Blossoming Path

The crowd’s joyful murmurs turned into hushed whispers, and the warm smiles I had been receiving moments ago faded into wary stares. It didn’t take long for me to understand why. Windy, though far smaller and less menacing than the serpents that had attacked Qingmu, still bore a striking resemblance to them. His white scales and blue eyes were different, yes, but to the villagers, he was still a spirit beast serpent—a creature they had every reason to fear.

I forced a smile, trying to dispel the growing tension. “Please, everyone, calm down. This is Windy. He’s not like the Wind Serpents that attacked the village. He’s a different species entirely.”

It was a bit of a fib. He was undoubtedly a Wind Serpent, but as listed by the Interface, an aberrant. One clearly influenced by Tianyi's abilities, infusing him with energy since he was just an egg.

The villagers exchanged uncertain glances, their apprehension palpable. I could see the fear in their eyes, the memories of those terrifying days resurfacing. I couldn’t blame them; after all, it wasn’t every day that a snake—especially one resembling a Wind Serpent—showed up in your village.

“He’s harmless,” I continued, my tone as reassuring as I could make it. “Look at him. He’s smaller, his scales are pure white, and his eyes are blue, not red like the ones that attacked the village. He’s not aggressive at all.”

But my words seemed to do little to soothe their fears. The villagers continued to murmur among themselves, their eyes darting between me and Windy. I could hear snippets of their conversations—

“Can we trust him?”

“What if it turns on us?”

“It looks just like them…”