· A clueless little green snake x a righteous man from a distinguished sect
Legend has it that long ago, just outside Hangzhou, there were two green snakes, Er Qing and Xiao Qing, who called each other sisters.
After floods repeatedly struck Hangzhou, the people built a temple to worship the two snakes, grateful for the snake-handling performers who treated them sincerely and repeatedly rescued the people from danger.
Afterward, the two demons attained immortality and would sometimes send rain to nourish the human world.
A hundred years later, a frail little snake entered the temple and was fortunate enough to receive spiritual guidance. It drew on the energy of heaven and earth to take human form, and was named Qing Ling.
Qing Ling admired the elders who had attained immortality and imitated the folk tales about them:
Whenever there was a drought, she would drink her fill from a stream at night and carry the water to the fields to irrigate them. But her stomach would be half full before she even made it there, and she would hiccup night after night, making the people think there was thunder at night.
Whenever she saw a snake-handling performer, she would stagger toward him and deliberately reveal a thumb-sized red mark between her eyebrows. People would scream in terror that she was a horrifying demon, and she could only hide in the temple and cry her heart out.
The little green snake dreamed of becoming immortal, but she was clumsy, lazy, and vain, which led to all kinds of trouble.
A righteous man from a prominent sect was staying at the Xianlin Temple. Unable to tolerate her any longer, he simply called Qing Ling out. When she saw the bamboo basket behind him, she became incredibly excited, mistaking him for a snake-handling performer. She clung to Yan Yixuan and begged him to teach her how to perform and become immortal.
Yan Yixuan was exceptionally skilled at capturing demons. He had come on orders to capture a troublemaker on the outskirts of Hangzhou.
The elders had often warned him that snake demons were troublesome. Capture them if you must, but don't let them disturb your focus, or your cultivation will stagnate.
To prove her determination to become immortal, Qing Ling showed Yan Yixuan the illustrated manual of the snake sisters' experiences, which had been kept in the temple for years, hoping he would teach her everything he knew.
Yan Yixuan often couldn't bear to look, but still had to respond to her:
"This is a private matter between husband and wife. We're only talking about needlework."
"This is an elegant gathering in a bamboo grove. Would you like some bitter tea, too?"
"We can only do mouth-to-mouth after we marry, but... but we're not at that stage yet."
Qing Ling said, "Then let's get married! That way, we can do mouth-to-mouth, can't we?"
Yan Yixuan: "Ridiculous!" (Half a month later: "Wonderful." Three months later: "You should call me husband.")
Yan Yixuan had looked down on little demons like her, but he never expected that, despite her clumsy attempts, she would strike right at his heart.
When the elder sent word asking when he would return, Yan Yixuan looked at Qing Ling beside him and asked the elder, "Can a little snake be enlightened and become immortal?"
The elder was horrified. Oh no! My star pupil!
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* This story was inspired by Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio's "The Snake Charmer." It branches off into plenty of original ideas, all for the sake of enjoying a tale about a demon who unwittingly charms people x a righteous man who willingly falls from grace.
* Both leads are each other's first and only partners. Happy ending.
* The blurb was screenshotted and finalized on August 10, 2026.
Theme: Cherish the present
