Reborn as a Snake: Forging a Demon Court Starting from a Black Python

Chapter 43 Dragon Boat Festival

"Junior brothers, are you all ready?"

Fahai was not idle at Jinshan Temple either.

In the past few days, he appeared to be sitting peacefully in the temple, not causing trouble for Lin Xuan, but he was not idle in secret.

Every night, the temple's warrior monks would be sent out to conduct continuous activities.

Upon hearing Fahai's words, a martial monk hurriedly cupped his hands and said:

"Don't worry, senior brother, I've made all the arrangements."

"The owner of the biggest pharmacy in town does indeed have some connection with Lin Xuan. We can use some methods to make him our tool!"

Another monk also bowed and said:

"That's right! Moreover, Lin Xuan has also revealed a flaw these past few days, actually trying to treat critically ill people by buying medicine from outside all day long."

"When the shopkeeper comes to the Lin residence, we just need to mix in some realgar, and then we can legitimately deliver it!"

"Even if those two snake demons discover it, they can't say anything. The Dragon Boat Festival is just around the corner, and people are supposed to drink realgar wine."

Fahai smiled and nodded with satisfaction.

"Good! Good! As long as those two snake demons drink the realgar wine, even if they don't reveal their true forms, their strength will be greatly reduced!"

"No matter what, that will be a good opportunity for me to subdue the demon!"

It turns out that Fahai was also somewhat wary of Bai Suzhen's strength, which is why he came up with this plan.

Bai Suzhen revealing her true form might not matter to others, who might just treat it as a spectacle, but Fahai believed that Lin Xuan would absolutely not accept it.

A perfectly good wife suddenly turns into a worm. Who could stand that?

Lin Xuan will definitely be dissatisfied! And once Lin Xuan breaks up with Bai Suzhen, it will be the same as finding Bai Suzhen's weakness.

If Bai Suzhen's true form could simply scare Lin Xuan to death, Bai Suzhen would feel even more guilty and reveal even greater flaws.

Even if Bai Suzhen was truly powerful, and didn't reveal her true form directly, thus preventing Lin Xuan from discovering the truth, Fahai still wouldn't have lost out.

All things in the universe are mutually generative and mutually destructive.

While realgar may be just a medicinal ingredient for ordinary people, it is a poison to snake demons.

When Bai Suzhen's magical power is greatly reduced, Fahai can take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

"Although doing this is somewhat unfair to Lin Xuan, he brought it on himself! Since ancient times, how can the fight against demons and monsters be done without sacrifice?"

"Besides, he's ungrateful and actively protected the snake demon, which already constitutes a mistake!"

Fahai narrowed his eyes, shouted a few Buddhist chants, and recited a passage from the Rebirth Sutra for Lin Xuan before opening his eyes and saying:

"In that case, you should all make your own preparations. Everything will commence on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival!"

The monks in front of him were puzzled, wondering why their senior brother Fahai was performing a ritual for someone's soul.

But they dared not ask any further questions, and said in unison, "We obey!"

Time flies, and the Dragon Boat Festival is here in the blink of an eye.

In fact, Lin Xuan had only been in Hangzhou for a little over two months.

However, his fame had already spread far and wide.

Not only within Hangzhou city, but also within a radius of hundreds of miles, everyone knew that Hangzhou had produced a philanthropic young master named Lin.

When they heard that Lin Xuan was going to hold a banquet on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, they couldn't sit still any longer and came over to freeload.

Lin Xuan welcomed all who came and opened the gates of his mansion wide.

Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing stood on the rooftop, watching the guests file in, their expressions somewhat complicated.

Xiaoqing said, "Sister, isn't it a bit inappropriate for brother-in-law to let so many people into the mansion?"

As long as she doesn't encounter Lin Xuan and doesn't get angry, Xiao Qing's intelligence returns to normal, and she can see the risks involved.

Jinshan Temple not only has bald monks, but also lay disciples who practice with their hair intact.

If a lay disciple were to sneak in and cause trouble, that would be a problem.

Bai Suzhen was also somewhat worried, but she said:

"After all, this is my husband's idea, and I can't go against it. We just need to be more careful."

"No matter how much they try to hide it, those bald monks still have a certain smell. If we keep our eyes open, we can still spot the clues."

Xiaoqing could only nod upon hearing this, and began to eagerly observe the guests coming and going.

What they didn't know was that Fahai wasn't that stupid; he didn't use the people from Jinshan Temple at all, but instead used other people's hands.

Amidst the crowd, the pharmacy owner, beaming with pride, strode into the Lin residence.

He's really struck it rich these past few days.

Although Lin Xuan initially entered his shop saying he wanted to buy a ginseng root, he ultimately didn't actually buy it.

However, for the pharmacy owner, Lin Xuan remained his most important customer.

Simply put, Lin Xuan needed to treat so many patients, which required herbs, so these businesses all fell to his "old friend".

If this continues, it won't be long before he can take a step further and directly take over the pharmacy, becoming not only the manager but also the boss.

The shopkeeper was naturally happy; when good things happen, one is in high spirits and walks with great strides.

Many people, upon seeing the pharmacy owner and knowing the inside story, bowed and greeted him respectfully.

"You've arrived?"

The pharmacy owner smiled and returned the gift.

His entry into the mansion did not attract any extra attention.

Even the servants in the Lin family mansion were already very familiar with him and didn't treat him like an outsider.

The pharmacy owner originally intended to go directly to Lin Xuan and say a few auspicious words, but halfway there, he suddenly seemed to be possessed, standing still and muttering to himself.

"By the way, today is the Dragon Boat Festival, we should drink realgar wine."

"I wonder if Young Master Lin has any... If not, that's alright, I brought some top-quality realgar. Where is the Lin family's wine cellar again?"

After the pharmacy owner finished speaking, as if he had received a mission, he made a round of the Lin residence, went to the back kitchen, and found a jar of fine wine.

He then pulled out a paper packet from his pocket and threw it directly into the wine jar.

The paper packet, made of some unknown material, dissolved upon contact with the alcohol, releasing the yellow powder inside which then dissolved in the liquor.

The pharmacy owner kept a close eye on the changes in the wine until all the powder had completely dissolved and there was no sign of anything unusual. Only then did he pick up the wine jar again and go to find Lin Xuan.

This time, many people noticed something was wrong. Why was the pharmacy owner holding a jar of wine for no reason?

Someone approached and asked, but the pharmacy owner did not answer.

It wasn't until he saw Lin Xuan that he seemed to come back to his senses, staring blankly at the wine jar in his arms, wondering why he was carrying this thing.

Lin Xuan had noticed something was wrong with the pharmacy owner long ago and immediately realized that this was the work of that bald monk Fahai.

Above the pharmacy owner's head, a bright purple status indicator was displayed.

【Charming! 】

This target is being manipulated!

Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes, not exposing the truth, but instead beckoning a servant to ask:

"How are the patients in the backyard doing now?"

The servant hurriedly said:

"Reporting back to the young master, most of the patients are doing well and have improved. There is only one patient who is truly beyond saving and is being kept alive by force."

"If it weren't for the holiday today, we would have stopped his medication long ago."

Lin Xuan smiled slightly and said, "Forget it, if the King of Hell wants someone dead at midnight, who dares to keep him alive until dawn? Stop his medication."

That's absurd. If Lin Xuanzhen thinks like that, then why bother saving those patients?

Besides, it's such a big holiday, and they're sending away a dead person, that's just too unlucky.

The servant wanted to persuade him further, but seeing that Lin Xuan's mind was made up, he could only nod and say, "I will do as you say."

But after he left, he shook his head and swayed.

"Sigh, the young master is really strange. One minute he says he wants to save people, and the next he says he won't. I really don't understand him."

"I've heard that after someone dies, Ox-Head and Horse-Face come to steal their soul. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, I wonder if Ox-Head and Horse-Face take a break..."

The servant kept muttering to himself the whole way.

On the other side, after sending his servants out, Lin Xuan summoned Bai Suzhen over.

Lin Xuan knew very well that although Fahai had not come in person, he must be hiding not far away, checking on his family's situation.

If Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing do not drink the realgar wine, Fahai will give up and wait for another opportunity.

Lin Xuan didn't want to wait any longer. He had already set up his stage, and it would be a waste if Fahai, the main character, didn't show up.

"Husband, why did you call me here?" Bai Suzhen walked over slowly, her demeanor graceful and elegant. You couldn't tell that she was a snake demon at all; instead, she looked like a lady from a noble family.

When the guests at the Lin residence saw this, they all secretly sighed, thinking how lucky Lin Xuan was.

Lin Xuan beckoned to Bai Suzhen and said to her:

"My lady, I asked you to meet Manager Wang. You may not know, but he was the first friend I made in Hangzhou."

Upon hearing Lin Xuan's words, the pharmacy owner excitedly puffed out his chest, never expecting Lin Xuan to think so highly of him.

Bai Suzhen was puzzled. She glanced at the pharmacy owner and said, "I see. Then I should indeed come and see him."

"My husband, you've been mentioning this Manager Wang to me all along. I never imagined it was him!"

In fact, Lin Xuan never mentioned this matter. It was Bai Suzhen who didn't want Lin Xuan to lose face, so she deliberately covered it up.

The shopkeeper hurriedly waved his hand: "Madam, you're joking. I met our young master Lin by chance."

Lin Xuan watched them gossip for a moment before finally realizing what they meant.

"Oh dear, I almost forgot about that! I told you to go find some wine, but you brought it yourself!"

He pointed to the wine jar in the shopkeeper's hand and said, "It's our own wine, and we're really sorry to trouble you, our guest, to bring it here."

As he spoke, Lin Xuan took the wine jar from the shopkeeper, poured three bowls of wine, gave one to the shopkeeper, and handed one to Bai Suzhen, saying:

"My wife, let us drink this wine together."

Bai Suzhen frowned slightly, as if she had just remembered something.

She didn't know about the custom of drinking realgar wine during the Dragon Boat Festival before, but she'd heard about it recently.

She had no intention of taking realgar.

But Bai Suzhen thought again and realized that, judging from her husband's words, the wine belonged to the Lin family.

He had already ordered Xiaoqing's demons to clean up his house and throw away everything related to realgar.

Then there's no problem with the wine.

Thinking of this, Bai Suzhen no longer hesitated, picked up the wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

Several hundred meters away, atop a pavilion, Fahai witnessed this scene, his eyes gleaming with excitement, and he burst into laughter:

"That snake demon really fell for the trap!"