Although Sanni was full of doubts, she eventually did not ask any further.
She should have been happily on her way back, but Yang Ruxin had felt something was off ever since she left the town. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it until she was halfway through her journey, near the small hill, where she realized that Xiaolun, the little green snake always wrapped around her wrist, was nowhere to be found.
The little creature often didn’t show itself and even when it accompanied her, it did so very secretly, coiled around her arm where no one else could see. But now, Xiaolun had left without saying goodbye. Although she knew Xiaolun generally wouldn’t encounter danger, she was more concerned about the snake posing a danger to others.
"Big sister, what’s wrong?" Sanni saw Yang Ruxin suddenly stop and couldn’t help frowning.
"Did I just hear something?" Yang Ruxin was about to say it was nothing, but then she heard what seemed to be a groan nearby, which upon closer listening, appeared to be a faint call for help.
"Where?" Sanni listened but didn’t hear anything.
Yang Ruxin walked toward the woods to the left.
Sanni was worried but hurriedly followed her.
The moment Yang Ruxin stepped into the woods, she saw a flash of green light. Then, there was a cool feeling on her wrist, and she felt relieved—Xiaolun had come out to play. Gently patting Xiaolun’s head with her hand, she continued to walk deeper into the woods.
"Aunt?" After only a few steps, she saw a woman leaning against a tree, holding her arm and groaning.
"Dani, Sanni..." Yang Baihui’s eyes lit up when she saw someone, "Please, save me..."
"What brought you here?" Yang Ruxin checked Yang Baihui’s arm and found that she had been bitten by a snake—a venomous one at that. However, it seemed the snake hadn’t intended to kill her, as the amount of venom injected was small. It would still make her feel unwell and dizzy though. Yang Ruxin secretly gave Xiaolun’s head a tap; such mischief could only be the work of this little creature.
Xiaolun shrank its head, having long wanted to teach the people of the old house a lesson but never finding the chance. Today, this woman had walked right into its trap. Of course, it wouldn’t tell Yang Ruxin that it had lured her into the woods using a Lingzhi mushroom by the roadside.
"I... was bitten by a snake..." Yang Baihui was terrified, "Quickly find a doctor... I don’t want to die..."
Yang Ruxin was inclined to not get involved, but this was a human life. She sharply commanded, "If you don’t want to die, then shut up."
Yang Baihui immediately fell silent.
"You watch her, don’t let her move around." Yang Ruxin then turned and went deeper into the woods.
Seeing that no one was around, Xiaolun quickly sprang out, retrieved the Lingzhi mushroom it had brought to entice Yang Baihui, and proudly presented it in front of Yang Ruxin.
"You must not do this again." Yang Ruxin tapped Xiaolun’s head and put the Lingzhi mushroom into her space.
Xiaolun quickly curled and spat out its little tongue, then settled down quietly to become a bracelet again.
Yang Ruxin then found some detoxifying herbs nearby, returned, and chewed them up before applying the paste to Yang Baihui’s wound: "There, it’s all good now." In truth, even without the herbs, it wouldn’t have been a problem. Her body could have naturally metabolized the small amount of remaining venom, but she didn’t want to tell her the real situation.
"Is it really okay now?" Yang Baihui felt the wound cooling and much more comfortable, yet she was still a bit uncertain.