Underworld entries, starting with ghost stories.

Wu Qing felt that there were indeed some problems with the backstory of "The Legend of the White Snake".

In the story, Xu Xian's previous life was that of a shepherd boy who saw someone catch a poisonous snake and demanded that the person release it.

Is he crazy?!

No wonder it became a ghost story!

Wu Qing looked at the two snakes, one white and one green, in the bamboo cage.

The other eye was as clear and bright as jade, its watery eyes seemingly able to reflect his entire being.

Those bright and beautiful eyes made him immediately realize who their "descendant" was.

"Uncle, you're right!" Wu Qing looked at the mountain folk in front of him with a respectful attitude.

Right is right, and wrong is wrong!

The other person's words made a lot of sense, and he agreed with their reasoning.

In that case, one cannot distort the truth or call a deer a horse in an attempt to justify one's actions.

The white and green snakes in the cage were looking forward to finally having a person appear to rescue them, but the child was persuaded by the snake catcher.

The two snakes were so anxious they almost cried.

Wu Qing continued, "But when I look at their eyes, they are lively and beautiful, unlike those of ordinary venomous snakes and ferocious beasts."

"Well then, I have eighty coins here. Could you sell them to me, sir?"

He took out a copper coin and handed it to the snake catcher.

The snake catcher laughed and said, "If you want me to release it, then I absolutely cannot release it. But if you want to pay for it, then I will naturally sell it to you."

"Here, take this cage. But I still have to advise you: releasing venomous snakes and wild beasts can harm yourself or others."

"You seem like a somewhat educated child. You should understand the greater principles. You could go to Jinshan Temple to listen to Buddhist teachings sometime. As Master Fahai said: 'World-Honored One, Ksitigarbha, when you raise your fist, just fight! If you win, it's Buddhism; if you lose, it's nothing!'"

Wu Qing sighed, "If the Buddha and Ksitigarbha were here, they would surely smile and pat his bald head, praising him as a promising young man."

The snake catcher took the copper coins, gave him the bamboo cage, and then left.

Wu Qing carried the bamboo cage to the stream.

He sat on a rock by the stream, looking at the bamboo cage, and said:

"I don't know if what I'm doing is right or wrong. He's not wrong. I'm a human, and you're snakes. Even if I release you, you might still bite me."

The white snake and the green snake seemed to understand human speech, and they shook their heads desperately in the cage.

Wu Qing continued, "But your eyes are very beautiful. I always feel that you can understand what I say, and that you are intelligent snakes."

"I will release you. If you want to bite me, that's your own fault. In the end, I don't want to save venomous snakes or ferocious beasts, I just want to save you."

He opened the cage, tilted the bamboo cage, and poured out the two snakes, one white and one green.

The two snakes swam out, lay on the rocks by the stream, and looked back at him.

Wu Qing threw the bamboo cage into the water and let it float downstream.

He stood up and said, "You should leave now. I hope you'll try your best to be good snakes and not make me regret saving you."

After saying that, the boy waved his hand and walked away into the distance.

Green Snake felt that this boy looked familiar, as if she had seen him before in the dark.

It looked at the white snake, who stared at the boy's departing figure, its eyes now filled with a fiery passion.

After that, the white snake and the green snake continued their cultivation in the mountains.

Occasionally, they would sneak out of the mountains to visit the boy who had saved them.

The boy often rode a yellow ox, swaying back and forth while reading a book.

Sometimes, he would practice his martial arts by the stream, but his frail body, so weak that he could be blown away by the wind, made it impossible for him to practice.

"Sister, stop looking!"

That evening, the green snake nudged the white snake beside it with its head, saying, "The sun is about to set, and everyone has disappeared."

The boy had already ridden the yellow ox and disappeared into the distant hillside.

Swimming up to the tree, the white snake, clinging to a branch with its tail, still gazed longingly at the now deserted slope.

The White Snake and the Green Snake continued their cultivation.

Every night, they absorb a mysterious essence from the moonlight called "Imperial Dew".

They secretly watched the boy grow up little by little, and they themselves gradually grew larger because of their cultivation.

Perhaps it was their nature, or perhaps it was because of the boy's confession from back then, but they never harmed any humans.

Gradually, they learned human language.

"Sister, do you think he'd be happy if we just went out like this and told him we were the two little snakes he saved all those years ago?"

One day, they hid in the forest and spied on the boy, who had grown to be fourteen years old.

As he grew older, the boy became much more handsome. He no longer rode the ox, but he still often carried books and read by the stream.

Sometimes I would sit by the water, leisurely looking up at the sky.

"Won't he be scared?" The white snake coiled its ten-foot-long body around the tree trunk, peeking out from among the dense foliage. "Besides, even if I tell him like this, he won't recognize me."

"No way!" the green snake chuckled. "You're so white, and I'm so green. How many white and green snakes in the world can you find every day, together like this?"

"Let's not!" said the White Snake. "It wouldn't be good if he disliked us if we suddenly went out."

"If you're worried about him disliking you, I have a plan. Sister, let's lure that tiger from West Mountain over and let it charge out. Just before he's about to be pounced on, we'll rush out to protect him and save him. That way, he'll know we're good to him."

"You mean, you want us to go save him too, and you don't care why he needs to be saved?" the White Snake said irritably.

Green Snake chuckled: "Isn't this all for you, sister? You've been secretly watching him every day, you're itching to pounce on him, either to hug him or to be held in his arms."

The white snake said, "You're the one who's like this, drooling over him every day. I don't know if you want to eat him, or be eaten by him?"

"I'm just here to keep you company, sister. Look at you, it's like you can't live without seeing him for a day."

"You are the one."

Two snakes began to frolic in the forest.

The boy by the stream heard a noise from the woods and turned to look, where the leaves of the trees were rustling and dancing.

The two snakes quickly quieted down again.

And so, another year has passed.

As the boy grew up, although he read a lot of books, the imperial examinations were rife with corruption in that era. Without any family connections, no matter how much he studied, he could never pass the exams.

Fortunately, reading a lot has its advantages.

He started by helping to dispense medicine in the pharmacy, and gradually surpassed his teacher, becoming a well-known young doctor in the village.

That morning, just as he was about to leave, a beautiful woman floated towards him: "Young master, it's been a long time. Do you still recognize me?"

He looked at the beautiful stranger and asked, "You are...?"

The beautiful woman said, "Do you remember when you were little, you saved two little snakes?"

The boy exclaimed happily, "You're one of the snakes?"

"I'm the cage you threw into the water, washed down the waterfall and smashed to pieces!" The beautiful woman was furious and took out an axe to chop him on the head.