In the morning, the weather was clear and bright.
At the Next Life Inn, the caravan members woke up one by one.
“Slept like a baby!” “Haven’t had a night this comfortable in ages.” “Feeling recharged!”
Everyone had rested well.
Even back in the city, they’d been too busy and stressed over the cloth dealings to truly relax and enjoy a good night’s sleep.
Who would have thought that in this remote roadside inn, they’d have the most comfortable evening since setting out?
“We got careless—way too careless,” Lao Hu the Leader said, shaking his head repeatedly. “How could we let our guard down like that? Last night, not a single watchman! We wouldn’t have even noticed if someone snuck in and stole our kidneys!”
“How could that happen?” someone nearby laughed. “We’ve got the Demon Subduing Division Lord with us. You think she’d let any demons or ghosts get the drop on us? Speaking of which, where is she? Haven’t seen her around.”
“No idea. Maybe she went out with Miss Yin to freshen up?”
As they chatted, Yin Luan and the others were making their way back from the Bamboo Forest.
Senior Sister Zou Lian led the way, with Little Snake Demon and Zi Qing following behind.
Perhaps to avoid alarming outsiders, Senior Sister wasn’t using her Shrink Ground to Inches technique this time. Her pace was only a bit quicker than a normal person’s.
Zi Qing cradled the flower pot. Having recovered from the thrill of surviving the ordeal, her face now showed a complex mix of emotions.
“What’s wrong?” Yin Luan asked softly. “This is already the best outcome possible. You could tell—under normal circumstances, Senior Sister wouldn’t let anyone slip through like that…”
Truth be told, even Little Snake Demon was surprised that Zou Lian had agreed to this compromise.
Senior Sister hadn’t convinced herself with the notion that “a demon without any cultivation base isn’t a demon.” In other words, she’d let Laisheng go even while acknowledging that he remained a demon, reduced though he was to a little bamboo sprout.
It shifted Yin Luan’s view of her, just a little.
Someone consumed by hatred, bent on slaying every demon in the world? That was easy enough to understand. Hatred, fear, rage—they could all breed such mindsets.
But Senior Sister was different. She… was more complicated than she seemed.
“It’s not that,” Zi Qing whispered in reply. “I’m not unhappy—quite the opposite. I’m thrilled. Without this spell, Laisheng probably wouldn’t have lasted another few years. It’s just…”
She gently stroked the sprout, hesitating.
“I’m afraid I’ll never hear his voice again…”
Laisheng was still alive.
But barely. Even if he’d retained a sliver of spiritual intelligence, recovering enough to communicate with the outside world—to regain human form—might take who knew how many years.
Human lifespans were finite.
By then, they might be separated by life and death…
“That’s easy enough,” Little Snake Demon said in a hushed voice. “Hold out your hand.”
“?”
Zi Qing looked puzzled but did as asked, extending her palm.
The jade pendant engraved with “Yin Luan” dropped into her hand, radiating a faint warmth. At the same time, new information flooded her mind.
The final portion of 《Rebirth Technique》, the part Senior Sister Zou Lian hadn’t received.
“This…”
Zi Qing’s face twitched as excitement bubbled up, hard to contain.
“Calm down, calm down—don’t let Senior Sister notice,” Little Snake Demon quickly soothed her. “In half a month, follow the incantation, and you should be able to communicate with Laisheng. With his thousand years of cultivation base, he’ll know how to cooperate… As for transforming back, though? No way around that. Even with the Revival Incantation’s help, it could take years—decades or even centuries if luck’s not on your side. If you’re fortunate, maybe a dozen years or so.”
“It’s fine,” Zi Qing said, taking a deep breath and nodding to her. “Being able to talk to him is more than enough. I don’t even know how to thank you, Miss Yin…”
“You deserve it,” Little Snake Demon replied with a faint smile. “Just… stay away from harmful spells from now on. That’s never right.”
“Mm!”
Zi Qing gazed at Little Snake Demon.
This woman, who at first glance seemed seductive and otherworldly, now appeared to her wreathed in a holy glow.
Demonic yet saintly.
The clashing traits blended into one.
How to put it? It only made her feel hotter all over, a thrilling sense of forbidden allure.
Back at the Next Life Inn, they didn’t breathe a word of last night’s events to the caravan folk.
No need—they’d only have nightmares if they knew…
After packing up, the caravan prepared to hit the road.
“Innkeep, this inn is pretty good,” Lao Hu the Leader waved at Zi Qing with a laugh. “We’ll come back here to rest when we pass by next year!”
The Little Snake Demon poked her head out the carriage window and waved goodbye to her too.
Zi Qing stood at the door as the wind from the east lifted the hem of her skirt.
She cradled the Little Bamboo Sprout, bit her lip, and finally flashed everyone a smile in response.
“Sure thing!”
~~~
The journey continued.
However, the atmosphere inside the carriage was quite different from before.
Senior Sister Zou Lian sat cross-legged, staring silently at the Little Snake Demon until the latter wrapped herself in a blanket and shrank into a ball in the corner.
This is bad, Little Snake thought.
Senior Sister wouldn’t have figured out that I’m not human, would she?
Something as obviously demonic as the Rebirth Technique—why would it end up in the hands of a lazy woman who just ate and slept all day?
Anyone could see that didn’t add up, even if they used their toes to think about it.
She had let Laisheng off the hook because he was on the verge of death and posed no threat to anyone. But for an energetic little snake like her… if Senior Sister didn’t chop her into pieces, would she really let her go around harassing innocent girls?
Laughter and chatter drifted in from outside, while the carriage remained steeped in awkward silence.
After a long moment,
“Spit it out,” Senior Sister Zou Lian finally said. “How much of what you told Du Xuan about your background was true, and how much was fake?”
“Nine parts fake, one part true…”
The Little Snake Demon stuck out her tongue and answered with complete sincerity.
“You’re pretty honest,” she nodded. “So what’s the real story?”
“It’s like this…”
Yin Luan couldn’t outmaneuver the top genius of the Demon Subduing Division, no matter what tricks she tried. After some deliberation, she decided to lay out most of the truth.
There wasn’t much point in fabricating anything anyway—everything boiled down to just two words: amnesia.
“Amnesia?”
“Amnesia!”
It was the ultimate excuse, especially since Little Snake really had lost her memories; she wasn’t making it up. Even if Senior Sister resorted to torture, she wouldn’t get anything more out of her.
An ordinary person might dismiss “amnesia” as a made-up tale.
But Senior Sister Zou Lian didn’t. She listened intently.
“The jade pendant,” she said when Yin Luan finished. “And the box?”
“Yes, those were the only two things I had when I woke up…”
The Little Snake Demon reached into her collar, rummaged around, and pulled out the box.
It was smaller than her palm and not very thick, so she always carried it on her person.
Unlike the jade pendant, it had never shown any unusual signs. After trying every method she could think of to open it and failing, the Little Snake Demon had gradually forgotten about it.
She had even attempted to use it to crack walnuts, only to find it wasn’t as effective as her own teeth…
“Can I take a look?”
Senior Sister Zou Lian asked.
Little Snake offered it up with both hands.
In a way, this unopenable box was even more mysterious than the jade pendant that could relay all sorts of information.
Yin Luan’s fists could slay mythical demons, yet they couldn’t dent this thing… In an emergency, she could probably chuck it at someone as a hidden weapon.
Senior Sister Zou Lian took the box and examined it closely.
Its surface was seamless, with no lock, no mechanisms, no buttons—nothing to indicate how to even approach it.
She shook it, but there was no sound from inside.
It felt ice-cold to the touch, seemingly made of metal, yet it was remarkably light in her hand.
Senior Sister Zou Lian flicked it lightly with her finger.
Ding—
The note was crisp and echoed faintly.
“I suspect,” she analyzed, “that this might be an Innate Treasure.”
Innate Treasures were artifacts forged by experts of the Innate Realm and above. Like Ren Tan’s bracelet, which could actively deploy a “Qi Barrier” to block attacks from Innate Experts.
Such treasures were extraordinarily valuable. Even the Radish Spirit drooled over Ren Tan’s bracelet—it was far beyond what mere gold, silver, or jewels could buy.
Both items tied to her background were so precious… Could she actually be a rich family’s pet snake?
“May I try infusing it with Qi to unseal it?”
Treasures forged by Innate Experts often required someone of the Innate Realm to activate them, relying on the interplay of “Qi” and “spirit.”
The Little Snake Demon gave a thumbs-up, signaling, “Go ahead, Senior Sister. Break it if you want—no need to compensate me.”
Of course, this was something she could only say to Senior Sister Zou Lian. The senior sister was upright and honest; if she broke it, she’d feel guilty and either replace it or make amends in some other way… Little Snake would accept either option.
Senior Sister Zou Lian ignored the Little Snake Demon’s whimsical thoughts. She pressed her palms together, cradling the black box.
The next moment, a faint azure glow emanated from her palm, and the Black Box slowly rose, hovering in midair.
The Senior Sister’s brows furrowed slightly. She parted her palms, linking the light within them to the sides of the Black Box. Under her control, it flipped up, down, left, and right, as if she were solving a puzzle.
The Little Snake Demon watched, her head spinning.
Zou Lian’s hands moved faster and faster, the Black Box’s rotations blurring into invisibility. It was as if the two were locked in a fierce contest.
Bang!
Suddenly, with a resounding crash, the spinning Black Box shot forward and slammed right into Little Snake across from her, knocking her flat on her back.
“Ow…”
The Little Snake Demon lay in the carriage, groaning.
“Failed…”
Zou Lian withdrew her hands, her brows knitting even tighter.
She hadn’t expected the Black Box’s resistance to be so fierce.
For ordinary Innate Treasures, her cultivation at Innate Peak was more than enough to crack them open—even those with complex restrictions posed no challenge.
The Demon Subduing Division taught a vast array of techniques: sword arts, talismans, formations, restrictions, mechanisms, and more. She had naturally mastered them all.
This treasure had likely been forged by someone beyond the Innate Realm— one of those legendary powerhouses…
“How about I try with my sword?” Zou Lian suggested. “This sword of mine is also an Innate Treasure. It’s extremely sharp.”
“Are you sure you want to do that?”
How was the Senior Sister even bolder than she was? Even if she wasn’t worried about damaging the Black Box, wasn’t she afraid of triggering some countermeasure and ending up with nothing?
“The magical Jade Pendant, the mysterious Black Box,” Zou Lian said, not pressing the issue. She looked up at the Little Snake Demon. “And you, so full of… vibrant energy.”
The Little Snake Demon suspected the Senior Sister had really wanted to say “crazy you” but hadn’t quite dared to voice it…
“Your origins, your background—they must be incredibly complex.”
Zou Lian gazed at her. Her expression held neither the intense focus of a hunter eyeing prey nor her usual blank indifference. Instead, it was… calm.
Utterly calm. No surprise. No suspicion. No pity.
Yin Luan even thought that for the aloof Eldest Senior Sister of the Demon Subduing Division, this already counted as a form of “gentleness.”
“Are you afraid?”
She asked softly.
The Little Snake Demon froze for a moment before answering on instinct.
“A little… When I first woke up, my mind was a total blank. Unknown place, unknown people, unknown me—the fear of it all was overwhelming.”
Yin Luan paused, then continued.
“But it got better later on. Mostly because I realized I’m pretty strong and not easy to hurt. Then I ran into Du Xuan and learned a ton from her…”
She really did have to thank Du Xuan. Without Xiao Xuanxuan, her grasp of this world wouldn’t have come together so quickly.
Where would an ordinary person ever encounter demons, devils, and ghosts? Or learn about Innate methods? Without that knowledge, Little Snake might have wandered cluelessly into the clutches of some Great Demon—or been suppressed beneath a golden pagoda by an expert like Zou Lian, reduced to a life of endless tears…
“Is that so…”
Zou Lian lowered her head.
She fell silent for a moment, then spoke to the Little Snake Demon again.
“Your background is worth pursuing. We can follow the leads from the Jade Pendant and Black Box at the same time. The fact that you had these two items on you when you woke up can’t be a coincidence. Given the cultivation talent you’ve shown, it might tie into some special bloodline…”
Listening to the Senior Sister go on and on, Yin Luan couldn’t help rubbing her head and blinking in confusion.
“Is there a problem?”
Zou Lian paused and asked.
“Senior Sister, don’t you suspect I’m lying?” The Little Snake Demon asked bluntly. “After all, I already tricked Du Xuan once.”
“Lying is wrong,” she said flatly, “but sometimes concealment is necessary. That’s one of the world’s contradictions.”
“For instance, Du Xuan doesn’t know the Demon Subduing Division used demonic power…”
The Little Snake Demon suddenly understood.
She couldn’t do it herself, so she wouldn’t hold it against others either…
“I don’t have a foolproof way to detect lies,” she continued. “I can only make judgments based on what I’ve seen, heard, and surmised.”
“So… what’s the verdict?”
Yin Luan asked cautiously.
“Du Xuan,” Zou Lian said after a moment’s thought, “has made a qualified friend.”
“Just qualified?…”
Little Snake was sorely disappointed.
“If you don’t like ‘qualified,'” Zou Lian amended, “then let’s say ‘barely passes.'”
“That’s even worse!” Yin Luan clutched her head with both hands. “Senior Sister is too strict! I think I’m pretty good!”
“Your background is a mystery, full of secrets. Getting a passing grade is already pretty good,” Zou Lian said sternly. “However, if you can make further progress in your Sense Qi cultivation, I might add a few extra points.”
“Can I get the points first?”
“Cultivate first.”
“Wuwuwu——”
Watching the Little Snake Demon pretend to wipe away tears, the corner of Zou Lian’s mouth curved up slightly. It was unclear if that could even be called a smile…
~~~
very cute chapter