WWWASTJWTCAT?

5

Chapter 5

The voice, contrary to Xu Nian’s expectations, wasn’t the least bit menacing; it even sounded somewhat childish and posed no threat whatsoever.

Xu Nian, with her sharp hearing, first detected confusion among the crowd.

“Who’s speaking?”

“No, not me!”

“It’s that snake!”

“Why does it sound like a woman’s voice?”

Following the chaos, a burst of excited exclamations erupted: “A talking demon snake! This could fetch a good price!”

“A sentient beast like this could be trained into a mount.”

Xu Nian, with her keen senses, was already bristling with indignation: “You’re the mount! Your entire family’s a bunch of mounts!”

But the wind was too loud, and those idiots were so noisy that they didn’t hear her at all.

After a long chase, Xu Nian finally spotted the Yujing Lake nearby. Known for its deep, icy blue waters that mirrored the sky, and layered underwater grasses that made tracking difficult, she knew these novices wouldn’t dare follow her into the lake.

Xu Nian was about to reach the lakeside when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. The previously tranquil shore was now littered with the corpses of various demon beasts. To Xu Nian, a demon snake herself, it looked like a scene from hell.

Standing amidst this carnage was a woman in white, holding a long sword. She casually flicked the blood off her blade, her garment as pristine as snow. What kind of celestial being was she… No, more like a demon from hell.

Sensing Xu Nian’s approach, the woman’s icy gaze swept over her, chilling to the bone.

Xu Nian froze; this figure seemed familiar—the one who had spared her and forced her into an oath years ago. Many years had passed, her cultivation and aura were even more formidable, yet her appearance hadn’t changed in the slightest.

Recognition dawned on the woman’s face as she opened her lips, her voice chiming like struck jade: “What are you doing here?”

Before she could answer, the group of fools who had been pursuing Xu Nian arrived, brandishing their weapons. Terrified, Xu Nian shuddered and quickly hid behind Ji Yuebai, cautiously tucking her tail in to avoid accidental injury.

The leading novices, startled by the sight of Ji Yuebai, instantly transformed from brigands to meek quails, bowing respectfully: “Greetings, Ji Shishu.”

Ji Yuebai nodded slightly and repeated her question: “What’s going on?”

The disciples exchanged nervous glances, pushing and shoving each other, none daring to speak.

It was primarily because they had witnessed the green snake smoothly take refuge behind their fearsome Ji Shishu, who, contrary to her usual merciless nature towards demons, seemed oblivious to the snake’s presence, neither striking it down nor preventing its escape.

The scene was unprecedented, causing the novice disciples to fear offending their Shishu, nodding and agreeing without daring to speak.

While they remained silent, the snake did not. Hiding behind Ji Yuebai, Xu Nian took stock of the situation. Seeing the disciples cower in front of Ji Yuebai, she straightened up, emboldened.

“Wuwuwu”, she complained, “I was just lying at home, doing no harm, and these people came at me with weapons, threatening to stew me into soup! Look, they even singed my beautiful tail.”