The little snake saw the bustling mortal world for the first time and stood on the streets of the Jiangnan water town, dazed for a long while.
Because he had come out wearing only a coarse hemp garment spun by the Snake Tribe—who were quite impoverished—fastened at the waist with a simple hemp rope, his appearance on the street was indistinguishable from that of a beggar.
Many passersby shook their heads in pity: such a handsome youth, yet he was a simple-minded beggar... Consequently, the copper coins piling up before the little snake gradually increased.
So, where had Leng Qingqing gone?
About fifteen minutes later, Leng Qingqing ran out of a pawnshop, happily waving a banknote. Drawing on his limited knowledge of the human world, he knew he could exchange treasures of the demon race for something called "money," and with money, one could buy anything in the mortal realm!
Thus, he had taken ten night-luminescent pearls stolen from the Dragon Palace and exchanged them for fifty taels of silver. He was deathly happy, utterly unaware that he had been ruthlessly "fleeced."
"Son! We’re rich!" Leng Qingqing threw himself into Leng Jing’s arms, shouting with excitement.
In the eyes of others, this looked like a heart-wrenching scene of two destitute, orphaned brothers clinging to each other.
"Dad, I want to eat those," Leng Jing said, pointing at the meat buns held by a pedestrian.
"Good boy, Daddy will buy them for you~" Leng Qingqing patted Leng Jing’s head. Relying on his "rich life experience," he plucked up his courage and approached a bun stall. He held out the fifty-tael banknote righteously before the boss: "I want buns!"
"How many?" The boss looked at his tattered clothes and small, thin frame. Seeing him hold so much money, the boss assumed it must be stolen.
"I want... five!"
Greed flickered in the boss's eyes as he took the banknote. He handed over five buns, thinking that if the boy dared to ask for change, he would simply claim the money was stolen.
But the naive Leng Qingqing didn't suspect a thing. He cradled the lotus leaf containing the buns and swaggered away.
And so, ten night-luminescent pearls were ultimately transformed into five buns.
Leng Jing finished the buns quickly. Just then, a misty drizzle began to fall. Leng Qingqing took off his outer garment to drape it over Leng Jing, while he himself shivered, clutching Leng Jing’s arm. The two of them walked slowly down the street, looking every bit the picture of two souls depending on each other for survival.
When they reached the entrance of an inn, the proprietor waved them away in disgust: "Get lost! Filthy beggars! Don't block the doorway!"
Leng Qingqing had no choice but to lead Leng Jing away pitifully. Clutching a few scraps of bun skin that Leng Jing had left over, Leng Qingqing nibbled on them in the chilly rain. It was a scene of peak misery.
Leng Jing looked at him and finally asked, "Dad, are we very poor?"
Leng Qingqing choked up. "Xiao Jing, Daddy has failed you... Daddy doesn't know why we're so poor in the human world... *Sob sob*..."
Leng Jing glanced at him sideways, silently returned the garment to him, and told him to crouch down in a corner of the street.
Leng Qingqing looked at Leng Jing in confusion, unsure of what he was planning.
"I'm going to relieve myself," Leng Jing said before walking away.
Dressed in his coarse hemp clothes and treading in straw sandals, Leng Jing wandered through the city. Through his observations, the little snake now understood the function of gold and silver. It seemed that in this bustling world, mortals could not escape the temptation of wealth; with money, everything became easy.
As he wandered, an old man pulling a flatbed cart full of charcoal passed him. Leng Jing reached out and swiped a piece of charcoal without the old man noticing. He gripped the charcoal in his hand, pressing his palms together tightly to enclose it. He then continuously channeled his entire body's True Essence into his palms. Before long, under the extreme pressure and high temperature generated by Leng Jing’s hands, that pitch-black piece of charcoal was purified into a brilliant diamond! (The formation of a diamond is the process of carbon crystallizing under high temperature and pressure.)
Leng Jing then took this diamond to a pawnshop owner. The owner had never seen such a pure gemstone and knew it was a treasure. Suspecting Leng Jing had stolen it, he asked tentatively, "Where did you get this?"
Leng Jing replied honestly, "I... I picked it up from the back mountain... There are many more..." He put on the act of a simpleton.
The pawnshop owner was ecstatic. He took the diamond and prepared to close up shop immediately so he could go to the place Leng Jing mentioned to scavenge for gems. However, Leng Jing grabbed his clothes. "How much can I pawn it for?"
"Fifty taels!" the owner said impatiently.
"Ten thousand!" Leng Jing refused to let go.
Anxious to go find more gems, the owner snapped, "Let go, quickly!"
"No! Ten thousand! Many people are picking up gems on the back mountain, and they all sold theirs for ten thousand..."
"What! People are already there?!" The owner was frantic; if he didn't go now, it would truly be too late! But Leng Jing was incredibly strong, and the owner couldn't break free. He had no choice but to say, "Fine! I'll give you ten thousand! Just let go!"
Only then did Leng Jing release him. The owner sullenly handed over a ten-thousand-tael banknote; after all, this gem was worth at least a hundred thousand.
Thus, Leng Jing exchanged a piece of charcoal for ten thousand taels of silver.
***
Leng Qingqing was shivering in the corner, his nose running, when Leng Jing approached him wearing moon-white silken robes. Before he could react, he was tossed into a newly purchased carriage and driven straight to an inn. Upon reaching the inn, Leng Qingqing was hauled upstairs. In a blur of high-speed efficiency, he was thrown into a bath, scrubbed clean, dried, dressed in new clothes, had a bowl of hot noodles shoved into his hands, was forced to finish the soup, had his mouth wiped with a handkerchief, was pushed onto the bed, had his outer clothes stripped off, was changed into inner robes, and had a silk quilt pressed over him.
Leng Jing said, "Sleep well and recover your strength."
The bed curtains were drawn. Leng Qingqing was left curled up in the blankets, dazed, sniffing his nose, unable to process what had happened for a long time.
The efficiency of a dragon-shaped Ferrari was just as fast as his flight speed... and the same applied to taking care of people.
Once Leng Qingqing finally drifted into a sweet dream, Leng Jing sat down to count the money by candlelight. He saw that a good portion of the ten thousand taels remained, but there would come a day when it ran out. He needed to think of a way to earn more.
After thinking for a while, Leng Jing saw that it was getting late and decided to head out again to research other ways to make money.
He stood up, set a barrier around Leng Qingqing, picked up an oil-paper umbrella, and walked out of the inn.
The night rain was desolate. Leng Jing walked alone through the streets and alleys, unknowingly stepping into the district of red lights and green wine. Seeing the rows of brothels, hearing the endless songs and laughter, the decadent prosperity of the scene actually piqued the interest of the non-human white dragon.
Before Leng Jing could walk far, a heavily made-up woman of the demimonde approached him, teasing him and trying to pull him into a brothel. Leng Jing said impassively, "I like men." Hearing this, the woman immediately became displeased, flicked her silk scarf at him, and left.
But as soon as Leng Jing turned around, another woman grabbed him. "The young master likes men? Our house has the finest male entertainers! Come quickly, sir, or they'll all be booked!" As she spoke, she bustled Leng Jing into the neighboring establishment.
This neighboring brothel was quite large. Upon entering, three or four pretty, heavily powdered young men were brought over to accompany Leng Jing for drinks. Leng Jing’s attire and aura made him look like a wealthy young master of high status, and combined with his extraordinary beauty, he was very popular among the entertainers.
Once Leng Jing was seated, the young men offered him a cup of wine. As it was the Dragon Boat Festival, it was customary in Jiangnan to drink realgar wine. Leng Jing had never had it and didn't know it was realgar wine. Since he wasn't a snake demon, he felt no ill effects, but having never touched alcohol before, the spicy taste made him cough, covering his lips with his sleeve.
When he finished coughing and looked up, the surroundings had suddenly gone silent.
The boisterous laughter and music had vanished. Leng Jing looked around; the young men who had been toasted him had all collapsed, facing the ceiling with bruised, dark faces. They had died of poisoning.
Leng Jing was slightly surprised. He left the table and walked to the main hall, only to find it littered with corpses, all dead from poison. Not only that—when the little snake stepped onto the street, he discovered that everyone on the entire street had been killed by a lethal toxin!
"Hahaha! Stupid things, how dare you interfere with this seat? I'll make you all die!" A light, eerie laugh suddenly rang out in the night sky. Leng Jing followed the sound and saw a youth sitting on a rooftop, swinging his legs back and forth.
"Hmm? Someone is still alive?" The youth also spotted Leng Jing, dressed in white, standing on the street below. He narrowed his eyes as killing intent surged. He suddenly leaped down and struck out at Leng Jing with a palm!
The youth's palm wind carried a faint fragrance, which was actually a malicious poisonous scent. Leng Jing took the blow, but his body was shaken back several steps by the youth's profound internal energy.
The youth became even more interested. He hadn't expected anyone in the world to remain standing after being hit by his Poisonous Fragrance Palm. It seemed he had met someone interesting to play with today. Regardless, he was determined to kill this fellow!
Leng Jing, however, had no desire to bicker with a mortal. He turned to leave. The youth shouted, "Don't run!" but how could he match the fastest speed in heaven and earth? In the blink of an eye, Leng Jing had vanished, leaving the youth to scream fruitlessly at the empty air: "I will find you! I will kill you!!"
***
Leng Jing returned to the inn, changed out of his poison-dusted clothes, and lay in bed wearing only his undergarments. At this moment, Leng Qingqing was sleeping like a dead snake, his mouth smacking as if he were dreaming of eating something delicious.
Leng Jing lay down beside him. Looking at Leng Qingqing’s lovely face and thinking of the clingy behavior of those male entertainers in the brothel, he couldn't help but reach out to pull Leng Qingqing close. Leng Qingqing seemed to sense it; in his daze, he also hugged Leng Jing back, murmuring, "Xiao Jing... you're back... eat... eat noodles..."
As he spoke, Leng Jing felt a chill at his waist. A snow-white snake tail had already coiled around him several times.
Leng Jing’s entire body went stiff, but he didn't want to disturb Leng Qingqing’s sweet dream. He had no choice but to let himself be coiled, struggling to fall asleep. Consequently, he had nightmares all night, dreaming that Leng Qingqing had turned into a nine-headed snake, with snakes everywhere, coiling around him until he couldn't breathe.
What Leng Jing didn't know was that because he was tossing and turning from the nightmares, he ended up kicking Leng Qingqing off the bed.
***
The next morning, Leng Qingqing insisted on going out to play with Leng Jing, unaware that Leng Jing actually wanted to go out to make money.
Leng Jing didn't want to hear his nagging, so he took him along. Fearing that Leng Qingqing might get lost, he specifically used a silk ribbon to bind his wrist, holding the other end himself.
To his surprise, there wasn't a single soul in the inn's lobby. When Leng Jing stepped outside, he found the streets shrouded in gloom. Every household had its doors tightly shut, and the streets were sparsely populated, save for a few frantic, soul-shaken pedestrians hurrying along.
"Hmm?" Sensing the strange atmosphere in the city, Leng Jing stopped a passerby. "Sir, what has happened in the city?"
"Young man, it's bad, very bad! Run for your life! The Leader of the Red Moon Cult has come to the city! Hundreds were poisoned to death in a single night! Ah! I can't talk to you! I have to escape!" With that, the man clutched his luggage and fled in a hurry.
Leng Jing pondered for a moment, realizing that the youth who had spread the poison last night was the Leader of the Red Moon Cult. As he was calculating his next move, a grand procession of people entered from the south gate, shouting as they went: "Slay the Red Moon Demon! Restore peace to the Martial World!" The leaders held high banners with four large characters: "Martial Arts Alliance."
Seeing the group about to pass him, Leng Jing suddenly stepped forward to block the leader, cupping his hands in greeting. "Brave warriors, please wait!"
The leader sized up Leng Jing. Seeing his elegant and refined appearance and slender build, he didn't look like a martial artist with brute strength, yet he carried an aura of majestic authority. Assuming he must be someone of significance, the leader asked, "Who are you? Why do you block our path?"
"I am Leng Jing, known in the Jiangnan as 'Young Master White Rainbow.' I wish to join the plan to eliminate the demon," Leng Jing said.
"Young man, think carefully. We are going to eradicate a monster; we are risking our lives. If you aren't afraid of death, then follow behind us!" The leader didn't want to waste time. Leaving those words, he led the troop forward.
Leng Jing then led Leng Qingqing along with the group. Leng Qingqing thought it was fun and started shouting the slogans too.
As Leng Jing walked, he rummaged through his person to see if he had anything that could serve as a weapon. After searching for a while, he finally had to tear the white silk ribbon in his hand into fine threads, coiling a large bundle of them in his palm.
The group finally met the members of the Red Moon Cult in the center of the city. When enemies meet, their eyes blaze with hatred. The Martial Arts Alliance Leader pointed at the Red Moon Cult Leader—a youth with a seductive and beautiful face—and cursed: "Han Xinglu, you demon! You have killed countless people! Today is your day of reckoning!"
"Hahahaha~" The Red Moon Cult Leader burst into laughter. Sitting on a rooftop, he clapped his hands in arrogant mirth. "Mad dogs barking! I intended to grant you whole corpses, but unfortunately, I'm in a bad mood today, so I'll grant you the favor of being hacked into pieces instead!!"
Dressed in blood-red robes, he leaped down with incredible agility, looking like a cloud of fire. His speed was impossibly fast. Before the Alliance Leader could even see clearly, he felt a flash of red before his eyes. In an instant, the Red Moon Cult Leader landed and leaped back up, sitting on the rooftop once more, looking down at the crowd. The Alliance Leader stood frozen in place, motionless.
"Alliance Leader!" A subordinate beside him pushed him, wondering what had come over him. To everyone's horror, with that single push, the Alliance Leader immediately fell apart into several pieces, blood spraying everywhere!
"Aaahhh!!!" The Martial Arts Alliance instantly fell into chaos. The Red Moon Cult Leader laughed wildly and waved his hand. The members of the Red Moon Cult immediately surged toward the Alliance like a tidal wave.
Enjoying the story? Rate this novel:
The Ugly Little Snake: My Dragon Son | Chapter 12 | A Diamond in the Rough | Novela.app | Novela.app
