The barrier between time and space loosened once again.

White Lady Bai Su Zhen asked me a question, leaving me unsure how to respond.

Yet she invited me into the Bai residence, poured me a cup of tea, and then asked again:

"Sir, have you truly never heard of 'The Legend of the White Snake'?"

I did not hide the truth, recounting the story I had heard to Bai Su Zhen.

However, Bai Su Zhen furrowed her brow, as if contemplating something.

After a while, Bai Su Zhen spoke slowly:

"Sir, the 'Legend of the White Snake' I know is a different tale.

"Do you know, demons do not dream; if there is a dream, it is a story of past lives.

"In my dream, I heard a story called 'The Legend of the White Snake'.

"The gentleman in the story was not as gentle as portrayed here; he skinned me, extracted my bones, and made them into an oil-paper umbrella."

After saying this, Bai Su Zhen rose from her seat, holding a long sword, and thrust it towards my neck.

I was horrified, unsure how to evade, yet the sword left no mark on my body.

Before touching me, the sword had already decayed beyond use.

As if after five hundred years, it was incapable of harming anyone.

With a slight force from Bai Su Zhen, the sword turned to sand and dispersed with the wind.

She reached out to touch me, her warm palm making me feel our mutual existence.

I shook my head with a bitter smile and said:

"Miss Bai, perhaps it was just a dream."

However, our paths as human and demon diverged; she would not tolerate my words.

She firmly believed demons could not dream and was convinced she would die by my hand.

Yet she could not kill me, only allowing me to leave the Bai residence.

Before departing, she solemnly vowed:

"Xu Xian, I will surely kill you."

Back at the medicine shop, I pondered over the events of the past two days.

It felt like I had returned five hundred years ago, yet with some differences.

The apprentice reminded me that today we had to visit the Golden Mountain Temple.

As Xu Xian, I visited the Golden Mountain Temple daily to pray and offer incense.

However, today's visit to the temple was slightly different from yesterday.

The Golden Mountain Temple was desolate, with only one monk, Fa Hai, inside.

He led me to the Leifeng Pagoda, where a massive spell formation lay at the base.

Fa Hai explained that the Leifeng Pagoda was built to imprison a demon.

The Buddha had revealed that this great demon would bring calamity to the world, hence the construction.

And the name of that demon was—Bai Su Zhen.

Thinking of the oil-paper umbrella under the Leifeng Pagoda, memories of a person with a blurred face resurfaced.

So, I asked Fa Hai:

"Master, must she only be confined here?"

Fa Hai calmly nodded:

"Yes. Humans and demons have different paths; demons are destined to be suppressed."

"Does the benefactor find it difficult?"

I nodded.

After pondering for a moment, Fa Hai added:

"If Bai Su Zhen can overcome her emotional tribulations and gain human emotions, she can ascend to immortality."

As Fa Hai spoke these words, the scenery of the entire Golden Mountain Temple changed.

It reverted to its familiar appearance.

The oil-paper umbrella still stood on the ground, but a voice echoed faintly:

"Are you willing to help me overcome my emotional tribulations?

"If not, destroy the oil-paper umbrella and let me dissipate completely in this world."

At that moment, I understood that the oil-paper umbrella had long possessed a spirit.

Bai Su Zhen's desire to ascend to immortality lingered here.

As I reached out to touch the oil-paper umbrella, a pink snake suddenly appeared before me.

However, she could no longer transform into a human form, appearing weak and unrecognizable.

At that moment, her image in my mind became clear once again.

She was the playful little girl, the mischievous fairy sitting under the Leifeng Pagoda.

She would eat the steamed buns I made and wanted to grow old with me.

With all her strength, she transformed into a human form, then lay in my arms.

She said:

"Little monk, I wanted to grow old with you, but I couldn't.

"When the umbrella moved, my life reached its end.

"You must help me rescue Lady White, that's my only wish, perhaps that's my purpose of existence.

"But little monk, remember, I can't bear to leave you.

"Just like Lady White can't bear to leave Xu Xian, I can't bear to leave you."

She gradually became ethereal, eventually merging completely into the oil-paper umbrella.

She was Bai Su Zhen, the soul that had escaped before the umbrella was inserted here.

This remnant soul had limited time in the world, hence she merged with the umbrella.

And she conveyed her final wish to me.

I sat there in a daze for a long time, trying to catch a glimpse of the fairy in the Leifeng Pagoda.

Yet she had truly vanished, as if she had never existed in this world.

After much contemplation, I gently touched the oil-paper umbrella and nodded:

"I am willing."