Chapter 293: The Snake God (Part One)
“You’re such a cute little friend, what’s your name? ” the snake demon asked, stroking Xiao Kang’s head with a smile.
“My name is Yang Kang, Auntie, what’s your name? ” Xiao Kang asked, his face full of innocence.
“My name is Bai Xue, but don’t call me Auntie. I’m not that old. Just call me Big Sister. ” the snake demon chuckled.
Hearing this, Yang Haoran wanted to say something, but in the end, he held his tongue.
“Big Sister”? This snake demon had probably lived for who knew how many years to cultivate into her current form. Forget Xiao Kang, even he felt that calling the snake demon “Grandma” would shorten his lifespan.
However, he didn’t voice these thoughts. If he did, he worried the snake demon might turn hostile. After all, women were particularly sensitive about age, and he figured it was best not to cross her boundaries.
Although he currently held the snake demon’s lifeline, he couldn’t be sure if she’d do something extreme if he crossed her.
He was still waiting for the snake demon to take him to that place. From her description, it might also be a Place of Extreme Yin. Currently, he not only needed evil spirits and malevolent spirits but Places of Extreme Yin as well.
Though he had no immediate use for it, being prepared would allow his subsequent plans to unfold more smoothly, proving more beneficial to him.
Xiao Kang was just an innocent child; he wouldn’t overthink things like Yang Haoran. When the snake demon told him to call her Big Sister, he immediately changed his address.
“Big Sister Bai Xue! ”
That address, “Big Sister Bai Xue,” made the snake demon very happy. Just as she was about to praise Xiao Kang, the little fellow spotted Yang Haoran coming downstairs and immediately ran to him, grinning cheerfully.
“Uncle Yang, is Big Sister Bai Xue your friend? ”
Faced with Xiao Kang’s innocent question, Yang Haoran could only smile and nod. After all, there were some things children wouldn’t understand, so Yang Haoran offered no further explanation.
“Big Sister Bai Xue is indeed Uncle Yang’s friend. By the way, how about Uncle Yang takes you out shopping? ”
Hearing about going shopping, Xiao Kang immediately grew excited, as every time Yang Haoran took him out, he would buy him many things he liked.
But the next moment, Xiao Kang seemed to remember something and shook his head with a look of regret.
“No, I haven’t finished the homework Mom gave me, so I can’t go shopping with Uncle Yang. I have to finish my homework before I can rest. Mom said, if I learn more now, I won’t be worse than the other kids when I go to kindergarten. ”
As Xiao Kang finished speaking, Xiujuan’s voice came from inside the Soul-Gathering Bead.
“Emissary of Death, you two go. Xiao Kang and I will stay in the shop. ”
Hearing this, Yang Haoran hesitated for a moment, then nodded. He didn’t insist, understanding Xiujuan’s good intentions.
“Alright then, we’ll be back soon. ”
Yang Haoran gave the snake demon a meaningful look, and the two left the general store one after the other, then got into Yang Haoran’s luxury car.
After getting in the car, to break the awkward silence, Yang Haoran, while driving towards their destination, initiated a conversation, asking the snake demon, “Before I met you, I heard there’s a temple on your mountain. What kind of temple is it? ”
At the mention of the temple on the mountain, the snake demon’s expression subtly shifted. Then, she smiled and asked Yang Haoran, “Do you really want to know? ”
“Of course, why else would I ask? ” Yang Haoran replied with a smile.
“Since you want to know, I’ll tell you. ” After a pause, the snake demon organized her thoughts before continuing, “There used to be a temple on that mountain, indeed. It was a temple built by the local villagers themselves, and the deity they worshipped was the Snake God. ”
“The Snake God? ” Yang Haoran was a little surprised. He had thought the temple on the mountain would be dedicated to some major deity, but it turned out to be a Snake God he had never even heard of.
“That’s right, the Snake God. But this Snake God wasn’t a true god; she was merely a snake demon who had cultivated into her refined form. The reason the villagers revered and worshipped her as a deity was because during a flood one year, she appeared in her true form and used her abilities to clear the floodwaters for the nearby villages. After that incident, the villagers enshrined her as a deity and built a Snake God Temple on the mountain. ”
As she spoke, a look of nostalgia appeared on the snake demon’s face, and her gaze softened considerably.
“The villagers’ capabilities and resources were limited, so the Snake God Temple they built was very small and simple, with only a modest statue. However, the nearby villagers would often spontaneously go up the mountain to worship and offer sincere prayers. Although the small Snake God Temple wasn’t large, its incense never ceased. ”
“The day the snake demon appeared was designated by the nearby villagers as the God-Worshipping Day. Every year on that day, the local villagers would hold a temple fair at the Snake God Temple on the mountain, worshipping the Snake God and praying for her protection. It was always very lively. ”
“The snake demon couldn’t grant every villager’s wish, but she used her abilities to secretly ensure that the nearby villages enjoyed favorable weather conditions as much as possible. She drained water during floods, sought out water during droughts, and extinguished fires during blazes, helping them in every way she could. ”
As she reached this point, the softness in the snake demon’s eyes gradually faded, slowly replaced by icy hatred.
“The snake demon had believed that everything would continue as it was, but in the end, she was too naive. She underestimated the complexity of human hearts. The appearance of two women changed everything. ”
“These two women were followers of the Talisman Order: one a Black Talisman Master, the other a Yellow Talisman Master. They came to the village to preach, hoping that the villagers would all become followers of the Talisman Order and from then on believe only in their sole deity, the Talisman Ancestor of the Talisman Order. ”
“Initially, the villagers were unwilling, for in their hearts, they already had their own god, the Snake God. The villagers firmly believed that their village’s favorable weather conditions were all due to the Snake God’s secret protection, so they were unwilling to believe in or worship other deities. ”
“However, the two Talisman Masters did not give up. They began to use various methods to slander the Snake God, and demonstrated abilities ordinary people didn’t possess to impress the villagers. ”
“Slowly, the faith within some villagers’ hearts began to waver. After all, they had witnessed the abilities of the two Talisman Masters firsthand, while the Snake God they worshipped, apart from her initial appearance during the flood, had never shown herself again. They even began to suspect whether the village’s years of favorable weather were merely a coincidence, completely unrelated to the Snake God. ”
“Initially, not many villagers held such thoughts, but as the two Talisman Masters fanned the flames, more and more villagers began to think this way. Gradually, they ceased to believe in the Snake God. Under the deliberate guidance of the two Talisman Masters, the villagers not only stopped believing in the Snake God but even began to resent her. After all, the Snake God was a monster, and monsters eat people. Just because she hadn’t eaten them now didn’t mean she wouldn’t in the future. ”
“With prejudice in their hearts, coupled with the two Talisman Masters’ intentional instigation, few people in the villages near the Snake God Temple continued to believe in the Snake God. Those villagers who still held faith in the Snake God were branded as traitors and heretics by the others, with the excuse that they had been bewitched by the snake demon, and a call to eliminate them all. ”
“At that time, an old farmer who still believed in the Snake God realized he might face a bloody calamity, so he fled to the Snake God Temple on the mountain in advance, temporarily escaping the other villagers’ absurd judgment. He knelt before the Snake God’s statue, weeping and narrating his plight. The Snake God, who was still in secluded cultivation, sensed his distress and manifested in human form at the Snake God Temple. Having been entirely unaware of the changes happening in the village, the Snake God learned the detailed course of events from the old farmer’s account. ”
“The Snake God was furious. She wanted to descend the mountain, kill the two Talisman Masters, and tell the villagers that for all these years, she had secretly protected the nearby villages. If not for her, the villages near the Snake God Temple might not have been wiped out entirely, but they certainly wouldn’t have lived comfortably. However, before the Snake God could even move, the villagers, led by the two Talisman Masters, stormed up to the Snake God Temple. ”
“Some villagers held hoes, others carried carrying poles, and still others wielded cleavers and hunting rifles. If the Snake God didn’t appear, they would use their tools to smash the Snake God Temple. If the Snake God did appear, they would use their tools to kill her. In the villagers’ eyes at the time, with the two Talisman Masters present, eliminating the Snake God would be an absolute breeze. Thus, they not only felt no fear but were instead extremely excited. ”
“Because, once they truly killed the Snake God, that monster, they believed it would be a great service to the Talisman Order they worshipped. They were very eager to perform meritorious deeds for their sect, which was why they were all so ecstatic. ”
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