The young lady was held back, her face turning pale at the words "long worm."
Still, she mustered her courage and looked over.
She saw a six or seven-meter-long green snake coiled around the damaged divine statue, like a divine serpent wrapped around Xuanwu.
But the young lady didn't find it majestic; she was thoroughly frightened.
Especially seeing its triangular head, she knew it was a venomous snake...
What was even more terrifying was that this venomous snake was six or seven meters long... With a single bite, how many of the people present would survive?
The maidservant beside her, however, showed no fear upon seeing the green snake. Instead, she began to size it up with curiosity.
She was the descendant of a snake charmer and had often been around snakes as a child, so she naturally wasn't very afraid of them.
Besides, this was a green snake...
A green snake, just like the one her family used to have.
Not only did she not feel afraid, she even felt a sense of closeness.
She stared for a long time at the red scale on the snake's head, which resembled a third pupil, and it seemed to stir a memory.
Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. With a flash of realization, she said, "Could it be Xiao Qing?"
At these words, both the young lady and the guard were startled.
Neither of them knew what the little maidservant was up to. Could this huge snake actually understand human speech?
Su Qing was coiled there, looking at the murderous-looking guard, feeling a headache coming on.
Then she suddenly heard the maidservant behind the young lady affectionately call out "Xiao Qing" to her, and she couldn't help but be slightly stunned.
She then stared at the maidservant and nodded.
This person recognized her, so she was most likely someone Su Qing had been close to in the past.
As a snake, ordinary people would avoid her at all costs. How could anyone have been close to her?
With this, Su Qing naturally understood the maidservant's identity!
It could be none other than Li Er's daughter, Li Lianyu.
No wonder her voice had sounded somewhat familiar to Su Qing.
She just hadn't imagined that Li Lianyu would be so grown up now...
How many years had she been in the mountains?
Time in the mountains really passed quickly...
Before she knew it, the little girl who used to run all over the courtyard and even wrap her around her neck to scare other children had grown so big.
Recalling her past life, she couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic.
For some reason, Su Qing also felt a touch of melancholy. Humans grow old, and they grow old much faster than she did...
Just as Su Qing was lamenting the passage of time, Li Lianyu was overjoyed to see her nod.
She knew it was Xiao Qing.
"Young Lady, Uncle Liu, don't be afraid. This is Xiao Qing. The same Xiao Qing who used to perform in the county town with my father! She's very intelligent. She can understand what we're saying!"
Li Lianyu said with a bright smile:
"Rest assured, Young Lady, Xiao Qing is very kind and won't hurt anyone! Right, Xiao Qing!"
Su Qing nodded slightly upon hearing this.
She truly had no intention of harming anyone...
Not only would it do her no good, but it would also bring her a world of trouble. Unless absolutely necessary, Su Qing did not want to kill people.
"This long worm really doesn't hurt people?"
The guard knew that all living beings in the world could achieve immortality and attain the Dao. He believed that snakes could be sentient, but he didn't dare to fully trust that the snake before him wouldn't cause harm.
The demon kind were never a benevolent sort.
Once, a demon had wreaked havoc in the county town, killing hundreds. The county magistrate had hired several Daoist priests to no avail; in fact, all of them died in the demon's maw.
Although this was a legend, it was still frightening.
One couldn't rashly trust the demon kind.
If the long worm before him was sentient, it was bound to become a demon and attain the Dao.
"She really doesn't hurt people. When I was little, I often took Xiao Qing out to play, and I never saw her bite anyone. If a bad person came near, she would at most just give them a scare... Xiao Qing is intelligent, not at all like those wild snakes from the mountains!"
Li Lianyu said with utmost conviction.
She understood Xiao Qing very well... Having been by Xiao Qing's side since childhood, how could she not know what a lazy and idle temperament she had?
Seeing this, the young lady mustered her courage, stared at Su Qing for a while, and finally spoke up to persuade the guard as well.
After all, if the guard were to make a move, the young lady felt they might all die here.
Since his young lady had spoken, the guard couldn't say much more.
But his hand remained on the hilt of his sword, maintaining a deep wariness of Su Qing.
Su Qing saw this but said nothing—of course, she couldn't speak anyway. She just remained coiled there and closed her eyes, feigning sleep.
The young lady sat at the entrance of the ruined temple, watching the heavy rain outside in silence, her thoughts unknown.
The guard stood dutifully by the young lady's side, showing his loyalty.
Li Lianyu, feeling that the rain wouldn't stop anytime soon, began to feel a bit bored...
So she ran over to Su Qing's side and began telling her about the things that had happened in recent years...
The guard saw this but didn't intervene, merely keeping a vigilant eye on Su Qing.
Li Lianyu spoke, and Su Qing listened.
She had lived alone for so many years that having someone talk beside her today wasn't annoying at all; in fact, she was rather happy about it.
It was just that she couldn't reply.
Li Lianyu told Su Qing that her father had fallen ill and passed away two years ago.
After her father's death, the family had no mainstay. She didn't want to marry too early, so she went to the young lady's house to work as a maid.
Then came a round of praise for her own young lady.
In short, she said a great many things.
Su Qing listened without any reaction, only feeling that time flies and old acquaintances pass away easily.
Li Lianyu spoke for a long time, and Su Qing listened for a long time. Afterward, the young lady, unable to bear the boredom, also joined in...
The young lady had been a little scared at first, but seeing Li Lianyu stay by Su Qing's side for so long without anything happening, she wasn't so afraid anymore.
The guard, however, remained as he was, extremely wary of Su Qing.
Su Qing couldn't be bothered with him. If he dared to do anything rash... she could take his life with a single bite.
Su Qing's venom... could take down even an elephant, let alone a mere mortal. Even if he had some martial arts skills, he would be no match for her.
Fortunately, the guard also knew the situation was dangerous and didn't do anything foolish.
Time passed quickly, and the rain continued to fall, not letting up even as evening approached...
The pitter-patter of the rain was especially distinct in the forest.
"Why hasn't this rain stopped? How long is it going to last?" Li Lianyu looked at the darkening sky outside and said with some worry, "It's been raining for almost a whole day."
At this, Su Qing raised her head slightly, looking at the unabated downpour outside the door.
For some reason, Su Qing had a feeling...
There was probably going to be a flood!
Before this, not a drop of rain had fallen for nearly a month, and now suddenly there was a downpour... It had been raining all day and still hadn't lessened or stopped.
Clearly, something was wrong.
After a moment of thought, Su Qing nudged Li Lianyu's shoulder and wrote her thoughts on the dusty ground.
The script of this world was Small Seal Script, and coincidentally, Su Qing had studied calligraphy in her past life and had some knowledge of it.
However, Su Qing didn't write much, only the two characters for 'flood.'
The rest, she left for them to figure out on their own.
It wasn't to create an air of mystery; it was just that Small Seal Script was troublesome to write, and even more so since she was writing with her tail.
Of course, Su Qing told them this simply so they could go home and make some preparations.
As for whether the county town would be in trouble, Su Qing felt it probably wouldn't be... After all, as long as the county magistrate wasn't an idiot, it was impossible he wouldn't guess the risk of a flood from this heavy rain.
Rate on N.U.
