Chapter 15

The snake demon's face showed an expression of great admiration, and he raised his thumb, saying, "Tang Xiaojiu, even if you were an ordinary mortal who knows nothing about cultivation, any ordinary disciple of cultivation would find it hard to believe that I can control a demon that has transformed into a human. You were able to figure out my intentions so quickly. Besides praising your intelligence, I admire your composure even more!"

Tang Xiaojiu knew that the one speaking to him was not the physical body he saw. Seeing the snake demon's face break into a smile, and thinking that someone else was controlling his body, he felt a very strange and eerie sensation, making his hair stand on end. The thought of soon becoming a living dead body made his heart feel as if it were being tightly squeezed by an invisible hand, leaving him unable to breathe. Hearing the other party still praising him, he couldn't help but say, "Among those who are not calm, are there... any who are smart?"

His words came out stammering, and the snake demon laughed heartily, saying with a smile, "Tang Xiaojiu, what are you trembling for? Are you hating yourself for being too smart? Guessing the outcome so quickly has made you start to feel uncomfortable in advance!"

Tang Xiaojiu's mind raced through countless thoughts but found no way to escape. He wanted to argue, saying something like, "I'm not trembling, I'm just too excited to see my grandson," but his mouth felt bitter, and he could only manage a smile that was more painful than crying, letting out a couple of cold laughs and saying, "Yes, what good is being smart? Now, I'd rather be as stupid as Lu Zheng, so stupid that even if the sky falls, I'd still stand there and watch..."

This was something he often said to tease Lu Zheng, always complaining about Lu Zheng's slow reactions, saying that if the sky fell, everyone else would run for their lives, but Lu Zheng would still stand there and watch the clouds fall, not knowing what was happening. But now, saying these words, he felt a bitter taste.

Isn't the value of life precisely the sense of self? Whether happy or sad, it is always your own feeling. But now, someone wants to take all of this away. From now on, everything in this world will be unrelated to you. Your eyes can still see, but you won't see anything; your ears can still hear, but you won't hear any sound. Your heart will disappear from this world, and no one will remember that you ever existed, that you have silently vanished from this world.

And even more tragically, his body would remain, the only proof that he had ever been in this world. But the person inside that body would no longer be Tang Xiaojiu.

Tang Xiaojiu knew there was no hope of escape and couldn't help but shed large tears. The snake demon saw everything and thought, "This kid, no matter how smart, is still just a child, and he's afraid. But his eyes haven't lost their light, and he's still not willing to give up. I can't act immediately; this kid is really troublesome!"

Just then, Tang Xiaojiu, with tears on his face, suddenly asked, "If I die, will my body still be useful to you?"

The snake demon shook his head and said, "Of course not. To control and use your body, you must be alive, and then I will erase your consciousness and take control of your physical body. What use do I have for a dead person!"

Hearing "erase your consciousness," Tang Xiaojiu shuddered, but his eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he asked, "Are you telling me the truth?"

The snake demon shrugged and said, "Do I have any reason to lie to you?"

Tang Xiaojiu, hearing this, let out a long breath, relaxed his body, and his face regained its confident and lively expression. He said, "You're telling me the truth, aren't you afraid I'll bite my tongue and commit suicide? Then you'll get nothing, and we'll both be done for!"

But the snake demon didn't respond, instead, he laughed coldly, showing a mocking expression, seemingly not caring about his threat at all. This left Tang Xiaojiu puzzled. He had always been accustomed to struggling for survival in any dire situation, and even in the hands of the snake demon, he had never felt despair. His mind was always working to find some favorable conditions for himself.

When he thought about the possibility that the snake demon might take over his body, he wondered, if he died, would the snake demon still need his body? He had been patient, and his earlier display of fear and tears was a deliberate act to catch the snake demon off guard and get the real answer. He thought that by threatening to commit suicide, he would at least have some room to maneuver.

Just as he felt a bit more at ease, thinking that his threat of suicide would make the snake demon hesitate, he didn't expect the snake demon to show a completely indifferent expression, as if he had already anticipated his intentions. Facing the snake demon's mocking smile, he thought, "I acted afraid just now, but the snake demon didn't seem to mind telling me the truth, as if he wasn't afraid of me committing suicide. Does he have some way to prevent me from biting my tongue? And this snake demon is very cunning. If his goal is to take over my body, why hasn't he acted yet, and why is he still talking to me? It's really hard to figure out."

For the first time, Tang Xiaojiu felt his mind wasn't enough, and he couldn't help but shout at the snake demon, "Hey, what did you eat that made you stand there and laugh like an idiot? Anyway, I can't escape, and you don't need to rush to take over my body. Why don't you tell me, since you're not this snake demon, who are you? I want to know who I'm dying at the hands of."

The snake demon said, "Are you trying to change the subject and buy time? No one will come to save you here. You ask who I am, do you really want to know who I am?"

Tang Xiaojiu didn't expect his thoughts to be seen through, but the snake demon still engaged him, so he said, "Yes, I can't hide anything from you. But since you're not this snake demon, are you a human, a demon, or a god? If you're afraid of the night being long, why don't you act now?"

The snake demon ignored his provocation and showed a mysterious expression. He suddenly sighed and looked up at the sky. This sudden action left Tang Xiaojiu puzzled, and he followed his gaze, but only saw a starry night sky, with stars twinkling, nothing special.

After a while, the snake demon turned his head, saw that Tang Xiaojiu was also looking, and smiled, asking, "Tang Xiaojiu, you asked who I am. Now I ask you, do you know who you are?"

This snake demon must be crazy! Asking who he is, of course, he is Tang Xiaojiu, the iron-clad Tang, the owner of the Little Nine Shop, the main store in the City God Temple, with no branches. But this was the second time the demon mentioned this. Earlier, he had said that Tang Xiaojiu didn't know his own origins. Could it be that he was also controlled by someone? Or did the snake demon mean that Tang Xiaojiu controlled his current body, and Tang Xiaojiu was also a demon like the snake demon? But if Tang Xiaojiu wasn't the true owner of this body, who was he, and who was this body?

Thinking about this, Tang Xiaojiu felt that the snake demon was just trying to confuse him, perhaps some trick. He knew very well how he had survived these past few years, and he didn't need anyone to tell him who he was. But because he was smart and liked to think, he followed the snake demon's line of thought for a while. If it were Lu Zheng, he probably wouldn't even bother with this!

Realizing this, Tang Xiaojiu was convinced that the snake demon was trying to deceive him for some unknown purpose. He said, "Hey, do you think I'm an idiot? Talking nonsense about who you are and who you aren't, trying to fool me. You've gone to so much trouble, keeping me alive, all for my body, right?"

As soon as he said this, he immediately spat a few times, finding the words disgusting. He quickly added, "But why did you choose me? You could have chosen anyone. Lu Zheng would have been fine. He's obedient and listens well. A few words from you, and he would have followed you. Or you could have chosen another demon! This snake demon is better than a mere mortal, right? Or do you have a special purpose for controlling me... Oh, I remember, I vaguely heard the monk talking about someone coming to hunt you. You want to change your body to avoid the monk's pursuit. So even if the monk finds this snake demon, it won't matter to you, right?"

He thought his guess was reasonable, but the snake demon shook his head and said, "You're partly right. I do need to parasitize a living being to nourish my spirit and keep it from perishing. The snake demon's body has been damaged by the monk's Diamond Power, and worse, his mystic core has been destroyed, making it impossible to recover. If I hadn't used my spirit and power to break the monk's spiritual seal, do you think this little snake demon could have escaped from the monk at White Tiger Temple? He would have been killed in a few punches!"

But he added, "I'm not afraid of the monk, as long as I have this sword. Tang Xiaojiu, you're quite smart, but haven't you figured it out yet? Let me tell you the truth, my target is you! I've been looking for you for hundreds of years. I never thought I would find you in the human world, and even more coincidentally, you found me at Green Dragon Temple. How could I possibly miss this opportunity!" As he said the last few words, the snake demon's voice trembled with excitement.

Hearing this, Tang Xiaojiu was stunned. Was the snake demon hit by the monk and gone mad? Saying he was looking for him for hundreds of years, and that he was a demon's relative? But this explained a lot. No wonder he killed Lu Zheng with a poisonous mist but let him go, staring at him all the time. Tang Xiaojiu finally understood, slapping his forehead, thinking, "No wonder you looked at me so strangely, you were targeting me all along."

But if that was the case, one thing still didn't make sense: he, Tang Xiaojiu, was only a few years old, having lived for less than a decade since birth. How could the snake demon have been looking for him for hundreds of years? And the idea of him finding the snake demon was even more ridiculous. He said, "Hundreds of years? I'm only... this year..."

The snake demon, as if knowing what he was about to say, interrupted, "You don't believe I've been looking for you for hundreds of years? That's fine, there are many things you can't understand now. You don't need to try to buy time. No one will come to save you in this desolate mountain, and the monk won't follow. Give up that idea! Now, I'll ask you one question: are you willing to let me inhabit your body?"

Finally, they couldn't avoid this last question. It was strange that the demon was still polite enough to ask. But to Tang Xiaojiu, it sounded like, "Do you mind if I eat you?" Would he not eat him if he said he minded? The demon was just being disgusting.

Tang Xiaojiu had been trying to buy time, secretly hoping the monk would follow, but the monk never came, probably thinking he had already been drained by the snake demon. Monks were no good! If the monk hadn't been overconfident, saying he had already dealt with the demon...

Tang Xiaojiu felt waves of despair, realizing he was going to die. The thought of death made his body tremble, and he couldn't help but shout, "Do you think anyone would willingly let someone else take over their body and turn them into a living dead? I'd rather die right now, no way!"

By the end, tears and snot were streaming down his face.

The snake demon stood on the side, arms crossed, just coldly watching him, not responding. Tang Xiaojiu shouted at him for a while, picked up a sharp stone from the ground, and pressed it against his neck, but the snake demon still said nothing. Tang Xiaojiu wiped the tears and snot from his face, gripped the stone tightly, and said angrily, "What, you don't believe I'll