Upon hearing the snake demon's words, Lu Chun was suddenly reminded of the past. Wang Jingxuan had always loathed snakes. When she brought back the little snake, he was extremely displeased and repeatedly demanded that she discard it.
It was freezing cold at that time. Lu Chun couldn't bear to let the little snake die, so she insisted on keeping it.
However, one day, Wang Jingxuan's attitude suddenly changed. He began to care for the little black snake meticulously, even more so than she did!
At that time, Lu Chun was deeply gratified, thinking that Wang Jingxuan had changed out of love for her. But now, looking back carefully, she realized that beneath this change lurked such a dirty conspiracy and careful calculation!
"His appetite grew bigger and bigger," the snake demon gave Lu Chun a deep look. Its golden vertical pupils were filled with a bit of helplessness. "Although I'm a demon, I can't act recklessly against the Heavenly Dao. So when he asked me to conjure up more wealth again, I refused. Unexpectedly..." Its voice grew low, filled with suppressed pain. "He pierced my vital part with several chains, confining my weak body! When I struggled and bit his wrist, I only received even worse abuse!"
Everyone looked at the flesh - turned - out wound on his arm and felt a chill run down their spines.
"I was forced to agree. But I told him that if he kept making such demands, he would surely suffer the backlash of the Heavenly Dao! Moreover, my demonic power hadn't fully recovered. I could only help him fulfill three more wishes at most, and these wishes couldn't be evil or disrupt the balance of the Heavenly Dao!"
"Then on that day, Wang Jingxuan took me away from the teahouse and completely imprisoned me!"
Hearing this, Shen Cuiyu and the others felt a sense of revulsion. They thought that some people could be more terrifying than demons when they did evil!
Hearing this, Lu Chun's heart skipped a beat. A sense of foreboding hung over her like a dark cloud.
Her voice trembled slightly. "What... wishes did he ask you for?"
The snake demon was silent for a moment and then said softly, "His first wish was to help him gain the favor of a noble person."
Shen Cuiyu thought for a moment. "So, what Wang Jingxuan said before about'saving the prince and winning his favor' was actually your doing?"
The snake demon nodded, but Lu Chun looked a bit dazed.
She and Wang Jingxuan had been a young couple. No one in the world knew Wang Jingxuan better than she did. He was smart, but too impatient and over - confident.
Although the Lu family wasn't extremely wealthy, thanks to Lu Yu's painstaking management of the teahouse over the years, the siblings lived a fairly comfortable life in the county town. There had been many suitors for Lu Chun back then, but she was infatuated with Wang Jingxuan and only wanted to marry him.
Wang Jingxuan's father had died early, and his mother wasn't in good health. He also had to study, so his family was extremely poor. To put it bluntly, his family was so poor that there was nothing but the four walls.
At first, Lu Yu didn't like Wang Jingxuan very much. He had studied for a few years but wasn't very proficient. He hadn't passed any imperial examinations. And because of his studies, he didn't often do farm work and was weak.
But since his sister liked Wang Jingxuan, he had no choice but to agree. Lu Yu was afraid that his sister would live a hard life, so he prepared a generous dowry, hoping that the couple could use it as capital to run a small business. But Wang Jingxuan was always too eager for success. Many businesses had just started, and when he saw no results, he would switch to other ones. After all the折腾, he not only didn't earn any money but also lost most of the capital.
Lu Chun had once quarreled with him because of this. In the end, Lu Yu couldn't stand it anymore and asked Wang Jingxuan to come to the teahouse to help with the accounts. It was a job as a bookkeeper.
But Wang Jingxuan seemed a bit unhappy. He repeatedly said, intentionally or unintentionally, that he felt like a son - in - law now and would surely be laughed at. If he could gain the favor of a noble person, he would surely rise to prominence.
Lu Chun didn't take it seriously at that time. Now, thinking about it, the estrangement between them might have started from then... He attributed his repeated failures to the lack of someone to appreciate him. So it wasn't surprising that he made this wish.
Shen Cuiyu then asked, "What were his other two wishes?"
The snake demon's gaze never left Lu Chun's face for a moment. Its golden vertical pupils were filled with complex emotions. It clearly and deliberately revealed this cruel truth in front of Lu Chun:
"He asked me to help him marry the county princess."
Hearing this, everyone thought, as expected.
Wang Jingxuan's greed was boundless. Although he had successfully entered the prince's mansion as a staff member and had a salary and status that many people envied, he was still not satisfied.
Just then, the prince was choosing a husband for his coming - of - age daughter, the county princess. So Wang Jingxuan had an idea!
Lu Chun's face was extremely pale at this moment. She stood there in a daze, constantly recalling Wang Jingxuan's happy expression when he mentioned the county princess during the day. Her heart ached uncontrollably.
Why was the first thing Wang Jingxuan did after becoming rich to abandon her...
The snake demon keenly sensed Lu Chun's pain and quickly explained, "I refused his wish. Manipulating people's likes and dislikes is beyond my ability, especially for a noble county princess. But Wang Jingxuan didn't seem to give up. Instead, he ordered me to use my demonic power to spy on the county princess's preferences in an attempt to curry favor with her."
It paused for a moment and then continued, "As for the third wish, Wang Jingxuan hasn't made it yet."
Pei Yu, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke. His voice was as cold and clear as the sound of jade colliding. "Wang Jingxuan is extremely shrewd. He naturally wouldn't divorce his wife on his own initiative. Instead, he planned to win the county princess's favor first and then use the prince's power to pressure the Lu family. The county princess is of noble status. How could she be on an equal footing with you?"
The snake demon also said, "I can't take back the super strength I gave to Wang Jingxuan for the time being. I'm afraid that if I leave rashly, he will threaten me to appear again with Lu Chun as a hostage..."
Dongfang Xiao scratched his head. "What should we do now?"
"Wang Jingxuan took many things that didn't belong to him from the snake demon through coercion and other means. He went against the Heavenly Dao, so he has to return them one by one," Zhong Shengwan said calmly.
Shen Cuiyu stepped forward and carefully examined the chains on the snake demon for a moment. It was true that the chains had penetrated its vital part. But there was no trace of spiritual power on the chains. Could it really not break free from the shackles of a mortal?
But looking at the weak appearance of the snake demon, it didn't seem to be fake. So she took out a bright yellow talisman paper from her bosom and said to the snake demon,
"I need a trace of your demonic power."
Demons are naturally suspicious, and snakes are no exception. So the snake demon frowned and didn't give it immediately. Almost instinctively, it looked at Lu Chun.
Lu Chun thought that it trusted her because she had taken care of the little snake for a long time. So she quickly nodded and said,
"You can trust Master Shen. She will rescue you..."
Before she finished speaking, the snake demon had already stretched out its hand and offered a trace of its demonic power on the talisman paper. Then it turned its eyes to Lu Chun, with undisguised trust in its eyes.
Perhaps the look was too intense. Lu Chun felt a bit embarrassed. She coughed lightly and shifted her gaze...