"Crack."

"Crack."

"Crack."

In the courtyard, Xiao Mo was continuously chopping firewood.

Under the eaves of the dilapidated wooden house, a small white snake was earnestly watching the eleven-year-old boy.

This was already her third day staying here.

During these three days, this boy named Xiao Mo would catch mice for her to eat every day.

He would change her medicine every day.

The little white snake didn't know why he treated her so well.

She was clearly just a snake.

And he was a human.

Another half month passed.

The little white snake felt her injuries were almost healed.

She bit open the cloth wrapped around her body. The flesh had already regrown, though the scales hadn't fully grown back yet, looking somewhat unsightly but it didn't matter.

The little white snake climbed onto the roof beam and looked toward She Mountain, "Time to go back, otherwise Little Green will worry about me."

However, the little white snake felt she couldn't leave without saying goodbye.

She had to wait for him to return and bid him farewell.

In the evening, the setting sun fell to the horizon, and everything in the world was dyed red by the twilight glow.

A little cowherd boy rode a big black ox, leisurely walking home.

After tying the big black ox outside the door, the little boy walked into the courtyard and shouted, "Little White, I'm back."

The little white snake came down from the roof beam, crawled to Xiao Mo's side, flicked her tongue, then turned around to show him her wound.

"Eh? Your injury is healed?" Seeing Little White's wound, although the scales hadn't fully grown back, it was almost healed.

The little white snake nodded, her head looking toward the distant mountain.

"Do you want to leave?" Xiao Mo felt he understood Little White's meaning.

The little white snake nodded again.

"Alright then." A trace of dejection flashed through Xiao Mo's eyes, then he said in the innocent tone of an eleven-year-old child, "Then go ahead. You must be careful from now on, don't get hurt again."

"Hiss hiss hiss~"

The little white snake flicked her tongue, as if agreeing with Xiao Mo, and crawled out of the courtyard.

Outside the courtyard, the little white snake turned around and looked at the little boy.

Seeing Little White turn around, the little boy waved and shouted, "Little White, don't get hurt again!"

"Hiss hiss."

The little white snake swayed her tail, waving goodbye like a human hand, then burrowed into the grass and disappeared.

"Sigh."

After the little white snake left, Xiao Mo sighed.

How could he help her transform into a dragon?

After this parting, it might be very difficult to meet again.

As for forcibly keeping her, that was even more impossible.

Not to mention that staying beside an ordinary person like himself, what opportunities could she have?

If she wanted to leave but he still forced her to stay, it would only turn this good karma into bad karma.

"Do one's best and leave the rest to fate, that's all I can do."

Xiao Mo collected his thoughts and walked back into the house.

Things being as they were, he should study first.

The village chief was an old scholar who would teach the village children to read and write.

Xiao Mo planned to go see tomorrow.

"Sister!"

After the little white snake returned to the cave in the mountains, a small green snake saw her sister and joyfully crawled over, entwining with her sister.

"Sister, where have you been this past month?" Little Green flicked her tongue, looking at her sister with concern, "Sister searched for you for so long, worried that something had happened to you."

"I went to catch mice some days ago and was targeted by an eagle. I narrowly escaped but got injured. A human saved me," Little White said briefly, "He even gave sister a name."

"A name?" Little Green tilted her head.

"Yes." The little white snake nodded, "He said I was as white as snow, so he named me Bai Ruxue. How does that sound? Someday sister will take you to meet him and let him give you a name too."

"Sister," Little Green said helplessly, "Humans are all bad. People often come up the mountain to catch snakes. Has sister forgotten?"

"But Little Green, I think many things can't be generalized. For example, snakes are different from each other, you're green and I'm white, let alone humans? There are bad people in this world, but there are also good people."

"Hmph!" Little Green turned her head away, "All humans are bad!"

"But he saved me."

"That's still bad!"

"But he saved me."

"Sister..." Little Green angrily slapped her tail on the stone.

"Alright." Little White's tail touched Little Green's tail tip, "Little Green, trust sister, he really is a good person, and he saved sister's life. Sister still needs to repay this kindness."

"But sister, you're a snake, how are you going to repay this kindness?"

"Emmm." The little white snake thought seriously.

Suddenly, the little white snake's eyes lit up, "I've got it."

"Got it?"

"Yes." The little white snake raised her little tail, swaying it like a little girl's finger, "From today onwards, sister will definitely cultivate diligently, strive to transform into human form as soon as possible, and then repay my benefactor."

"You want to study?"

In the small courtyard, old village chief Wang Can looked at Xiao Mo.

On the stone table in the courtyard were the medicinal herbs Wang Can had gathered on the mountain today.

"Yes, village chief." Xiao Mo raised his head, his eyes full of desire for knowledge, "I want to study!"

"You little child, what books do you want to read?"

Just then, the village chief's wife came out.

"What's the use of studying? Look at my old man, he's studied his whole life, isn't he still just a scholar? How much money does he have? My uncle works as a blacksmith in town. Next year I'll send you there as an apprentice. Learn a good trade, and you'll never starve."

"Mother, I want to study too~" A nine-year-old girl joined in beside her mother.

"Go away, girls especially don't need to study. Finding a good family to marry into is the proper thing. In the future, you must never be like mother, marrying a useless sour scholar, understand?"

"Oh." The little girl nodded as if she half-understood.

Xiao Mo and the village chief: "..."

Based on this life's "Xiao Mo's" memories, Xiao Mo knew the village chief's family situation.

The village chief was fifty-three years old, and his wife Chen Hong was ten years younger than him.

The couple had a child in their old age, a daughter named Wang Yan, now nine years old.

Although Aunt Chen always despised the village chief, she had never left him and managed the household in perfect order.

"If you can study, then study. If you can't make it, knowing a few characters is still good."

The village chief sighed and said to Xiao Mo.

"Mo'er, don't listen to your Aunt Chen's nonsense. Starting tomorrow, you can attend classes at the village school. However, the children from our village and the two neighboring villages have all paid money or meat. I can't let you go inside to listen, so you'll just listen from outside. Is that alright?"

Xiao Mo's heart filled with joy, and he quickly said, "Thank you, village chief."

"Hmph, studying, studying, studying will starve a person to death."

Aunt Chen pursed her lips and led her daughter into the house.

"Don't listen to your Aunt Chen's nonsense," the village chief said quietly, "Look, I, the village chief, didn't starve to death, did I?"

"..."

Xiao Mo's eyebrow twitched. He really wanted to say "Without Aunt Chen, you would have starved to death long ago" but Xiao Mo still nodded seriously, "The village chief is right!"