The Little Peacock Raises a Snake (GL) Chapter 61

Now the earth realm was full of devils. Yun Su carried the little black snake and hid all the way east. From Soul-Wounding Valley in the demon realm to the underworld court in the ghost realm, she took who knew how many winding roads.
Along the way, she fought devil pursuers several times.
Yun Su had not expected that after living peacefully in heaven for more than two thousand years, rarely even arguing with others, she would get a chance to fight the devil clan after one trip to the lower realm.
Fortunately, although those devils looked fierce and evil enough to frighten her badly, once they truly fought, they were not her match.
The journey was dangerous but not deadly. In the end, they escaped successfully to the underworld court of the ghost realm.
The underworld court was under the heavenly realm’s rule. Once the devil clan chased them here, they could not take even half a step farther.
Yun Su held the little black snake in her arms and crossed the Nether River. Memories seemed to rise before her, brief and blurred scenes from the past she had accidentally lost.
“I heard a legend once. If one sincerely lights a green lamp on the Nether River, the soul of the person in one’s heart can find the road back.” As the little black snake spoke, it looked up at Yun Su. “I once did not believe in such ridiculous legends. But after you left, I would rather believe anything than believe nothing…”
Yun Su came back to herself. “That is rather childish of you.”
The little black snake smiled. “Yes. For three hundred years, I do not know how many river lamps I released here. I almost thought you would never come back… But in the end, I still found you by the Nether River.”
Yun Su could not help being curious. Though she pretended not to care and only glanced at the little black snake, her mouth still asked what was in her heart. “How did you find out I was still alive?”
By rights, back then Qu Linyan had only known she belonged to the phoenix clan. She had not known Yun Su’s exact heavenly identity. Otherwise, she would have come looking for her in heaven long ago. Why would she have waited for three hundred years for nothing?
“For that, I have to thank that Black Tortoise Divine Lord,” the little black snake said. “When I fought him that day, I trapped him in my dream and tried to look through his memories to find his weakness. Perhaps heaven was kind to me then, because it let me see you in his memories. At that moment, I knew our fate was not over. Even if you were about to become someone else’s wife, I had to steal you back to my side.”
Yun Su lowered her eyes. “You really are not a good thing.”
“I am not a good thing?” The little black snake laughed at itself. “Are you saying that because I wounded your handsome fiance, or because I stole you back by force?”
Yun Su froze for a long while, then glared at the little black snake. “Both!”
“Then why do you not go back and find your ten-thousand-year turtle-snake husband?” the little black snake asked, her voice suddenly much more sour.
“Qu Linyan, I have discovered that you truly have no respect for anyone!” Yun Su frowned. “Mountain pheasant, turkey, silly bird, turtle-snake. Have you ever called anyone’s species correctly?”
The little black snake could not help grinning. Her focus went completely crooked. “Looks like you remembered quite a lot.”
Yun Su huffed and stopped speaking, only stepping into the Nai River Spiritual Territory.
“Do not be angry.” The little black snake rubbed its little head against Yun Su’s face and coaxed, “I will stop calling people nonsense names. From now on, I will not do it again. All right?”
After speaking, seeing that Yun Su ignored her, it flicked its tongue by Yun Su’s ear again. When Yun Su instinctively shrank her neck, it continued, “You still call me a little snake, do you not? I am a flood dragon.”
“You are a snake!” Yun Su said in a bad mood.
“Fine, fine. I am a snake.” The little black snake followed Yun Su’s temper and begged softly. To make her happy, it even leaned its head forward and hissed in front of her.
Yun Su quickly grabbed the little black snake away from her face. Holding back the lift at the corner of her mouth, she said, “You are blocking my path.”
But no matter how cold she pretended to be, the flash of a smile in her eyes was still seen by the little black snake, who felt delighted inside.
Yun Su walked quickly along the long road in the Nai River Spiritual Territory leading back to the human world. The little black snake spoke softly beside her ear, telling her old stories she remembered or had long since forgotten.
“You grew up in Wuyou Valley. Three hundred years ago, I took you away from there, and you never went back.”
“This time, after we return to the human world, how about taking me there to heal?”
“Back then, Chu Yuebai used the Dreamweaving Shuttle to enter my dream. I was in this little snake form too. You carried me into the earth realm.”
“I remember, at that time you argued with your brother because of me, right here in the Nai River Spiritual Territory.”
“Three hundred years ago, when I first brought you into the human world, it was winter too. If I remember right, the human New Year is coming again.”
“You were the first person in this world to spend New Year with me. After you left, I never celebrated a human New Year again… I wonder whether you still remember. Back then, we watched human fireworks together. That instant of brightness…”
Yun Su interrupted without giving her any face. “Human fireworks? Those things explode noisily under the heavenly realm’s eyelids every year. They are not rare, and not very pretty either. Drawing a few circles in the air with spiritual power is no different.”
The little black snake was left speechless.
Back then, the one who had insisted on finding a good place to watch fireworks was Fu Xiaoba, and the one who had found them boring was her.
Now everything had reversed.
The person who once shouted about watching fireworks was now full of disdain, while the one who had once been disdainful had become like a little demon who had never seen the world.
After leaving the Nai River Spiritual Territory, Yun Su carried the little black snake all the way to the human city closest to the Nai River: Qianyang.
There was no snow in the human world lately, but the weather was still cold. People on the streets and alleys all tucked their necks and hands in as they hurried back and forth.
Afraid of frightening humans, the little black snake had already slipped into Yun Su’s sleeve before they entered the city.
Yun Su feared it would crawl around again, so she warned it ahead of time, “Stay properly in my sleeve. Otherwise, I will not care about you.”
The little black snake felt wronged, but the little black snake did not say it.
Yun Su knew very little about the human world. Her past-life memories were scattered, and most of them were scenes with Qu Linyan. They were not enough to help her understand this place.
She had never been good at speaking with people. In the heavenly realm, Ciyin had helped her with many things. Now in the human world, she only saw the crowd before her, but had no idea how to join it or where she should look for lodging.
Hidden in Yun Su’s sleeve, the little black snake saw Yun Su walking blankly down the street, understanding nothing, and could not help secretly laughing.
This little silly bird. Three hundred years ago, she knew nothing. Three hundred years later, she had not improved much.
In this human world where they could not use magic freely, Yun Su still had to rely on her to lead the way.
“What are you laughing at!” Yun Su lifted her hand and lowered her brows to scold the sleeve softly.
The little black snake quickly stopped laughing and began pointing the way for her.
When one traveled in the human world, one needed silver.
With the little black snake’s guidance, Yun Su first went to a pawnshop.
Jewelry from the immortal realm, whether or not it held spiritual energy, was made from excellent jade and stone. Pawning any two pieces would cover their expenses for quite a while.
After exchanging for money, Yun Su immediately bought a vegetable basket. She found an empty alley, pulled the little black snake from her sleeve, tossed it into the basket, covered it with a rag, and carried it all the way to an inn.
To Yun Su, the human world was lively and held many things she had never seen. But whenever she thought of the little black snake beside her, who would laugh at her for being foolish, she forced down her curiosity and kept a quiet, calm, refined, ladylike image. No matter what she passed, she did not look twice.
Recently, the little black snake had constantly complained that Yun Su’s cooking was bad. But how could Yun Su not dislike her own cooking too?
Now that she had money, as soon as she tossed the little black snake into the guest room, she turned and went downstairs to ask for a menu. Under the waiter’s startled gaze, she ordered a huge pile of dishes.
It was enough food that an ordinary person might not finish in a whole day.
“Guest, how many people are eating?” the waiter could not help asking.
“One,” Yun Su answered. “Is there a problem?”
“No, no problem! Please go back to your room. The food will be sent up once it is ready!” As he spoke, the waiter turned and ran to the kitchen to call out the dishes.
As long as the guest paid, the guest was heaven and earth. They could eat as much as they wanted, even order one plate and throw another away.
When Yun Su returned to the room, the little black snake was lying lazily on the bed, yawning.
Yun Su looked at it, sat by the table, and took a sip of tea. “Someone will come up with food later. Hide yourself properly. If mortals see such an ugly thing lying on the bed, they might be scared to death.”
The little black snake looked deeply wronged and slipped into the bedding, vanishing at once.
Yun Su had ordered many dishes, so the waiter ran up and down many times. The little black snake did not dare poke its head out until it heard the waiter say, “All dishes are served. Please enjoy!” Only then did it crawl out from the bedding.
It climbed onto Yun Su almost instantly, stretching its neck to look. “You ordered so much. Can you finish it?”
Yun Su glanced at her lightly, picked up the chopsticks, and began eating by herself.
The little black snake had been poisoned by Yun Su’s cooking for quite some time. Now that it saw food made by a proper cook, it was rather hungry. But Yun Su seemed not to notice it at all. No matter how it looked on with longing, she showed no intention of feeding it a bite.
It waited and waited at the side until drool almost fell from its mouth. Only then did it swallow hard and ask, “How does it taste?”
“Not bad.” Yun Su finally answered.
“Compared to my cooking, which is better?” the little black snake asked.
“Yours.” Yun Su spoke, then feared the little black snake would become too proud, so she added, “Only a little better.”
The little black snake said, “I want to eat too.”
Yun Su asked, “What do you want?”
The little black snake looked at the roasted chicken on the table. “That.”
Yun Su lifted her brows and glanced at it. Meeting those obedient, pitiful eyes, her heart moved. She reached out and tore off a chicken leg.
“Ah.” The little black snake opened its mouth very wide, as if it could swallow a fist.
“Ah.” Yun Su waved the chicken leg in front of the little black snake for a long time. In the end, she brought it to her own mouth, closed her eyes in enjoyment, and took a large bite.
The little black snake was baffled.
While eating the chicken leg in her hand, Yun Su watched the little black snake’s shocked and wounded expression with great interest.
But she never expected the little black snake to move its head over at a speed too fast to react to, biting the half-eaten chicken leg in her hand.
Then its mouth opened and closed. It rubbed forward along the bone twice and swallowed half of the hand Yun Su used to hold the chicken leg.
In the next second, it widened both eyes and swallowed hard twice. The chicken leg, meat and bone together, vanished from between Yun Su’s fingers, which were still held in its mouth.
While Yun Su stared blankly, the little black snake released her fingers, crawled to the table, and swallowed an entire chicken at shocking speed. Its body swelled full. It did not even spit out the bones before slipping back under the bedding.
Yun Su’s thoughts did not recover for a long time. She lifted her eyes toward the bed, but the little black snake had already hidden itself completely.
She was silent for a long while. With red ears, she stood and washed her hands by the basin.
At the end, as if guided by some strange impulse, she brought her cool, damp fingers to her lips and silently tasted the faint flavor left there.