"Alright, go!"
"Thank you, Great Immortal! Thank you, Great Immortal!"
Seeing that Su Qing was letting him leave,
he scrambled to his feet and ran, not even wanting his bamboo basket anymore.
Su Qing flicked her tongue as she watched the snake hunter's terrified appearance.
She knew she was quite frightening now... but she hadn't expected to scare even a snake hunter out of his wits.
It seemed she would have to avoid people from now on.
After scaring away the snake hunter, Su Qing prepared to leave.
When she turned, however, she saw the little white snake coiled obediently, looking at her with wide, expectant eyes.
Su Qing couldn't help but flick her tongue and ask, "Little white snake, why haven't you left yet?"
"Big Sister hasn't left, so of course I can't leave. Big Sister is my savior! How could I abandon you like those snakes without spiritual awareness?"
Su Qing looked at the white snake. Could a newly sentient little snake be this smart? This eloquent?
This one couldn't be a transmigrator too, could she?
She asked, "Is that so? Then what is your name?"
Hearing this, the white snake shook her head and said innocently, "What is a name? I don't have a name."
"Is that so? Since you don't have a name, and you're a white snake, I'll call you Bai Suzhen."
Su Qing said this half-jokingly, half-testingly.
If this white snake were truly a transmigrator, she would definitely know the meaning behind the name Bai Suzhen.
However, Su Qing was disappointed.
The white snake before her was truly just a clever little snake.
"Bai Suzhen, Bai Suzhen? The name Big Sister gave me is very nice. Thank you for giving me a name, Big Sister!"
The white snake was quite happy to have received a name.
She thanked Su Qing repeatedly.
"As long as you like it..."
Su Qing looked at the white snake and said,
"Alright, since you're fine now, you should return to the mountains and cultivate properly!"
"I should be going too. This is not a place to linger."
Finally, Su Qing added half-jokingly,
"Be careful of humans, especially those with the surname Xu."
"I understand, Big Sister! I will definitely be very careful! By the way, Big Sister gave me a name! I still don't know what Big Sister's name is!"
"Su Qing!"
"Su Qing, Su Qing, Big Sister's name is also very nice."
The white snake silently repeated it a few times and committed it to memory.
But just as she was about to ask something else... Su Qing was already far away.
Seeing that Su Qing was gone, the white snake followed her advice and went deep into the mountains to continue her cultivation.
She looked forward to finding the green snake and repaying her kindness after achieving enlightenment in the future.
And since Su Qing had revealed herself here, she naturally couldn't stay any longer.
She had no choice but to continue onward and find another place to hibernate.
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