Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

"What did you say?"

In the main hall of a mansion in the center of Xia'an City, Zhao Ying sat upright, her back straight as a spear, her high ponytail falling to her hips, her tone surprised.

"What do you mean by saying the Snake God is the Snake God and the Zhongshan God is the Zhongshan God? Qingyan, explain this to me."

"Auntie, it means exactly what it says..." Zhao Qingyan, a scholar in white, sat to her left, staring at the two hands resting on her knees, and replied with a pitiful expression.

"The Black Serpent God spent some time converting the faith of all the people of Xia'an City into that Red Serpent Mountain God."

"The city lord and I were only recently notified by the Black Serpent God."

"Why go through all that trouble? Couldn't you just say so directly?" Zhao Ying asked, frowning.

"The Serpent God was subjected to the Tribulation of the Mysterious Stone and could not leave Zhongshan. In addition, Xia'an City was under the surveillance of that elder of the Crimson Immortal Sect at that time, so we were no match for him..."

"Why didn't you write to me? Have you forgotten what I told you when you left the capital?" Zhao Ying slammed her hand on the table in anger.

Zhao Qingyan's body, along with the teacup, jumped up in shock, trembling repeatedly.

But he couldn't reveal his grandmother's name now. Since she was able to give birth to his aunt, and now that she's old, her methods are naturally even more ruthless than his aunt's.

I wonder when she'll finally find a hero who can win her over.

"aunt……"

"Is it because your grandmother won't let you ask me to leave Zhongzhou?" Zhao Ying immediately understood when she saw his worried look.

"No," Zhao Qingyan said, looking aggrieved.

"Your grandma loves to meddle in my marriage. The Central Plains are a mess right now, where's the suitable match?"

Finally, Zhao Ying's eyes darted around, and she suddenly said, "Qingyan, your aunt has a favor to ask of you."

"Please give your instructions." Zhao Qingyan, who was about to reach for the teacup, suddenly stopped, withdrew it, and placed it back on her knees, looking down at her nose and mind.

"Go find Li Zhengming to arrange a job for me in Xia'an City, so I can respond to any letters from home later." Zhao Ying stood up, took a step to Qingyan's side, and placed a teacup in his hand.

"It would be best if it were related to Zhongshan Mountain. My aunt wants to go into the mountain to see that snake god."

"Can you stop making a scene..." Zhao Qingyan tremblingly took the teacup, looked up and met a pair of slightly narrowed eyes that flashed with a dangerous light, and immediately changed her words, "I will go to the city lord right away and ask him to arrange a position for you."

"But, Auntie, whether we can go into the mountains or not... isn't really our concern."

"I understand that," Zhao Ying nodded. "How much do you know about that Red Serpent Mountain God?"

"I'm afraid you know the truth," Zhao Qingyan only dared to mutter to herself.

"I don't know much about it. All I know is that it's the child of the snake god. Judging from its appearance, it's probably around thirty years old," Zhao Qingyan added.

After saying this, Zhao Ying fell into deep thought, and the two did not speak again, and the hall fell silent.

Just as he took a sip of tea to catch his breath, Zhao Ying kicked him.

"You're speechless now, what are you waiting for? Go on!"

"Yes, yes, I'll go right away, I'll go right now."

"Aunt, please stay at my house for now. If you need anything, just let me know, and the servants will take care of it."

The scholar in white quickly put down his teacup, bowed and scraped, and hurried away.

Zhao Ying originally planned to stay in the main hall and wait for her nephew's reply.

But she couldn't sit still, so she got up and looked at the landscape painting on her left. It looked very impressive and lifelike... but it was boring.

Look at the blue and white porcelain on the right... it's too big. You can't use it for drinking water or alcohol, and you can't use it for cooking.

I have no idea what my nephew likes about them.

The tall woman walked around the hall, then sat down, crossed her arms, and examined the decorations one by one.

Useless is useless, and uninteresting is uninteresting.

It felt like ages had passed, yet the tea was still steaming. I got up and went to the porch, looking up at the sun, which seemed like a slow-moving old man, inching its way in.

"Let's go out for a walk."

"As expected, this secluded mansion is not a place for an ordinary person like me."

Zhao Ying tossed her ponytail, ignoring the servants' surprised looks, and pushed open the door, heading out onto the street.

*

*

*

Zhongshan Mountain, by the Luo River.

The giant serpent is suffering.

The six horns on its head intertwined in pairs, and after they grew into two, the old man with the golden core inside its belly began to stir.

It cannot be burned by fire, frozen by ice, or rotted by water.

It can only be said that he is indeed a Golden Core cultivator above the third realm of the human race, his vitality is truly tenacious.

But no matter how tenacious he was, he couldn't tear his own body apart inside Zhongshan Mountain.

With a thought, the giant snake shut off the sensation in its abdomen and focused on listening to the white fox's report.

"With the help of the Earthworm Demon and the Gray Rat, one-fifth of the water veins of Zhongshan have been explored.

"This is the drawing I made."

The white fox took out a scroll and unfolded it in front of the giant snake.

The topography of Zhongshan was drawn very simply, but the direction, flow rate and scale of the underground water veins, as well as their specific locations, were marked in detail.

"Alright," the giant snake uttered softly.

As soon as the words fell, the spiritual energy from all directions seemed to receive a command, gathering in front of the white fox, the gray rat goddess, and the earthworm demon, solidifying into a tangible form.

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!" The Gray Rat Queen repeatedly bowed in gratitude.

Although the pink worm demon lacked intelligence, it instinctively expressed its joy to the giant snake.

The white fox swallowed the spiritual fruit, but did not refine it; it simply held it in its mouth.

The giant snake saw everything clearly but didn't intend to ask any further questions. The white fox, being thoughtful, likely had her own ideas.

But I need to talk less.

Words become law.

It would be bad if we accidentally killed a fragile but extremely useful demon like the worm demon.

Looking at the white fox's obviously haggard eyes and its fur that had lost its luster.

Although the giant serpent cannot yet accept all of Zhongshan, it can instinctively sense where there are water veins.

I carefully considered my words, intending to let it set aside its current affairs.

"fox……"

"Candle, let me continue," the white fox suddenly spoke.

"you……"

"You know the water veins of Zhongshan, but you certainly can't describe them clearly. In the future drought, the creatures of Zhongshan will also need to rely on maps to find water sources."

"You also need this map to better plan the water intake points."

"I want to continue drawing this picture."

The snake slapped its tail against the riverbed, unable to find words to refute it. Meeting the white fox's earnest gaze, it could only nod.

"You should rest for two days first."

"Yes, I promise I won't slow down the progress of drawing the water vein map." The white fox nodded and then left.

The gray rat wanted to say a few more words to get closer to the white fox, but the white fox had already left, and it couldn't think of any topics to talk about.

So they left together with the earthworm demons.

"The white fox worked incredibly hard, painting day and night. I am ashamed of my own abilities." Seeing them leave, the mountain lord, who had been waiting on the cliff, jumped down.

"It has the same personality as its mother, very meticulous, and wants to carry out every order I give perfectly." The giant snake nodded.

Upon hearing this, the mountain lord pondered for a moment, then looked up at the direction the white fox had gone, as if he were thinking about something.

"What do you want?"

"The golden apes want to see you."

"They stayed in the valley for months...they were so stuffy they were practically growing mushrooms."

"Hmm... the resentment has accumulated to the point where it could raise a ghost."