"Sigh... asking you is pointless. I might as well ask Brother Turtle."
Shaodian Qingnu sighed and took out the turtle shell that had accompanied her for many years, tossing a few cowrie shells inside.
"Brother Turtle, Brother Turtle, give me a hint. Should I go meet this so-called Queen Mother of the West?"
Shaodian Qingnu muttered as she cast the shells.
"I shouldn't go?"
Looking at the result of the divination, Shaodian Qingnu frowned. She performed the ritual again, but the result remained the same: she should not go.
"Neither of you wants me to go..."
Shaodian Qingnu looked up at Jiang Ziya's grave.
The tomb was silent, offering no sound.
"Brother Turtle won't let me go. Jiang Ziya, what do you think?"
Shaodian Qingnu murmured to herself, "If it's real and I don't go, won't I be missing out big time?"
To go or not to go? It was truly a dilemma!
Just as Shaodian Qingnu finished speaking, a fallen leaf drifted down before her, perfectly covering one of the cowrie shells. This caused the divination, which originally indicated she should not go, to change into a sign to go.
"Did you really manifest your spirit?"
Shaodian Qingnu's eyes widened in surprise. She patted the ground repeatedly and said, "I'll listen to you this time!"
'Sorry, Brother Turtle, I won't be following your advice this time.'
If Brother Turtle had a soul in heaven, he would surely be scolding her: 'If you aren't going to listen, why did you even ask?'
Shaodian Qingnu packed her bags and headed straight west.
She moved very quickly, soon catching up with the procession of Ji Man, who had set out long before her.
However, as Shaodian Qingnu gazed at the imperial carriage amidst the Six Armies of the West from afar, she sensed something was wrong. She wrinkled her nose, a look of disgust crossing her face.
"Why do I smell the stench of the dead?"
Shaodian Qingnu rubbed her eyes and saw a faint, lingering deathly aura swirling above the carriage.
How strange.
At this point in time, Ji Man should be in the prime of his life. Where could this deathly aura be coming from?
To be safe, Shaodian Qingnu only followed from a great distance.
A snake's life was precious; Shaodian Qingnu did not dare take risks. Although she was quite capable in a fight, if a zombie imbued with dragon qi suddenly lunged out, there was no telling who would beat whom.
Inside the carriage.
Ji Man sat opposite an old man.
The old man was haggard, with deeply sunken eye sockets, looking as if a layer of skin had been stretched over bone.
If Shaodian Qingnu were to take a look, she would likely cry out in shock.
This person was Yao Jiang!
The young man who had once knelt and begged her to take him as a disciple now looked like a walking mummy!
Ji Man looked at Yao Jiang, who was resting with his eyes closed. He then lifted the carriage curtain to glance outside at the vast, boundless grasslands, his heart feeling uneasy.
"Immortal Master, how much longer until we reach Kunlun?"
Yao Jiang half-opened his eyes and replied, "Soon. We shall arrive in another half-month."
His voice was raspy, sounding nothing like a normal human.
"Will the Queen Mother of the West see me?" Ji Man asked again.
Yao Jiang nodded slightly and replied, "She will. You are the Son of Heaven of the Great Zhou, the lord of this world. The Queen Mother of the West will certainly receive you."
Hearing Yao Jiang flatter him, Ji Man smiled.
He gave Yao Jiang a solemn promise.
"If I can attain longevity this time, I will surely assist the Immortal Master in exterminating that green snake enchantress!"
She was but a mere snake woman.
Now that the Great Zhou was strong and prosperous, with the four barbarian tribes in submission, how much of a storm could she possibly stir up?
Yao Jiang seemed to be smiling.
After a few light coughs, he closed his eyes to rest.
Following leisurely behind the Six Armies of the West with a blade of grass in her mouth, Shaodian Qingnu suddenly sneezed. She rubbed her nose strangely and muttered, "Who is talking about me behind my back?"
The sky was high and the grass was low in the wilderness; the only group of people nearby was the Six Armies of the West up ahead.
Shaodian Qingnu toyed with her turtle shell.
'By Huangdi's grandfather, who exactly is obsessing over this snake?'
After nightfall, the Six Armies of the West set up camp to cook.
Shaodian Qingnu also wandered nearby, seeing if there was a chance to conveniently snatch some meat.
Yao Jiang and Ji Man emerged from the carriage.
Shaodian Qingnu caught a glimpse from afar. The one dressed in fine clothes and carrying dragon qi was undoubtedly the Son of Heaven of the Great Zhou, but who was that withered fellow beside him?
She narrowed her eyes and took a closer look.
One look was all it took for Shaodian Qingnu to become furious!
"No wonder I felt someone was obsessing over this snake. It's that kid!"
How many years had it been? He was actually still alive!
Seeing the terrifying deathly aura swirling around Yao Jiang, Shaodian Qingnu felt a sudden shiver.
How did he survive?
While they weren't exactly mortal enemies, their paths had certainly crossed in an unwelcome way. With Yao Jiang there, Shaodian Qingnu lost all interest in stealing meat from the Six Armies of the West. She turned and left.
Over the next few days, Shaodian Qingnu increased the distance between herself and the Six Armies of the West even further.
For no other reason than pure disgust!
The Kunlun Mountains—or more accurately, the Kunlun mountain range—was a massive range that spanned across the west, its peaks grand and steep.
It was simply too high, not at all suitable for a snake to live in.
Shaodian Qingnu overtook the Six Armies of the West and reached the foot of the Kunlun Mountains before them.
After searching for a while at the base, she found a path up the mountain.
However, when she reached the summit, she saw only vast expanses of white snow. It was a desolate wasteland where nothing grew. There was no Jasper Lake, and no Queen Mother of the West.
"The stories in the myths are all lies told to snakes!"
Shaodian Qingnu spitefully kicked a small rock on the ground.
Crack—
The small stone she kicked let out the sound of shattering.
Shaodian Qingnu pricked up her ears, feeling a bit surprised.
Could it be that her skills had grown because she had been eating so much meat lately, allowing her to shatter a rock with such a light kick? She would have to be careful in the future and kick people less, lest she accidentally kill someone and create unnecessary karma.
The small rock moved.
"Eh?"
Shaodian Qingnu stepped closer, staring at the small rock.
Looking closely, how was this a rock!
This was clearly an egg!
A small green bird crawled out from the broken hard shell. It flapped its wings, flew onto Shaodian Qingnu's shoulder, and pecked her earlobe.
"Hiss—"
Shaodian Qingnu felt a sharp pain in her earlobe. She wondered if this little bird was a snake-eating species, acting on its instincts to eat her as soon as it was born.
'I can't be eaten!'
Shaodian Qingnu immediately waved her hand to shoo it away.
"Birdie, birdie, don't peck! Snake meat doesn't taste good!"
"Stupid!"
Suddenly, a crisp voice rang out in Shaodian Qingnu's ear.
Shaodian Qingnu frowned and looked around alertly.
"Who? Who's insulting me?"
"Stupid! Your shoulder! I'm on your shoulder!" the voice continued.
Shaodian Qingnu turned her head and looked at the small green bird on her shoulder. Her expression was one of shock as she said, "Aya, the Kunlun Mountains really are a land of immortals. Even a bird can talk! But why are you insulting me?"
"You can't even tell the difference between a rock and a bird egg, and you even kicked me! Tell me, don't you deserve to be insulted? Stupid snake!"
The Qingniao hopped on Shaodian Qingnu's shoulder.
Shaodian Qingnu rubbed her nose and said awkwardly, "A thousand-year-old snake has poor eyesight. Be more understanding."
"And to think I waited here for you for so long..." the Qingniao grumbled.
Upon hearing this, the snake girl immediately perked up. She snatched the Qingniao and held it up in front of her face, asking, "Who told you to wait for me here? Was it the Queen Mother of the West? Are you the Qingniao?"
"Ow... stupid snake! Let go, you're too heavy!"
The Qingniao hurriedly pecked at Shaodian Qingnu's hand.
After Shaodian Qingnu let go, it flapped its wings and flew up, circling Shaodian Qingnu's head once before landing back on her shoulder to preen its feathers.
"Big Sister Bird, how about an answer?"
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