Yang Ruxin stepped back in alarm, and the red cloud that approached her halted, revealing itself to be a Lingzhi mushroom about the size of her two palms.
Xiaolun, the little green snake, put down the Lingzhi, and then flicked its tongue with gentle hisses.
"A gift for our meeting?" Yang Ruxin blew away the stray hair on her forehead and reached out to take the Lingzhi in her hand, "Aren’t you too courteous?"
Indifferent to her, Xiaolun shot up and coiled around her wrist.
Frightened almost to the point of screaming, Yang Ruxin became rigid, but Xiaolun remained obediently still around her wrist.
After some time had passed, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then she tried moving her wrist. Xiaolun was not very big, probably less than a meter long, and its body was slender, about the thickness of a pinky finger. Now coiled around her wrist, at a glance it looked like a large loop of dark green bracelet, covered by the sleeve of her arm; unless one looked intentionally, it was virtually undetectable.
"Although you previously gave me ginseng and now a Lingzhi, remember, you promised to be obedient. If you’re not, I can turn you into snake soup at any time," Yang Ruxin said as she showed the little snake, tapping the spot on its forehead.
Xiaolun retracted its head, thinking to itself how venomous a woman’s heart could be, contemplating stewing it. However, it wouldn’t give her the chance. If worst comes to worst, it could simply remain a bracelet forever.
Honestly, being coiled around this woman’s wrist felt quite nice.
Seeing how well-behaved the little snake was, Yang Ruxin felt satisfied. She stored the Lingzhi in her space— the heat of the summer was intense, but since the snake was cold-blooded, its coil around her wrist was refreshingly cool, even making her feel more comfortable overall. After adjusting her sleeve to cover Xiaolun, she walked out.
Gu Yao had been anxiously waiting and relaxed when he saw Yang Ruxin come out unscathed, "Let’s go."
Yang Ruxin nodded.
On the way, Gu Yao appeared to want to say something several times but held back. Ruxin pretended not to notice. She knew he was curious about the little snake. She didn’t plan to hide it deliberately, but neither did she plan to explain. She’d just let things take their natural course until the day he asked about it directly.
But eventually, Gu Yao couldn’t hold back his curiosity. When they reached the edge of town, he finally spoke up, "You know that little snake?"
Yang Ruxin smiled, "I do."
Gu Yao’s eyes widened in surprise.
"I helped it last time I was in the mountains," Ruxin said, revealing Xiaolun on her wrist, "It’s quite perceptive and became friends with me."
Looking at Xiaolun coiled on Yang Ruxin’s slender wrist, Gu Yao inhaled sharply, "You..."
"It’s friendlier than the Yang Family," Ruxin said with a slight arch of her eyebrows, "Many people keep pets, and it is my pet."
Xiaolun flicked its tongue at Gu Yao, then lay quietly, unmoving, on Yang Ruxin’s wrist.
Gu Yao’s gaze towards Ruxin shifted for a moment, but then he let it go. He understood that everyone has things they do not wish to share with others, and everyone has their own way of surviving. So why overcomplicate things? As long as she wasn’t doing anything reprehensible or endangering the Gu Family, it was fine.
Moreover, he had experienced the loyalty of animals himself. The madam once had a dog, and after her demise, the dog stuck with the eldest son. When the eldest son was injured and fled, it was the dog that held off the people pursuing them, ultimately being killed in the process.