Chapter 154: Xu Genshuo is Xu Boqing?!

The snake demon's consciousness was hazy...
It felt as if it were having a hazy dream...
In the dream, it seemed to see itself at death's door, and its revered master descending upon this realm like an immortal from the heavens...
In the dream, it seemed to hear its revered master gently comforting it by its ear, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid..."
In the dream, it seemed to see its revered master brandish a sword through the void, not only severing the heavenly tribulation but also splitting apart the tribulation clouds in the sky, saving it...
In the dream, it seemed to hear its revered master conversing with someone, smilingly calling it his disciple...
In the dream, it seemed to see itself successfully passing the tribulation, transforming into the body of a flood dragon, and also taking on a human form...
It dreamed of so many, many things...

In the jungle beside the Abyss of Two Realms...
The thick fog gradually thundered away. Old Man Li and the hunters and herbalists in the village gradually saw the path they had come by. After kowtowing in gratitude, they ran out of the jungle with their hunting dogs...
They made up their minds that once they returned, they must warn the younger generation in the village that there were demons in this Abyss of Two Realms!

At the bottom of the Abyss of Two Realms...
Unknowingly, a gentle breeze began to blow, and a fine, misty drizzle started to fall...
The breeze swept past, blowing away specks of charred ash from the pile of coiled cinders;
The fine rain fell, and that pile of cinders was like parched earth encountering sweet nectar...
Water vapor filled the surrounding area...
That pile of cinders was immersed in the mist, just like eggs incubating in a warming room for many days.
That pile of cinders suddenly moved...
Then a crack split open along it.
Immediately after, a tender little paw pushed open the crack, revealing a hornless flood-dragon head that had not yet opened its eyes.
Like a chick breaking out of its shell, a small green flood dragon about a zhang in length crawled out from the pile of cinders...
At this moment, the little green flood dragon seemed to be asleep, with its eyes not even open. It merely swam freely around the water vapor a few times by instinct...
Then it turned into a gleam of spiritual light and landed on the ground, transforming into a bare-skinned, exquisite young woman...
Her skin was like congealed fat, her delicate arms wrapped around her chest, and she was shrouded in surrounding mist, as dreamy and illusory as a fairy tale, making her hard to see clearly...
Specks of fine rain like pearls slid past her delicate face down her neck, some slipping from the valleys, others falling into the hollow of her dainty collarbones to gather into little streams...
Suddenly...
Her eyelashes, stained with a bit of mist, twitched slightly, and she opened her dazed eyes like two small folding fans.
She saw that not only was she not dead, but she had even transformed into a human form, her brows and eyes filled with joy.
Then, seeing that she was stark naked, she instantly covered her mouth in shy modesty and transformed a set of gowns onto herself...

"Her smiling eyes hold a hint of shyness, her crimson lips part as laughter breaks out. What a delightful little girl~"
Looking at the junior who had successfully undergone form transformation, Ao Lan seemed to see her former self, and a sentimental feeling that time spares no dragon inexplicably arose in her heart.

The little snake demon, having just transformed into human form and adapted slightly, snapped back to her senses upon hearing the voice. Seeing the woman in palace attire in the distance, she felt an extraordinary sense of familiarity, and then looked around expectantly once more.
Confirming that there was no one else around except for the woman in palace attire who felt so profoundly familiar, her brows and eyes inevitably took on a few parts of gentleness and grievance...

"How is it?"
Ao Lan smiled slightly upon seeing this, and waved her hand. The water vapor and clouds in the Abyss of Two Realms completely dissipated, and then she teased with a playful tone: "You have shed your mortal shell to be reborn and successfully transformed, yet you seem rather disappointed?"

"No... not at all..."
The snake demon also knew that it would have been absolutely impossible to get through the previous thunder tribulation by herself alone...
And the woman in palace attire before her had just waved her hand, and the surrounding clouds and mist had entirely vanished; her cultivation must undoubtedly be extraordinary.
Moreover, she possessed a special aura that made people feel close, yet carried an extreme dignity that prevented anyone from daring to trespass...
She figured this must be her savior...
"This little demon pays her respects to Senior for saving my life."

She expressed her thanks timidly, and then felt that merely thanking her was not enough, so she wanted to bend her knees in a gesture of profound gratitude. However, before she could kneel down, her body was supported by a wisp of cloud mist...

"The person you should thank is not me..."
Ao Lan chuckled softly, "At most, I can be considered a helper; I didn't expend much effort, so don't thank the wrong person."

"Ah, this..."
Hearing this, the snake demon was slightly stunned. After coming to her senses, she asked expectantly, "May Senior tell this little demon whom she should thank?"

Ao Lan smiled faintly, and asked with an inscrutable air, "Tell me first, whom do you want to thank the most?"

"I..."
Hearing this, the snake demon's heart stirred again. Feeling both timid and apprehensive, yet full of anticipation, she said, "This little demon wants to thank her revered master the most."

"And who is your revered master?"
"..."
"Is it inconvenient to say?"
Ao Lan asked with a half-smile, "Or do you not know your revered master's name?"

"This little demon knows..."
The snake demon felt somewhat conflicted in her heart, but then she remembered that on that day, her revered master had only told her not to let others know about his reincarnation and re-cultivation, and hadn't mentioned anything about his name.
After pondering for a moment, she said with a serious expression, "My revered master's name is Xu Genshuo, and his Daoist title is Chunyangzi..."

"..."
Hearing the name "Xu Genshuo," Ao Lan almost failed to catch her breath. After regaining her composure, she forcefully suppressed her laughter and asked, "Your revered master is named Xu... Xu what??"

"Xu Genshuo..."
Seeing the strange expression on the senior's face upon hearing her revered master's name, the snake demon asked somewhat perplexedly, "Does Senior know my revered master?"

"Xu... Pfft... Hehehehe."
Thinking of her prospective brother-in-law's straight-laced expression, and imagining the scene of him solemnly telling the snake demon that his name was Xu Genshuo, Ao Lan couldn't help but burst out laughing...
"Heh... Xu Genshuo... Daoist title Chunyangzi... Hahaha..."
This alias of "Xu Genshuo" could no longer be described as "vulgar"; even the name of a country bumpkin in the fields might sound better than this.
She covered her mouth with a smile, even thinking that the next time she met her brother-in-law, she must ask him if there was any special meaning behind this alias...

Seeing that the senior before her only cared about laughing upon hearing her revered master's name, the snake demon felt somewhat embarrassed and annoyed.
Her revered master's name was... indeed a bit earthy.
But laughing at a revered master's name right in front of his disciple felt somewhat disrespectful...
With her brows tightly knitted, she said, "Senior, my revered master's name is a bit ordinary, but is it really that funny?"

"Sorry, I just thought of something happy."
Though Ao Lan said she was sorry, her cheeks were still holding back a smile. Then she laughed meaningfully, "The person who blocked the tribulation for you wasn't me, but a person named Xu Boqing."

"Xu... Bo... Qing?"
The snake demon's heart stirred, and she had a lingering feeling that this name had some inexplicable karmic connection to her...

"Originally, I was just bored and came here to watch a junior of my clan undergo her tribulation, and I did indeed intend to step in to help you block the tribulation."
Ao Lan suppressed her smile and explained, "However, before I even had the chance to act, Xu Boqing manifested his form through karma to save you, and he also blocked the thunder tribulation for you and split the tribulation clouds."

"Manifestation through karma... splitting the tribulation clouds!"
The snake demon's breath hitched as she thought to herself, wasn't this scene precisely what she had seen in her dream?
It was just that her revered master had turned into Xu Boqing...
Wait no...
Her revered master was named Xu Genshuo...
And the one who saved her was named Xu Boqing?!

Xu Genshuo?! Xu Boqing?!
Her expression froze, and then, as if thinking of something, she asked with a face full of anticipation, "Senior, why did that Xu Boqing save me?"

"Because you are his disciple..."
Ao Lan gave a charming smile and explained, "Xu Boqing probably isn't very proficient at using his manifested body yet, so it was bound to dissipate after blocking the tribulation for you.
As it happened, he saw me standing nearby, and as it also happened, we know each other—and our relationship is rather complicated—so he entrusted me to take good care of you."

"Disciple... Xu Genshuo is Xu Boqing... Revered Master!"
The snake demon's eyes and brows were filled with smiles. She finally confirmed that the dream she had was not fake!
Her revered master had really come!
And he had truly saved her!
A thin layer of mist welled up in her eyes. Then, reacting as well, she hurriedly bent her knees in a bow of profound gratitude and said, "This little demon pays her respects to Senior for your guidance!"

"This bow, I deserve it..."
This time, Ao Lan did not dodge or stop her from paying respects. She smiled meaningfully, "If we really calculate it, I can be considered your elder."

"El... Elder!?"
The snake demon's breath hitched, and then she remembered the senior before her saying she knew her revered master, and that their relationship was quite complicated. Could there be some blood relation?

"You are Xu Boqing's disciple..."
Ao Lan looked at her with a smile and explained, "And I am Xu Boqing's sister-in-law. Strictly speaking, am I not your elder as well?"

"My revered master's... sister-in-law..."
The snake demon was slightly stunned. After processing it, she quickly performed a junior's bow again, and then beamed with a smile, "No wonder when this little demon saw Senior just now, I felt an extraordinary sense of familiarity, as if I had met family..."

"You are a delightful girl indeed..."
Ao Lan covered her mouth with a light laugh and teased, "If you weren't my brother-in-law's disciple, no matter what, I would have taken you under my tutelage today."

"Hmm~"
The snake demon put on a thoughtful expression, then smiled mischievously, "Since Senior and my revered master are sister-in-law and brother-in-law, you are also my elder."
Her voice paused for a moment, and then she bent her knees and bowed down, speaking with a solemn expression, "If Senior does not disdain me, this little demon is willing to take Senior as her adoptive mother."

"This..."
Ao Lan was momentarily dazed. Looking at the newly transformed young demon before her, she instantly recalled the sister-in-law relationship she had established when she previously encountered Xu Boqing...
At this very moment, the figures of master and disciple seemed to overlap...
She bit the corner of her lip and chuckled, unable to hold back her amusement, "Now I finally understand why Boqing wanted to take you as his disciple; your temperament is exactly the same as his."

"Hmm~ Really!?"
The snake demon's eyes lit up. Although she didn't quite understand the underlying meaning, hearing an elder say that her temperament was like her revered master's filled her heart with involuntary delight, and she smiled shyly, "We are master and disciple, after all."

"Indeed!"
Thinking of what Xu Boqing had said previously: 'Humans and demons are no different,' 'We are all members of all living beings,' 'If it takes a fancy to me, I can take a fancy to it; if it is willing to bow, I am willing to accept, and then this karma is established'—didn't those words perfectly echo this very person and scene?
Moreover, she could also see that this little flood dragon had only cultivated for a little over a hundred years yet had already achieved the body of a flood dragon, and possessed bestowed fortune; in the future, there might even be hope of transforming into a true dragon.
Aside from that rebellious son of hers, she had no daughter...
And this little flood dragon was her brother-in-law Xu Boqing's disciple, so some karma was already established between them. Accepting her as an adoptive daughter now seemed quite fitting...
With her thoughts cleared, she casually waved her hand, and the surrounding clouds gathered together to condense into a chair...
She sat squarely upon it and said with a serious expression, "Although I, Ao Lan, have offspring under my knees, I have no daughters, which I've always considered a regret. Do you have a name?"

"This..."