Chapter 13

Ten days ago, the snake demon had abducted Tang Xiaojiu and fled from the Green Dragon Temple, using a divine speed technique to run non-stop for three hundred miles! They crossed mountains and rivers, passed through rocks and caves, and occasionally tore off pieces of clothing to hang in the bushes, then changed direction and ran wildly, as swift as lightning and as fleeting as clouds.

After such a wild run through the night, by the time it was dawn, they had arrived at a desolate wilderness. Before them lay a range of continuous mountains. Without hesitation, the snake demon plunged into the deep mountains. Being a demon from the wild, hiding in the mountains was like a fish in water. It quickly found a hidden natural cave, crawled inside, and threw Tang Xiaojiu to the ground, blocking the entrance with a large rock. It then retreated to a damp corner deep inside the cave and curled up motionless.

Tang Xiaojiu had been clutched under the snake demon's armpit during the wild run, waking up several times and fainting from pain several times. When he was suddenly thrown to the ground, the impact on his broken bones caused intense pain, but he was too weak to cry out, only managing a few muffled groans. However, compared to the jolts during the run, the current stability brought him some relief.

Seeing that the snake demon had gone deep into the cave and was motionless, Tang Xiaojiu began to think about how to escape secretly. However, with the cave entrance blocked by a large rock and his hands broken, he could not come up with any clever plan. After the pain and fear, and a night of running, his body was already exhausted. After much thought, he fell into a deep sleep on the ground.

After an unknown amount of time, Tang Xiaojiu turned over in his sleep, triggering his broken arm, and woke up in pain. He shuddered, thinking, "How could I have fallen asleep!" He quickly looked around and found that the large rock blocking the cave entrance had been moved, and sunlight was shining in.

Could the snake demon have gone out to find food? His mind raced, and the desire to escape grew. He endured the excruciating pain in his broken arms, used his waist and legs to get up as quickly as possible, and quietly approached the cave entrance to peek outside. To his dismay, the snake demon was standing not far away, blocking the entrance, facing away from him.

The snake demon was still wearing the white monk's robe, but it was torn and tattered, with holes all over. Through the holes, the skin visible was not human but covered with dense green scales, vivid and eerie, making Tang Xiaojiu feel a wave of nausea.

Tang Xiaojiu suddenly remembered what the ascetic monk had said about the snake demon's inner pearl being destroyed and that it would soon reveal its true form. Could the snake demon have transformed? Cold sweat poured down his back, and he held his breath, not daring to make a sound. But the snake demon heard the noise and turned around, causing Tang Xiaojiu to fall to the ground in fright.

From the back, the snake demon looked human, its body wrapped in the monk's robe, showing no obvious abnormalities. However, its face was covered with layer upon layer of dark green scales. Its head was smooth and flat, with very small ears that looked like mere holes on the head. Its eyes were round and beady, glowing with a green light. Its lower jaw was long and protruding, with a huge mouth that stretched to the ears, containing two sharp, pointed teeth, making it look like a snake's head.

The snake demon stared at Tang Xiaojiu and walked towards him, its red forked tongue flicking in and out, making a hissing sound. Tang Xiaojiu immediately remembered how the fat monk, Puguang, had been drained of blood by this tongue. He swallowed hard, wanting to protect his neck, but the movement of his arm caused a wave of pain. He watched helplessly as the snake demon approached, feeling both urgent and terrified, his legs trembling uncontrollably. Despite his usual cleverness, his mind was blank, and he could only close his eyes and turn his head, waiting to die.

In the darkness, he felt a wave of unbearable stench, and the snake demon's tongue must have been poking his neck. Tang Xiaojiu knew he was about to die and cried out, "Oh, Lu Zheng, your brother Jiujie is here! I haven't become a general, I haven't married a wife, I haven't had a son, and I haven't eaten a bowl of braised pork before I die..."

He was thinking about all his regrets, ready to shout them out. Suddenly, his arms were gripped tightly by the snake demon, causing him to shiver with pain. He kept his eyes tightly shut, not daring to open them, and started to howl in pain.

The snake demon finally lost patience and shouted, "What are you yelling about, boy!"

Tang Xiaojiu was startled by the shout. Distracted, he heard two clicks, and his broken arms were suddenly reconnected. The swelling and pain that had been there were now warm and itchy. He couldn't resist opening one eye to see what was happening. Before he could understand the situation, the pain and swelling in his arms had significantly reduced, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, his tense muscles relaxing.

He mustered the courage to open his eyes. The snake demon was close, and its face had changed to a human one, bald, with slightly elongated features, which was much better than the snake face. Tang Xiaojiu thought, "Can the snake demon not grow hair, or does it prefer being bald because it's cooler? No wonder it pretends to be a monk, saving the trouble of shaving."

While he was lost in thought, the snake demon's eyes glowed with a green light, and it tightly held Tang Xiaojiu's broken arms, beads of sweat appearing on its forehead. Tang Xiaojiu found its eyes somewhat familiar, seeing the intense focus and effort on its face. The sensations of numbness, tingling, and pain in his arms made him wonder what the snake demon was doing, fearing, "Is the snake demon trying to crush me to death?"

After a long time, the snake demon released its hands, the green light in its eyes dimming. It staggered back a few steps, wiped the sweat from its forehead, and sat down cross-legged, motionless, seemingly very tired from its efforts.

Tang Xiaojiu felt the pain and itching in his arms disappear. He moved his arms slightly, and they were no longer painful. He waved them a few times, finding them as good as new. He calmed down a bit, thinking, "This is strange, does the snake demon heal injuries too?" He mustered the courage to shout at the snake demon, "Hey, why did you heal my arms? Aren't you going to eat me?"

The snake demon, still sitting cross-legged with its eyes closed, hands on its knees, replied in a hoarse voice, "What, did I say I wouldn't eat you?"

Tang Xiaojiu, sensing no malice in its tone, took on a mischievous attitude and laughed, "Oh, you really think I'm a child. You were sweating all over to heal my arm, and now you're so tired you can't even stand. If you really wanted to eat me, why go through all this trouble? You'll chew me up anyway!"

The snake demon, surprised by his quick wit, thought that if it had been any other child of his age, they would have been scared out of their wits by its true form. This child was different, still daring to laugh, and its face turned sinister, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth, "You're very smart, but don't forget, you're in my hands. If I want to eat you, I can do it anytime. I don't want to eat you now, but I might want to later. When that happens, I'll tear off your left hand and eat it slowly. In the evening, I'll eat your right hand. Tomorrow, I'll eat your left foot..." It hissed and stuck out its forked tongue to scare him.

To his surprise, Tang Xiaojiu burst out laughing, almost crying from laughter, and continued to laugh uncontrollably, even holding his stomach. The snake demon, seeing that its threats had no effect, became angry, showing a fierce expression, and shouted, "What are you laughing at? What's so funny? If you keep laughing, I'll suck you dry!"

The serious tone had the opposite effect. Tang Xiaojiu, not at all afraid, pointed at the snake demon's face and laughed even harder, eventually bending over in pain from laughing so much, and finally rolling on the ground.

The snake demon, furious, wanted to teach the boy a lesson, but its body, injured by the monk's divine power twice, with its inner pearl destroyed and its meridians severely damaged, could not move without suppressing the Buddhist energy inside. It was unable to use its powers. However, the boy's laughter was so annoying that it made the snake demon feel as if it was covered in filth. Curious about what was so funny, it could not figure it out and decided to ignore the boy and focus on regulating its breath.

Suddenly, the laughter stopped. Tang Xiaojiu, like a wild cat, sprang up from the ground, holding a stone in his hand, and without hesitation, smashed it on the snake demon's head. The snake demon, fully focused on regulating its breath, had no time to react.

The stone hit the snake demon's head squarely. Tang Xiaojiu used all his strength, shattering the stone. Without checking if the snake demon was dead, he ran as fast as he could to the left.

This was a plan he had been working on for a long time. He had observed that the snake demon seemed injured and could not move freely. To confirm this, he had used his laughter to provoke the snake demon. Seeing no reaction, he was more confident that the snake demon was indeed immobilized. Knowing that he would die either way, he had chosen the best escape route while pretending to laugh and grabbed a stone from the ground, ready to strike.

The snake demon, not a human, might not be easily knocked out or killed, but Tang Xiaojiu's goal was to create an opportunity to escape. He didn't care about the effect of the strike and ran as fast as he could.

This was a technique he had learned from street thieves. Although he was a beggar, he sometimes acted as a thief. Without Lu Zheng to help, he had to escape on his own. Thieves always ran in the opposite direction of their victims to avoid being caught. Turning around to run would give the victim a head start, so thieves always ran straight ahead. This small detail could make the difference between being caught and escaping.

Tang Xiaojiu wished he had wings, running as fast as the wind, dodging obstacles, and silently praying, "Lu Zheng, Lu Zheng, please protect your brother Jiujie. If I escape this, I'll eat a bowl of braised pork to celebrate!"

The mountains were steep and covered with strange vines and trees. Tang Xiaojiu stumbled and fell several times but kept running, his heart pounding. He followed the slope, jumping down whenever he saw a hill, and rolling on the ground when he fell, not caring about spraining his ankle.

Along the way, he tore off pieces of his clothes and threw them in different directions, hoping to mislead the snake demon, a technique he had just learned from the snake demon itself.

Finally, after running for a long time, he reached a hidden small pond. Exhausted, he estimated he was far enough from the snake demon and quietly entered the pond.

The pond was not large but deep, a natural spring. Tang Xiaojiu hid on the inside, only his head visible, covered with water plants. He drank some water, slowly adjusted his heavy breathing, and kept a sharp eye on his surroundings, his heart pounding.

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