Chapter 039: Prequel World

Xiaoqing said, “Xiaobai likes…”

“How dare you, green snake, bewitch an innocent in broad daylight.”

Before Xiaoqing could finish, a roar came from the side of the street, like a Buddha’s bellow, the sound of Zen vibrating. An invisible wave of sound swept over Wang Bo and Xiaoqing.

Wang Bo felt nothing, but Xiaoqing’s face turned pale, and a trace of blood involuntarily seeped from the corner of her mouth; her internal organs had clearly been attacked by the Zen sound.

Wang Bo quickly caught the swaying Xiaoqing, holding her in his arms. He took a Horse Talisman from his four-dimensional pocket and placed it in Xiaoqing’s hand, letting the talisman heal her injuries.

At the same time, he abruptly turned his head and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a monk in a kasaya, holding a tin staff in his left hand and an alms bowl in his right, striding toward him.

No, to be precise, striding toward Xiaoqing.

Because the monk’s steps were firm, and his eyes were fixed on Xiaoqing.

The monk was about forty or fifty years old, but his skin was smoother than a baby’s. His fingers were broad, his eyes shimmered with divine light, and every step he took was vigorous and spirited.

His aura was deep; his strength was certainly not low.

That roar just now had been heard clearly throughout the street, the Zen sound vibrating, but aside from Xiaoqing, no one was injured. Such skill was not something an ordinary monk could achieve.

The monk walked up to Wang Bo, and his nine-ring tin staff struck the ground, producing a jingling sound that radiated outward. Between the sounds, Wang Bo seemed to hear a Buddha’s chant.

This was clearly not an ordinary weapon but a very powerful magical artifact.

Wang Bo hadn’t expected that going out today without checking the almanac would lead him to encounter a formidable monk. But that was no excuse for the monk injuring his people.

“Monk, do you know you’ve hurt my person?” Wang Bo said coldly.

The monk did not get angry. He said softly, “Benefactor, do you know that the woman in your arms is a demon? If you trust me, hand this demon over to me, and I will make her reveal her true form.”

Wang Bo sneered and retorted, “Monk, I won’t bully you. If you hand over this nine-ring staff and alms bowl as compensation today, I’ll let you leave politely. How about that?”

The monk was taken aback and recited a Buddhist invocation, “Amitabha. It seems the benefactor has been bewitched by this demon and can no longer distinguish right from wrong. Please wait a moment; after I subdue this green snake, I will lift the bewitchment spell for you.”

With that, his gaze turned to Xiaoqing, and he said bluntly, “Green snake, where is your sister Bai Suzhen? Hurry up and…”

“Wait, what did you say?” Wang Bo interrupted the monk, looking bewildered.

The monk said, “This demon is a green snake spirit named Xiaoqing. She has an older sister, a white snake named Bai Suzhen. Judging by your expression, benefactor, you must know this white snake. Yes, these two snake spirits are always together. If you know, please tell me where Bai Suzhen is.”

The monk said earnestly, “Compared to this green snake, Bai Suzhen is the real scourge.”

Wang Bo ignored the monk entirely, looking down at Xiaoqing in his arms. “Xiaobai isn’t called Xiaobai, but Bai Suzhen?”

Xiaoqing said, “My sister is called Xiaobai, not Bai Suzhen. Stinky monk, you’ve mistaken us for someone else.”

The monk sneered, “I have fought with you two snake spirits for years; how could I mistake you?”

“We don’t know you at all,” Xiaoqing said, finding the monk unreasonable.

But Wang Bo seemed to understand something. He stared at the monk and said, “Monk, what is your name?”

“My Dharma name is Fahai!”

Wang Bo couldn’t help but laugh. “So that’s it. So that’s how it is. I understand. I finally understand what’s going on.”

He looked at Fahai, his eyes flickering a few times, and said with a smile, “As the saying goes, ‘You can search high and low but find nothing, yet get it without any effort.’”

From the beginning, Xiaobai and Xiaoqing had given Wang Bo a strong sense of déjà vu.

Xiaobai was Bai Suzhen, and Xiaoqing was Qin Biqing.

But Wang Bo always thought it was just déjà vu, because he had watched too much of the Legend of the White Snake. Besides, the two had the same master, and Xiaobai’s master was not Li Shan Laomu but a snake demon, so Wang Bo always thought he was overthinking.

But now Fahai’s appearance proved one thing.

That Xiaobai was indeed Bai Suzhen, and Xiaoqing was indeed Qin Biqing.

It was just that they didn’t go by those names yet.

The main reason was that it was now the late Tang Dynasty.

And the Legend of the White Snake begins in the Song Dynasty.

That is to say, there were still several hundred years before the official start of the Legend of the White Snake.

And Xiaobai and Xiaoqing were just two little demons who had only been cultivating for a few decades at most, so they hadn’t yet given themselves proper names.

Perhaps in a few decades or centuries, they would take the names Bai Suzhen and Qin Biqing.

He had clearly traveled too early and entered the world of the prequel to the Legend of the White Snake.

Moreover, this world might not be the orthodox Legend of the White Snake but a parallel world, so Xiaobai’s master was not Li Shan Laomu but a snake demon.

That was why Wang Bo had never been sure what world this was.

But now he knew.

As for Fahai, that guy was clearly a time traveler, perhaps from a few hundred years later, or from another world of the Legend of the White Snake.

Anyway, he had come to the prequel world, seen the white and green snakes who had just started cultivating, and developed the intent to kill, wanting to subdue them early.

Wang Bo remembered that when he met Xiaobai the second time, she had clashed with a monk.

Now it seemed that the one who clashed with the monk was definitely this Fahai.

Fahai looked at Wang Bo, and a strong unease suddenly filled his heart. Especially Wang Bo’s words, “You can search high and low but find nothing, yet get it without any effort,” raised Fahai’s unease to its peak.

He forcibly suppressed his inner agitation and looked at Wang Bo with confusion. “Benefactor, why do you say that?”

Wang Bo said with a grin, “How does it feel to come from the Great Song to the Great Tang, Master Fahai?”

Fahai was startled. “How do you know?”

Wang Bo laughed loudly, raised his hand, and grabbed at Fahai. “So it is you. Come here, Fahai!!!”

This guy was related to Wang Bo’s lottery draw, so Wang Bo naturally couldn’t let him escape. He immediately intended to catch him.

At the same time, Wang Bo once again counted his blessings for his luck.