Venerated Venomous Consort

In fact, whenever she was reminded that he was only a little child, she would stop overthinking the matter. She could feel that his palm was getting a little too warm. Gu Xijiu was alert of the possible threats, like the instincts of a woman intimidated by a powerful man.

She was about to take a step forward to get away from his grasp, but that was when he pulled her close by the waist. “Quiet. The snakes are here.”

Gu Xijiu was surprised. It was true that the snakes were here, but why must he pull her close at the waist? Why did the child have to be so touchy?

Gu Xijiu wanted to hit his arm to let her go, but before she could even touch him, he suddenly pulled his arm back. She almost hit herself at the stomach.

Shen Nianmo did not only let her go, but he also took a few steps backward and hid himself behind her protective figure, like a child seeking for protection. “Chongsheng, you have to look after me. I am afraid of snakes.”

Gu Xijiu did not feel quite right. The child sounded like he was trying to flirt.

“If you are afraid of snakes, you should get up there and wait patiently,” Gu Xijiu responded scornfully while eyeing the pearl.

“No, Chongsheng, we shall do this together. You are considered as my junior apprentice, so I cannot possibly leave you behind,” Shen Nianmo answered with a firm determination, as if fearless in the face of death.

“If things go right, I can be your senior apprentice. Never mind, we should talk about this a year from now. It is not the time to talk about these insignificant things. I see that many snakes have approached. Which of them is the desired one?”

Gu Xijiu was speechless. The child was indeed good at playing tricks. He was the one who had brought up the topic of senior and junior apprentices. Now he acted as though Gu Xijiu was pressuring him merely on the insignificant titles.

Determined, she decided not to lower herself to the same level as the child. She turned and fixed her eyes on the pearl instead. A terrifying scene unfolded before her eyes. There was, indeed, an abundance of snakes. There were snakes of different sizes and colors. Some were red, black, and even purple.

The snakes rustled tirelessly on the ground, emerging from many hidden corners of the tunnel. Like flying moths darting into the fire, they slowly moved towards the pearl. In a swarm, the colorful snakes moved in a compact mass. Under the radiance of the pearl, their eyes started to reflect in pale green.

Gu Xijiu could see many small, green eyes shimmering. She was irritated by the repetitive patterns of the snake. The sight of the countless snakes immediately sent a shiver down her spine.

These rarely seen snakes were extremely poisonous. The very poison that was spurted from the snake was enough to kill a celestial being. The air was now also filled with the fishy smell of the snakes.

Gu Xijiu tried to suppress the irritation and focused on the snakes to differentiate them.

“Which one?” Shen Nianmo lowered his head and whispered into her ear.

Gu Xijiu was mildly agitated by his warm breath, so she shifted her head a little. “I have not found it.”

“Why do I get a feeling that you are interested in all these snakes?”

Gu Xijiu did not answer. Truth be told, she was indeed interested in all of them. She was an expert in the use of poisons. Her habit was to study all kinds of poison, so she would definitely be interested in the poisonous snakes. These snakes were the treasured rarities that she would love to collect. However, the snakes were too venomous. She dared not rush into the circle of snakes foolishly and catch them all at once. Perhaps, she should start with the ones at the back.

“If you call me as your senior apprentice, I will catch these snakes for you,” Shen Nianmo offered his help. He was standing very close to her.

Gu Xijiu answered scornfully, “I thought you were afraid of snakes.”

“Hmm. If you can call me as your senior apprentice, I can forget about my fear for a second.”

The child had a smooth tongue.

Gu Xijiu did not take him seriously. She continued to eye on the snakes while thinking of a way to catch them.