112: Chapter 112 The Green Snake Smells the Source of Evil
"It's probably an Auspicious Beast."
Elder Li made such an evaluation.
"This is delicious."
"Daya, eat more and grow nice and plump."
Xu Qing absentmindedly rubbed Daya's head and fed her a large piece of chicken.
"Mother, don't listen to him. Eating too much will make your stomach bloat."
Elder Li pulled Daya to her side.
Daya had become a bit closer to her recently, which made her quite happy.
"Hmm, there's a foul smell..."
"The scent of evil energy?"
Xu Qing sniffed and looked out the window.
No matter what, he was still the West River Maiden, a River God and an Auspicious Beast, so he was quite sensitive to this kind of evil energy.
"Sigh, has evil even begun to breed in the capital?"
Elder Li sighed.
A single deity transformation imprint had thrown the entire Xia Dynasty into turmoil.
"It doesn't seem like an ordinary evil. Go take a look."
"Why should I go?"
Xu Qing was unwilling.
Was he, the dignified River God West River Maiden, really being used like some Taoist priest?
Besides, he was a Lazy Snake who would rather sit than stand and rather lie down than sit; how could he perform voluntary labor!
"I need to watch over Mother."
"Lest something happens to Mother."
Elder Li said as if it were only natural.
"Then what if something happens to me?"
Xu Qing's mouth hung open, unable to understand!
"...You're not my mother."
"And how old are you? You're not a child anymore."
"Besides, are you the Auspicious Beast or am I?"
Elder Li held Daya and spoke matter-of-factly.
Of those present, one was at least three hundred years old, and the other was at least a thousand.
To say a one-year-and-some-months-old wasn't a child anymore.
The green snake felt bitter inside.
"...Fine, your fists are bigger, so you're right. You're not an Auspicious Beast, you're an Auspicious Person."
"In terms of seniority, I'm even your grandfather!"
Xu Qing only dared to think this to himself.
Saying it out loud would lead to punishment.
"Wait, take this."
"If something happens, crush it, and I'll come to help you immediately."
Elder Li tossed a jade token to Xu Qing.
Xu Qing caught the jade token.
The jade token was engraved with the two characters "Tai Shang." It was pure white and translucent, seemingly carved from a rare piece of fine jade.
"Crush it?"
"What a waste. Do you have a wooden one? I'm afraid I'll be too reluctant to crush this one."
Xu Qing's thriftiness, etched into his DNA, began to act up.
"...Are you going or not?"
"I'm going, I'm going!"
Xu Qing didn't dare refuse. He tucked the jade token into his robes, tore a drumstick off a whole chicken, and left the inn.
He made sure to look back and note the name of the inn.
The food here was good; once Silly Snake achieved Transformation, he would have to bring it here to try some.
"He'd also have to pour some realgar wine down its throat, otherwise, he wouldn't feel satisfied."
At the inn, Elder Li leaned out until she saw Xu Qing's figure disappear.
Then she scooped up Daya.
"My dear mother, let me give you a hug!"
She picked up Daya and gave her a vigorous rubbing.
There might not be a chance for such intimacy later, so she had to seize the opportunity now.
"After all, she is the West River Maiden."
"It's more appropriate to leave this matter to her."
"Though it might be a bit of a hassle. Just in time to have some new fun while waiting for Xuanji Sect to recruit Disciples."
Elder Li pinched her fingers together, having already calculated the result.
Divination Lv8.
Daya had once taught her Divination, and now her skills in Divination had surpassed Daya's.
However, when it came to divining matters concerning Xu Qing, many of her calculations were incorrect.
Previously, she had failed to divine that her mother was by Xu Qing's side.
However, this time she was divining the source of the evil energy, so she managed to get a correct result.
"Mother, open your mouth. This is good, eat this."
"Daya is full."
"It's good to eat more and grow nice and plump."
"..."
...
"The scent is getting stronger and stronger!"
Xu Qing sniffed as he shuttled through the streets and alleys, taking a bite of the chicken drumstick every now and then.
He finally determined that the further east he went, the stronger the scent became.
He turned into a deserted alleyway.
"xi liang, come out."
Xu Qing bit down on the chicken drumstick, freed his hands to form a seal, and a green sword appeared beside him.
The Xiliang Sword floated by his side, emitting a sword chime toward Xu Qing.
After all, he was in human form now, which was much more fragile than his Yao Beast form.
Naturally, he released the Xiliang Sword for protection, lest an accident occurred and he met his downfall in some unexpected way.
"Is the little sister out all by herself? Having trouble with your eyes?"
"Want to come play at big brother's house? My house is quite big."
"You can go straight to sleep when you're tired of playing."
Just as he was about to leave the alley, several men in coarse clothing sprang out from nowhere and blocked the petite Xu Qing.
Xu Qing quickly turned his head to look around.
Little sister? Where is there a little sister?
To think someone would harass a decent woman in front of the West River Maiden, the champion of love and justice—he, the Green Snake, could absolutely not tolerate it.
In the end, he couldn't find any little sister in the alley.
Xu Qing thought for a moment, then showed an expression of disbelief, pointing a finger at himself.
"Me?"
"I see you don't understand a thing, do you?"
The men surrounded Xu Qing and reached out to press down on his head.
Xu Qing hadn't even moved yet.
Beside him, the Xiliang Sword seemed to have reached its limit. It let out a sword chime, and sword light radiated in all directions.
The men let out screams of agony, clutching their throats as they collapsed to the ground.
Xu Qing stroked the hilt of the Xiliang Sword, and only then did the sword withdraw its Sword Qi and float quietly by his side.
"These people couldn't see xi liang?"
Xu Qing looked at the corpses of the men, then at the quiet xi liang beside him.
Of course, he felt no guilt.
Originally, many people lusted after his body in a physical sense, but now... was it no longer just in a physical sense?!
He spat out a mouthful of Green Fire to incinerate the bodies.
Only then did he turn his gaze to the Xiliang Sword.
After the Xiliang Sword was Decreed into a core, its aura had improved by more than a notch, and it seemed to have gained new skills.
Divine Artifact Lv3 upgraded to Divine Artifact Lv4.
Indestructible Lv5 upgraded to Indestructible Lv6.
New skills.
Concealment Lv3.
Self-Destruct Lv4.
Since the Xiliang Sword was forged from his own shed Resurrection Green Snake body, its potential was very high.
It seemed quite reasonable that it would gain his former skills through this evolution.
"Let's go, they were just some petty crooks."
Xu Qing walked out of the alley, with the Xiliang Sword floating beside him, having activated Concealment.
Passing through street after street, Xu Qing finally arrived at the source of the evil energy.
The inn where he was staying was at the far west of the Western Xia capital.
And this place was almost at the far east of the capital.
To an Auspicious Beast and River God, the evil energy was almost visible to the naked eye.
It was constantly emanating from a certain mansion.
A large plaque hung over the residence, with the two characters "Wang Mansion" written on it.
He didn't know if it was a prince's mansion or the residence of someone named Wang.
Of all the evils Xu Qing had hunted, not a single one had reached this level.
"So stinky!"
Xu Qing pinched his nose.
What kind of sins were committed to make it this foul?
The Mortals living in this mansion probably couldn't smell this stench.
However, living in such a place for a long time would surely leave them "marinated" in it, making them irritable and prone to anger, breeding hostility and turning them into villains.
"Hey, little blindy, what are you doing lingering here at our Wang Mansion!"
The guard at the gate roared at Xu Qing.
See? Irritable and prone to anger, just as expected.