Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

After the deal was struck, Tu Die woke up the caravan members who had been lulled to sleep.

Upon seeing this eerie color, Chief Escort Chen was almost mesmerized. He slapped himself hard across the face, leaving a red and swollen mark.

In the desolate wilderness, ghosts and monsters roam. This woman is either a ghost or a powerful figure, but they cannot afford to offend her, no matter what.

The crisp sound of a slap woke the caravan members, who hurriedly prepared a carriage for the distinguished guest under the stern gaze of the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort).

Tu Die settled down in the carriage and sat down, occasionally tugging at the red snake coiled around her neck.

"Today, I'm reliving my childhood."

"It was snowing then, and my little feet were so cold on the snow that I couldn't walk anymore. The traffickers grabbed me by the hair and dragged me forward."

"In the end, my hair was almost ripped off. The traffickers were worried that if they mistreated me, they wouldn't be able to sell me for a good price in the future. So they put a collar around my neck, put a cloth under my feet, and dragged me around like an animal."

"Looking back now, it's been so long..."

He swept his wrist across his hand, took out a red clay wine pot, and with a flick of his fingers, a flame ignited beneath it.

Soon, a fragrant aroma of wine wafted out.

Tu Die lay down, leaning against the soft cushion, and instead of using a cup, sipped the warm wine from the spout of the red clay wine pot.

The red snake smelled the aroma of wine, and its body, which had not moved at all, suddenly stirred.

"Ouch! Please don't move!"

The woman was choked so badly that the alcohol got stuck in her throat, causing her to cough repeatedly.

"If you want a drink, just say so. Why torture people like this!"

"And then?" The red serpent flicked its tongue, speaking absentmindedly, trying to suppress its instinct to strangle and entangle without even realizing it.

Especially now that he is facing a prey that is tender and flavorful, containing pure spiritual power, yet has no power to resist him.

It always tightens its entanglement instinctively, without you even realizing it.

The instincts and talents of wild beasts are both a gift from heaven and a shackle.

Being able to overcome its drawbacks is itself a form of self-cultivation.

"And then?" Tu Die soothed the discomfort in her throat, leaned back against the cushion, and asked with a hint of surprise.

She truly hadn't expected the Red Serpent to ask that question.

Logically speaking, shouldn't one first offer comfort and try to gain favor and approval?

"And then," the Red Serpent said in a deep voice.

"Then...then I was stuffed into a brothel, where I was kept with jewels and soaked in milk. Several madams took turns teaching me how to seduce men and how to deal with women. They were just waiting for me to grow up so that my virginity could fetch a good price."

Tu Die sipped the warm wine slowly, and as she spoke, her vision began to blur.

"I learn quickly. Before I was even fourteen, I had already developed a seductive charm... It was so alluring that before I could even sell myself, I almost lost my virginity to my own people."

"One of our own?" Red Serpent's reply was always somewhat unexpected.

Tu Die was taken aback at first, then smiled gently.

"Indeed, they're not one of us."

"Those three men were beheaded in front of everyone by the third leader of the brothel. It was then that I realized my fate had changed."

"He already has the ability to kill."

"Hmm," the red snake responded, its muscles suddenly surging, almost pulling the snake in again.

But as the snake scales slowly moved along his neck, one could clearly feel the terrifying power released by the contraction and expansion of the muscles there.

Tu Die felt as if a knife was constantly hanging over her neck. Instinctively, she swallowed and asked:

"I've said so much, doesn't the Mountain God have any thoughts on this? Aren't you even going to offer some comfort?"

There's nothing to comfort you about.

The red snake slowly moved around the woman's neck, speaking as it resisted the urge surging through its body to snap the neck in its arms.

The prey's heartbeat rose in waves along the scales on its belly, as if it were taunting itself.

"I didn't experience your childhood or adolescence; I only hear about it from you, so I don't really understand."

"How heartless..." Tu Die pouted, carefully inserting her index finger into the gap between the snake scales and her neck, and pulled it outwards.

Although she looked somewhat dissatisfied, she felt inexplicably relieved.

If this mountain god were to actually speak up to comfort her... that would be a poor choice, and it would also discourage her from saying what she truly wanted to say.

After all, she only needs one listener, a silent audience like the mountains and the sky.

"I'm quite interested in how you escaped the brothel... Keep playing the victim," Red Serpent suddenly said.

"What do you mean by playing the victim? Aren't these all my personal experiences?"

"There's nothing much to say about what happened afterward. It's just that I used my alluring figure and seductive charm to cause chaos in the brothel."

"The third leader wanted to buy me, but the first leader wouldn't allow it. The second leader tried to mediate, but they ended up fighting amongst themselves."

"In the end, I set the brothel on fire..."

"How did you acquire your cultivation? To be precise, what's in your mind?" The red serpent recalled the cry that suddenly appeared in its mind.

That's what it wants to know.

It sounded like a divine bird singing in the heavens, its arrogance no less than that of the golden crow.

If they could learn about it and exchange it for a blessing, it would be all good for the little black crow.

Who knows, when the sun shines brightly in the sky in the future, it might be able to ride the sun and ascend directly.

"Oh dear, why did you ask about this, Mountain God?" Tu Die's lips stiffened for a moment, but she quickly regained her smile.

She stood up, straightened her dress, and said solemnly, "It was a night without wind or stars..."

"Um."

It's obvious they're just trying to fool us, but even fooling us requires some basis in reality.

Red Serpent waited for her to utter a long speech before finally finding a few useful words in the cesspool.

"I don't know how to make this up, so I'll just tell you the truth." Tu Die's eyes darted around as she lowered her head and looked at the red snake that was slowly moving around her neck.

"Okay, go ahead."

"It was a windless, starless night. I was planning how to burn down the brothel when I suddenly noticed a bird's feather on the table."

"This feather tells me that only by perishing in a sea of ​​fire can one obtain the foundation of the Dao. After that... I traveled all over Yongning Continent to consolidate this foundation."

"In the end, he became a disciple of the Crimson Immortal and became an elder."

"As you said, I haven't experienced it myself, I've only heard about it, so I don't really have any feelings about it."

"So I opened my own brothel. Although it was just as filthy, at least I could help children who had gone through the same thing as me."

"If they are ambitious, I will give them a clean way to make a living. If they are self-destructive, I will do my best to find them a good family."

After finishing speaking in one breath, Tu Die suddenly felt a little relieved.

What are your thoughts on what I did?

"I don't have any opinion." The red serpent flicked its tongue, seemingly unable to devise any benefits for the little golden crow for the time being.

At this moment, its words were as calm as still water: "It's nothing more than 'living'."

"You're so heartless! Aren't you going to comfort me? We'll still be working together for the next few years! Shouldn't we try to make things more pleasant?" Tu Die shouted.

Upon hearing this, the red serpent fell silent.

It silently tightened its embrace around the woman's neck.

"I was wrong! I was wrong! I won't make a fuss anymore!" Tu Die felt suffocated again, grabbed the snake's body, and begged for mercy repeatedly.

Silence fell over the carriage.

As the days and months passed, Tu Die never went out, and the water in her little red clay wine pot seemed inexhaustible.

As she drank, she began rambling nonsense to the red snake, then lay back down, blinking her eyes and counting the patterns on the carriage canopy.

"Immortal, we're almost at Qiushi City," a merchant called from outside the door.

As Tu Die stepped out of the curtained doorway, she was greeted by a magnificent stone city wall that stood hundreds of meters high.

"We've arrived!"

"It's been a long time since I've been home to see the girls."