Chapter 49: Solving the Mystery

  Zi Lei saw the two people in front of her, who were good friends with the one she loved, and for a moment didn't know what to say.

  Zi Lei calmed down a bit and smiled, saying: "I originally wanted to take him to live in seclusion in a place where people rarely set foot, but unexpectedly, in this deep mountain and old forest, I actually met the two of you, it's really true that no coincidence is not fate..." Zi Lei's charming expression was still as captivating as ever, even more so than before. Because her charm carried a hint of desolation and loneliness... She chatted with Hu Tou for a few sentences, then led the two people to sit down in front of a stone chair.

  "Alas... it's hard to put into words..." Hu Tou let out a sigh and began telling the story of what happened after parting ways with Zi Lei on Ghost Island, all the way up until their current quest to find ginseng in the mountains... Zi Lei listened, dazed for quite some time...

  "So, your friend has also arrived at my cave?" As he spoke, Zi Lei's gaze met Yang Hao's head-on, and instantly his head lowered, causing those who saw it to feel a pang in their hearts.

  "Cough...cough...They're all outside..." Hu Tou pretended he didn't see and responded with a sentence.

  Zi Lian didn't say much more, and summoned a small fox spirit by her side to go and call for someone...

  "I also know a thing or two about this matter. But that Millennium Ginseng King is not so easy to find..." As soon as Hu Tou heard this, Zi Lei's eyes lit up with some understanding and she couldn't help but feel overjoyed. She immediately took out the scale that Da Shan Jiao had given her before he left and handed it to Zi Lei.

  "Do you know this?????" Hu's face was anxious as he waited for the result.

  Zi Lei picked up the scale and furrowed her brow in contemplation for a long time before finally speaking.

  "This is the scale of the snake's body, how did you get it?"

  "Big Mountain Ghost, you've heard, right... After we helped it take revenge, it gave us..." Yang Hao said slowly, his eyes fixed on the fast-moving scales.

  "The scales of this snake are hard to come by. If someone can get its scales, they will be able to use it to fulfill one of their wishes..."

  "How can it be so powerful??? What exactly is this snake transformation??? / The tiger-headed man asked with a face full of doubt."

  "So, the snake transformation is a python that has been cultivated for many years, with horns on its head and claws under its abdomen. It's hundreds of feet long, can summon wind and rain, and is all-powerful. Legend has it that after it reaches the peak of its cultivation, it will wait for the heavenly trial... After passing the heavenly trial, it will transform into a dragon. If it fails, it will disintegrate into nothingness..." Zi Lian said as she put down the scale in her hand and ordered someone to bring some fruit over.

  "Transform into a dragon? Can snakes also transform into dragons? It's too unbelievable..."

  "Really? Really... I heard from Second Brother that their family is all direct descendants of the imperial bloodline, born as dragons. Never heard of a snake cultivating to become a dragon though..." Tiger Head chimed in with Yang Hao's words while grabbing the fruit on the table and devouring it in big mouthfuls...

  "You two have misunderstood, after the snake's cultivation it transforms into a Jiaolong. Tiger Head, your second brother is a true dragon of the direct lineage, this is completely different..."

  "But what's the connection between the snake and the thousand-year-old ginseng king???" Yang Hao still didn't understand Da Shan Xiao's intention, so he asked again.

  "This I'm not sure about, maybe finding the snake will lead to finding the ginseng king~~~~" Zi Lei said as she walked over to Yang Hao's side, circling around him and sizing him up.

  "The divine dragon's essence is indeed formidable... it can condense the soul and prevent it from dispersing, fear not sunlight, nor dread the yang energy, and also assist the soul in absorbing the natural essence, truly extraordinary...". Zi Lei's words had yet to finish when another voice rang out...

  "Ah Hao, are you really here Ah~~~? Who is this woman?????" Yunxue followed Zilei's servant to this place full of flowers, just about to praise, when she saw Yanghao.

  "Yang Hao, this pretty little girl should be the adopted daughter Han Yunxue you were talking about~~~~"

  "You... who are you? I'm not some adopted daughter, I have to pay rent..." Yunxue's mind buzzed when she heard Zilei's words, she was most afraid of people gossiping, didn't expect to run into it today...

  "Renting out a room also requires someone willing to rent it, especially for your sake, being able to rent out their own bedroom is quite... ambiguous. " Zi Lei said with a mischievous glint in her left eye, winking at Yun Xue for an instant, leaving everyone breathless, even Kairui couldn't help but stare at her. Yun Xue stood frozen on the spot, as if under a petrifying spell, her mind filled with Zi Lei's enchanting expression from just now, and she had forgotten her previous discontent.

  "Come... let's eat something..." Zi Lei changed her previous coquettish demeanor and walked to the stone table, softly saying a sentence to Kairui and them.

  The black cow suddenly lost its spirit, and it did whatever people told it to do. Now, as they spoke, it had already picked up an apple and was about to take a bite.

  "Hei Niu Ge, don't eat it, Xiao Xin said it's poisonous..." Yun Xue shouted loudly, but Hei Niu seemed to have not heard her and swallowed the apple, which was as big as a palm, in three bites.

  "Right, Yunxue sister, don't eat it... just in case you're right, I'll put some poison inside, and then you'll really regret it..." Zi Lei still smiled at Yunxue, while Kairui didn't say a word, picked up the banana, peeled it and started eating.

  "Alright, alright, Yunxue... Zilei is a friend of both mine and Yang's envoy, how could she possibly poison you? Come quickly and have some." Hu Tou comforted her. But Yunxue wouldn't take this lying down, pouting with her back turned away....

  "Listen up~~~ Zǐ Lèi was just joking with you earlier, go eat something now..." Yáng Hào floated to her ear and continued to persuade. Yún Xuě gave Yáng Hào a white eye, but didn't say anything... In the end, it was still up to Zǐ Lèi to make a move. She took a peach and slowly walked to Yún Xuě's side...

  "Yunxue sister, just now was my fault... I'll make it up to you... Don't be angry anymore, okay? Come and have a peach. Eating more peaches will make you as beautiful as the peach..." Yunxue looked at Ziti in front of her, feeling very strange inside. The anger she had just felt had disappeared without a trace in front of Ziti's face. That charming expression made it impossible to blame her, with a pair of enchanting eyes that sparkled like a deep pool under a waterfall. After staring at Ziti for a long time, Yunxue finally came back to herself. If she accepted the peach now, it would be admitting defeat. But if she didn't accept it, people would think she was too unreasonable. So, with a "humph", she took the peach and bit into it... Her eyes still pretended to be puffed up as she looked at Ziti, that adorable expression making everyone laugh out loud...

  "Right, almost forgot the main thing... Zi Lei, where can I find the snake transformation?" Yang Hao suddenly remembered something important and changed the subject.

  "I'm not quite sure about this either... I only know that the transformation from snake to dragon has happened three times in history, and judging from this scale, this snake's day of judgment is not far away..." Zi Lei picked up the scale on the table again, examined it for a while, and then came to a conclusion.

  "What should we do then?" Hu Tou's face was full of anxiety as he crawled back onto the ground...

  "I think it's better for everyone to stay here with me. I'll send someone out to gather information and notify you as soon as there's any news. After all, I'm more familiar with this primitive forest than all of you. This way is much better than you all going out and searching randomly." Everyone listened to Zǐ Lèi's words and felt that they made sense. Ah, this primitive forest was so vast, and it would be like finding a needle in the ocean for just a few outsiders to go out and search for a snake... So they agreed with Zǐ Lèi's suggestion and decided to stay.

  Heī Niú didn't know what had gotten into him, but he suddenly felt full of energy. For the next few days, he and Hǔ Tóu took on the task of going out to hunt, while Yáng Hào was in charge of organizing and collecting the information they gathered. As for the three women, when they first met, there was a strong sense of tension between them. But after listening to Zǐ Lèi's love story that night, Yún Xuě felt deeply admiring of this woman in front of her, admiring her courage and her persistence.

  Kǎi Ruì still didn't quite understand - if you loved someone, why not just say it? If they had said something earlier, maybe there wouldn't have been this misunderstanding... But her way of thinking was typical of Western ideas, so it was normal that she couldn't understand. Within a couple of days, the three women became inseparable, like sisters.

  As for Zǐ Lèi, perhaps it was because she had been lonely for too long, but with someone to keep her company, a fresh breeze suddenly blew into her heart, and she felt completely renewed. Listening to Yún Xuě's chatter and Kǎi Ruì's open and direct views on love, her face wore a radiant smile.

  But occasionally, she would steal glances at Jí Fēng, because a strange feeling had crept into her heart...