"It’s tricky," Dao Xuzi sighed, then glanced at Yang Ruxin, "You can’t rush this. Even if you want to get hitched, you’ll have to wait until he’s fully recovered, otherwise..." His gaze took on a mischievous twinkle.
Yang Ruxin rolled her eyes: "When did I say I wanted to get married? I’m just worried your medical skills might not be up to par..."
"Nonsense." The old man instantly bristled, "If not for me stepping in, those quacks wouldn’t have been able to identify the seven types of poison in his body. They would’ve killed him with their treatments..."
Unable to help herself, Yang Ruxin rolled her eyes again: "Can’t you live without boasting?"
"I’m just stating the facts," Dao Xuzi suddenly chuckled, "But rest assured, now that you’ve taken me as your master, I’ll surely return to you an able-bodied apprentice son-in-law..."
"You sure know a lot," Yang Ruxin scoffed.
"You..." Dao Xuzi felt he was about to die of frustration at the hands of his apprentice, and even thought it made him hungry.
Yang Ruxin couldn’t be bothered with him and turned to leave.
"Girl, you also need to be treated. That lad asked me to prescribe some medicine for you..." Dao Xuzi chuckled ominously from behind.
Yang Ruxin’s face turned slightly red, naturally aware of why he wanted Dao Xuzi to regulate her body, since she hadn’t gotten her period yet.
"Ah, don’t be embarrassed. I’ll make a trip into the mountains in the next few days, and personally prepare the medicine for you..."
"Thank you, Master..."
"No need, no need, just agree to one little request..."
Yang Ruxin looked up warily, "What request?"
"Let me borrow that little green snake of yours for two days, will you?" Dao Xuzi’s eyes were practically popping out.
The snake wrapped around Yang Ruxin’s wrist instantly tensed up. What was this old man up to? He wouldn’t be thinking of stewing it for snake soup, would he?
Actually, Xiaolun had no need to worry, since the old man was indeed a foodie; wanting Yang Ruxin to cook up everything he saw, and besides, snake was a great tonic.
Yang Ruxin felt Xiaolun’s unease and quickly stroked its head, then looked at Dao Xuzi: "What do you want it for?"
"Ah, as far as I know, that venomous snake is no ordinary creature," Dao Xuzi’s eyes shone, "I’ve seen a lot in my day, but I’ve never come across this breed of snake. So green, certainly the venom is something special. I’d like a few drops of its venom..."
Xiaolun relaxed, recognizing the old man had some sense. It was no normal snake; it was the ancestor of venomous snakes.
Yang Ruxin’s eyes flickered: "Go on, tell me, how is it so out of the ordinary?"
"I once read about it in an ancient book from my master, though there wasn’t much detail. It said that after Nuwa created humans in the Ancient Era, she left a snake egg on earth. After tens of thousands of years, it hatched a hermaphroditic Jade Snake, whose venom is unmatched in its potency..."
Yang Ruxin’s mouth twitched—wasn’t that a mythical story? But it did make sense; Nuwa herself was a snake, so an egg she left behind was bound to be extraordinary.
Though the explanation was a bit fantastical, in this vast world, it wasn’t strange for special breeds to exist, especially considering she, a well-read person, didn’t even know Xiaolun’s breed.
"However, the Jade Snake has one characteristic: it molts once every hundred years—that is, its body will die, but as the snake skin cracks open, a snake egg appears, then that egg will hatch a new little snake..." Dao Xuzi grinned obsequiously, "In my opinion, Xiaolun must’ve hatched not too long ago, at most three months ago, but somehow you, lass, got lucky and it bonded with you as its master..."