Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 168 - 166: Golden Python

Chapter 168: Chapter 166: Golden Python

As night quietly fell, three people carrying rucksacks were making their way to the summit of Medicine King Mountain under the cover of darkness.

Shangguan Xuanyi initially had no intention of carrying a rucksack, but he obediently put one on after Xiao’er said, "Carry it for me, to store things."

Xiao’er looked at the night pearl the size of an onion in her hand, then at the same sized pearls in the hands of the two beside her. Could she understand what a local tyrant was now?

A local tyrant is someone who, when walking in darkness, doesn’t need to use a fire torch, a lantern, or a flashlight. They use a night pearl instead!

The winter nights on Medicine King Mountain were relatively tranquil as some poisonous creatures also hibernated, so their journey was smooth overall.

Xiao’er had a specific destination in mind, so even though her path seemed random, she was following the directions given in daylight, which helped her avoid various dangers.

"Huh? The trip up the mountain seems a bit too easy this time." Shangguan Xuanhao felt strange as he had not encountered a single danger halfway up the mountain, "Could there be something big hiding up there which has scared all the little fish and shrimps into hiding too?"

Too much calmness and smoothness usually implied greater danger ahead.

Shangguan Xuanyi also felt this was unusual and was cautiously paying more attention to his surroundings.

Xiao’er couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Were these two suffering from paranoia?

They worrried because everything was going too well! It was her achievement, okay!

"Don’t worry; I have an excellent personality. It’s typically safe wherever I am."

"What do safety and character have to do with each other?" Shangguan Xuanhao felt he could sometimes hardly follow this kid’s train of thought.

"A good character attracts God’s favor! How could He let me get in danger!" Xiao’er replied confidently.

Dizzy. She thought there was a correlation.

"We’ve only gone halfway so far. If we get to the top of the mountain without encountering a poisonous creature, then you can say your character is good!" Shangguan Xuanhao dismissed her with a snort.

"Don’t believe me? Just you wait and see! We won’t encounter any danger on the way apart from at the mountain top."

"Alright, if we really don’t encounter anything midway, I’ll grant you three requests for free." Shangguan Xuanhao didn’t believe his luck was that bad!

However, he regretted those words soon after.

Three requests seemed too many. Not just seemed, they were definitely too many!

He’d taken a bit of a gamble there. In hindsight, he should have given her something material instead.

What if it all goes wrong and he gets tormented by this kid?!

He genuinely believed she would work him to the bone!

Upon hearing this, Xiao’er’s eyes lit up like night pearls. It turned out that Shangguan Xuanhao was the one with the best character!

"Once agreed upon, anyone who retraces will howl like a dog at the town gate!"

"Don’t worry! I don’t have a chance to back out!" God, please bless me! My ancestors, please bless me!

Shangguan Xuanyi let the two goof around while he was even more attentive to the slightest signs of movement around him.

As the three of them continued to climb, their journey remained uneventful. Deep down, Shangguan Xuanhao howled in despair: Could his luck really be that bad? Poisonous snakes were hibernating, but there were poisonous spiders, mice, ants, and flies too! God, they were almost at the peak; if none of them showed up, wasn’t he being harmed on purpose?

Did he know the meaning of the phrase, "the wasp’s sting is deadly, yet a woman’s heart is deadlier"?

Did he understand what the sage meant by "Only women and villains are difficult to keep"?

Did he get what the saying "You can offend anyone, but never offend a woman" means?

As Shangguan Xuanhao walked on, he couldn’t resist whistling and kicking at the bushes, trying to wake up any sleeping poisonous creatures.

"Fourth Prince, cheating is not commendable!" Xiao’er teased with a smile.

"If you want to die, just jump off!" Shangguan Xuanyi said, showing no sympathy.

Could these cold-blooded brothers really be cut from the same cloth as him? He was having serious doubts.

He traced back to his ancestors of the past eighteen generations, they were all kind, simple-hearted, innocent, lively, and adorable people!

How did such an oddball like Shangguan Xuanyi come out of them! Shangguan Xuanhao pondered furiously.

No matter how much mischief Shangguan Xuanhao caused, the peak of the mountain was ultimately in sight—within arm’s reach really soon.

They had even successfully dug up two hundred-year-old ginsengs and plucked a hundred-year-old purple reishi along the way.

Shangguan Xuanhao was sullen, was his character really that bad? The last time he went himself, he almost lost half his life! This time, he didn’t even have the chance to risk his life!

Wasn’t all the effort he put into the annual ceremonies to pay tribute to heaven and his ancestors wasted? They didn’t even protect him!

A smooth pathway appeared before them, leading straight up to the top of the mountain.

"Shh!" Xiao’er leaned one hand on a branch and put her index finger to her lips, signaling the two of them not to make any noise.

Shangguan Xuanhao also became cautious. He had spent years running around in the deep forest and was well-accustomed to danger.

Shangguan Xuanyi frowned. Normally, it was colder the higher you climbed, but he found it was getting warmer the closer they got to the mountain peak. Under the luminescent pearl, he could even see green grass. Given the current season, the grass should have withered by now - something unusual was surely afoot.

Xiao’er already knew there was a golden python guarding a secret stone at the top of the mountain.

A golden python, sounds intimidating, right?

That’s why she climbed up with them. In this life and the last, the thing she feared the most was snakes!

Seeing a snake, her natural reaction was always to get frightened before realizing that it was a snake. Her body’s automatic response was faster than her brain, which made her reaction slower.

Even this delayed response was a result of her cousin torturing her with various snakes in her previous life.

She thought she was alright with handling common snakes.

As for the normal mountain snakes, if you left them alone, they wouldn’t bite. She didn’t think her lagging reactions would be an issue, but this time she was openly planning to steal someone’s treasure. She feared the python’s quick response might take advantage of her slowed reaction and swallow her whole.

But even if she were alone, she would still come! Bai Tian had said the secret stone could be placed in the workshop to create another storage space.

Shangguan Xuanyi also noticed Xiao’er’s nervousness. Wasn’t this girl supposed to fear nothing?

Adventure through Medicine King mountain at night! Who would dare to do this?

Even though he wanted her to learn a lesson, he ultimately couldn’t bear to see her in danger and reached out to hold her hand.

"Don’t be afraid."

Xiao’er looked up at his cool handsome face and strangely felt a sense of calm in her heart.

Normally to reach the peak of a mountain, you need to climb. But this mountain had a winding path leading right to the top - and it was surprisingly smooth and consistent, as if something had been rolling down it for countless years.

"Locals say there are lots of herbs on this mountain peak, but there’s also a fierce giant snake that lives here. That’s why they never dare to climb up, and this path was created by that snake," Shangguan Xuanhao whispered his knowledge.

The three of them carefully put away the luminous pearl in a black bag. They made no noise as they walked up the mountain, not even a breath of wind was stirred.

Finally, they reached the peak.

Their eyes landed on weird flowers, exotic plants, and various precious herbs. Even under the moonlight, what appeared like a big golden pile of dung was actually a static snake sprawled in the corner.

Xiao’er’s heart beat quicker than her mind could think, causing her to jump with fright. Realizing it was a snake just took a moment longer.

Shangguan Xuanyi gave the hand he was holding a comforting squeeze.

A golden snake? Its scales were golden, giving off a cold shimmer under the moonlight.

One might mistake it for a golden statue if they didn’t look closely! Upon closer inspection though, she realized it was the most beautiful snake she had ever seen.

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