Chapter 31: Xiao Mo! I... I've made up my mind!

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"Big liar!"

"I'm never playing with you again!"

"Big liar!"

"You big fraud!"

"Liar, liar!"

As Bai Ruxue ran forward, she reached out with her small hands to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes.

It was impossible to tell how long it had passed before Bai Ruxue finally stopped.

Looking back, she had left Xiao Mo far behind.

"Xiao Mo! You big liar!"

Bai Ruxue shouted toward the path she had come from, then turned and ran toward her cave.

By a small pool outside the cave, a little girl in a cyan-colored yuqu dress was looking at her reflection in the water with satisfaction.

The little girl wore her hair in two braids, and her had a round, plump face that was as white and tender as a freshly peeled egg, glowing with a healthy, faint pink flush, as if she had applied the lightest touch of blush.

Beneath a pair of curved eyebrows, two jet-black, almond-shaped eyes were embedded, clear as the bottom of a spring, with long eyelashes like butterfly antennae dusted with dew, fluttering near the corners of her eyes, which held a hint of verdant green.

Her small nose was slightly upturned, with a rounded, cute tip.

Her petal-like lips were a natural pink, currently pursed slightly, revealing two shallow dimples, like little nests filled with honey.

The little girl was Xiao Qing.

This morning, Xiao Qing had also woken up.

Seeing that her sister was not by her side, only her sister's shed skin, Xiao Qing hadn't paid much attention to it.

She thought to herself that her sister must have gone to find that human male again.

After all, her sister had said that the man named Xiao Mo would return at the beginning of spring.

"When sister is back, she'll be so surprised to see that I can take human form, right? And I should be as tall as sister, shouldn't I?"

Xiao Qing twirled the hem of her cyan dress, very satisfied with her human form.

Just as Xiao Qing was admiring herself, footsteps were heard from nearby.

Looking up, Xiao Qing saw a young woman walking toward her.

For a moment, Xiao Qing couldn't recognize her, but upon closer inspection, those signature peach-blossom eyes clearly belonged to her sister.

After shedding her skin, her sister had grown so much; she must be an adult human woman now.

But then again, her sister had been cultivating for over thirty years.

By human standards, she should have had several children by now.

It's just that for the Snake Race, once they embark on the path of cultivation, their physical development is quite slow before they take human form.

Once they take human form, it becomes much faster.

Her sister could have taken human form long ago, and after this shedding, it was normal for her to become a young woman.

"Sister..." Xiao Qing stood on her tiptoes and waved happily.

Hearing her sister's voice, Bai Ruxue looked up.

Seeing her sister's teary-eyed and distraught-looking state, Xiao Qing was startled and rushed over: "Sister, what's wrong? Who bullied you! I'll bite them to death!"

"No... no one bullied me..." Bai Ruxue feigned being fine. "By the way, Xiao Qing, you can take human form now too, you're so cute."

"Sister, it's not important whether I can take human form or not." Xiao Qing gripped her sister's fair, tender wrist tightly. "Was it that Xiao Mo who made you angry, sister?"

Bai Ruxue lowered her head...

"It was him, as I thought!" Xiao Qing clenched her small fists in resentment. "I'm going to bite him right now!"

"Xiao Qing... don't..." Bai Ruxue pulled Xiao Qing's hand. "You're a poisonous snake, if you bite someone, he'll die..."

"Don't worry, sister, I'

'll control the dosage. He'll be lying in bed for two days at most."

"That won't do either; he'll be in a lot of pain."

"But sister..." Xiao Qing said, sounding as if she wanted to cry but had no tears, "he's bullyingly you!"

Bai Ruxue: "..."

"Sister, what exactly happened?" Xiao Qing asked worriedly, thinking perhaps her sister's identity had been discovered and he had brought someone to hunt the demon,

"He said he's going away to study, and that he won't need to gather medicine anymore, so he'll rarely come to the mountain again," Bai Ruxue said in a low voice.

"Just that?" Xiao Qing blinked, her eyes even showing a hint of joy. "Isn't that a good thing? Humans and demons' paths are different; isn't it better if he doesn't come to Sheshan Mountain enough?"

"Xiao Qing!" Bai Ruxue pouted. "I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Bai Ruxue reverted to her original form and crawled into the cave, hiding under a large rock inside to grieve in silence.

Xiao Qing also reverted to her original form and crawled in to stay by her sister's side.

Actually, Xiao Qing was quite happy that her sister was no longer going to see that man, but seeing her sister so sad, Xiao Qing was unhappy again...

"Eh? I've got it!"

Just as Xiao Qing was wondering how to comfort her sister, Bai Ruxue lifted her head.

"The books say it well: trees are dead and snakes are living. He's going away to study and will rarely come to the mountain, so why don't I just follow him down the mountain?"

Bai Ruxue took human form and ran out of the cave, her voice drifting into the cave from behind the young girl.

"Xiao Qing, don't prepare my mice for dinner tonight."

"Sister..."

Xiao Qing called out from the mouth of the cave, feeling a sense of sadness and grievance in her heart.

*Sister, if you go with that human, then what about me?*

*I'm your sister!*

Bai Ruxue ran through the woods, heading toward the flower field they had visited before.

She ran faster and faster.

"Ah!"

After tripping over a tree branch, the young girl stood up and continued to run.

When she reached the flower field, the young girl let out a sigh of relief and patted her chest.

"Thank goodness, he's still here."

But remembering the angry words she had just said to Xiao Mo, Bai Ruxue felt too embarrassed to face him.

Just as Bai Ruxue was feeling incredibly conflicted, Xiao Mo turned around and happened to look in her direction.

Startled, Bai Ruxue's shoulders hunched, and she quickly hid behind a tree.

"Miss Bai," Xiao Mo called out.

Bai Ruxue kept her hands behind her back, fingers tightly clenched, and stepped out with her head lowered, looking like a little girl who had done something wrong and was seeking forgiveness.

\<

"You... you haven't left yet..." Bai Ruxue said softly.

Xiao Mo shook his head: "This humble student has offended Miss Bai; I cannot leave in peace."

"..." Bai Ruxue lowered her head, her fair, tender fingers constantly fidgeting.

"Xiao Mo! I... I've thought it through!"

Finally, Bai Ruxue summoned her courage, lifted her head, and looked directly into Xiao Mo's eyes.

"What?" Xiao Mo asked.

"I want to go down the mountain with you!"

Xiao Mo: "..."

"Is... is that not allowed?" Bai Ruxue said with her head lowered, her eyes once again clouded with disappointment.

"Of course it is, but Miss Bai, do your parents have any objections?"

"My parents are long gone. My sister Xiao Qing and I live together. But my sister is fine; she's much better at catching mice than I am, she won't go hungry."

"Catching mice?"

"Eh? What catching mice? Did I say that?"

"Then I must have misheard."

"Then it's a deal." The young girl's eyes curved into crescents, and she stepped forward to take Xiao Mo's large hand, placing a crystal-clear, silver-white scale in his palm.

"Miss, what is this?"

"It's a snake scale I picked up."

The young girl lifted her head, looked directly into his eyes, and said earnestly

"I know I'm very foolish and easily make mistakes... and I can be very annoying.

But Xiao Mo, you can scold me, you can hit me, but you cannot drive me away.

If one day you truly cannot stand me, just place this snake scale under my pillow.

The next day, I will act as if I'm knowing nothing and leave quietly.

Alright?"

(End of Chapter)