The talented young herbalist named Xu Xian was in trouble. It should have been a victorious moment– he had just opened his very own medicine shop. But he bought his supplies from his former employer, and the resentful man sold him rotten herbs.
Penjual jamu yang berbakat bernama Xu Xian sedang dalam masalah. Seharusnya ini adalah momen yang bahagia- ia baru saja mulai membuka toko obatnya sendiri. Namun ia membeli bahan-bahannya dari mantan majikannya, dan pria tamak itu menjual tanaman obat busuk.
As Xu Xian wondered what to do with this useless inventory, patients flooded into his shop. A plague had stricken the city, and he had nothing to treat them. Just as he was starting to panic, his wife, Bai Su Zhen, produced a recipe to use the rotten herbs as medicine. Her remedy cured all the plague-afflicted citizens immediately. Xu Xian’s former boss even had to buy back some of the rotten herbs to treat his own family.
Sementara Xu Xian berpikir harus diapakan barang-barang ini, pasien berdatangan ke tokonya. Wabah menjangkiti kota, dan ia tidak punya apapun untuk mengobati mereka. Saat ia mulai panik, istrinya, Bai Su Zhen, membuat resep menggunakan tanaman busuk sebagai obat. Obatnya seketika menyembuhkan semua warga yang terjangkiti wabah. Bahkan mantan majikan Xu Xian sampai membeli kembali tanaman obat busuk untuk mengobati keluarganya.
Shortly after, a monk named Fa Hai approached Xu Xian, warning him that there was a demon in his house. The demon, he said, was Bai Su Zhen. Xu Xian laughed. His kindhearted, resourceful wife was not a demon.
Tak lama kemudian, seorang pendeta bernama Fa Hai menghampiri Xu Xian, memperingatkannya bahwa ada siluman di dalam rumahnya. Siluman itu, katanya, adalah Bai Su Zhen. Xu Xian tertawa. Istrinya yang baik hati dan banyak akal bukan siluman.
Fa Hai insisted. He told Xu Xian to serve his wife realgar wine on the 5th day of the 5th month, when demons’ powers are weakest. If she wasn’t a demon, he explained, it wouldn’t hurt her.
Fa Hai bersikeras. Ia menyuruh Xu Xian meminumkan anggur realgar di hari kelima di bulan kelima, saat siluman dalam keadaan terlemahnya. Jika ia bukan siluman, jelasnya, ini tidak akan menyakitinya.
Xu Xian dismissed the monk politely, with no intention of serving Bai Su Zhen the wine. But as the day approached, he decided to try it.
Xu Xian mengabaikan si pendeta dengan sopan, tanpa bermaksud menyajikan anggur itu pada Bai Su Zhen. Namun dengan berlalunya hari, ia memutuskan untuk mencobanya.
As soon as the wine touched Bai Su Zhen’s lips, she ran to the bedroom, claiming she wasn’t feeling well. Xu Xian prepared some medicine and went to check on her. But instead of his wife, he found a giant white serpent with a bloody forked tongue in the bed. He collapsed, killed by the shock.
Segera saat anggur itu menyentuh bibir Bai Su Zhen. ia lari ke kamar, berkata ia sedang tidak enak badan. Xu Xian menyiapkan obat dan pergi melihat keadaannya. Namun alih-alih istrinya, ia melihat ular raksasa dengan lidah merah bercabang di atas tempat tidur. Ia jatuh, saking terkejutnya ia mati.
When Bai Su Zhen opened her eyes, she realized immediately what must have happened. The truth was that Bai Su Zhen was an immortal snake with formidable magical powers. She had used her powers to take a human form and improve her and her husband’s fortunes.
Ketika Bai Su Zhen membuka matanya, sadarlah ia akan apa yang telah terjadi. Yang sebenarnya adalah, Bai Su Zhen adalah ular abadi dengan kekuatan gaib yang sakti. Ia menggunakan kekuatannya untuk menjadi manusia dan memperbaiki keberuntungannya dan suaminya.
Her magic couldn’t revive Xu Xian, but she had one more idea to save him: an herb that could grant longevity and even bring the dead back to life, guarded by the Old Man of the South Pole in the forbidden peaks of the Kun Lun Mountains. She rode to the mountains on a cloud, then continued on foot passed gateways and arches until she reached one marked “beyond mortals” hanging over a silver bridge.
Kekuatannya tidak bisa menghidupkan Xu Xian, tapi ia punya satu ide lagi untuk menyelamatkannya: tanaman obat yang memberikan umur panjang dan bahkan membangkitkan orang mati, dijaga oleh Orang Tua di Kutub Selatan di puncak terlarang di Pegunungan Kun Lun. Ia mendaki gunung dengan menunggang awan, lalu lanjut berjalan kaki melewati gerbang dan gapura hingga sampailah ia di tempat bertanda "untuk yang abadi" tergantung di atas jembatan perak.
On the other side, two of the Old Man’s disciples guarded the herb. Bai Su Zhen disguised herself as a monk and told them she’d come to invite the Old Man to a gathering of the gods. While they relayed her message, she plucked some leaves from the herb and ran.
Di sisi lain, dua dari murid Orang Tua menjaga tanaman obat itu. Bai Su Zhen menyamar menjadi pendeta dan berkata pada mereka ia mengundang Orang Tua ke perkumpulan para dewa. Saat pesannya sedang disampaikan, ia memetik beberapa helai daun tanaman obat dan lari.
The servants realized they had been tricked and chased her. Bai Su Zhen coughed up a magic ball and threw it at one. As the other closed in on her, she put the herb under her tongue for safekeeping, but its magic forced both of them into their true forms. As the crane’s long beak clamped around her, the Old Man appeared. Why, he asked, would she risk her life to steal his herb when she was already immortal?
Para penjaga sadar mereka ditipu dan mengejarnya. Bai Su Zhen memuntahkan bola ajaib dan melempar seorang pengejar. Sementara yang satunya semakin mendekat, ia meletakkan tanaman obat itu di bawah lidahnya agar aman. namun kekuatan tanaman itu memaksa mereka kembali ke wujud asal mereka. Saat paruh panjang burung bangau mencapit tubuhnya, Orang Tua itu muncul. Mengapa, tanyanya, ia mau mengorbankan nyawa mencuri tanaman obat sementara ia sendiri sudah abadi?
Bai Su Zhen explained her love for Xu Xian. Even if he didn’t want to be with her now that he knew she was a demon, she was determined to bring him back to life. The two had a karmic connection dating back more than a thousand years. When Bai Su Zhen was a small snake, a beggar was about to kill her, but a kind passerby rescued her. Her rescuer was Xu Xian in a past life. Touched by her willingness to risk her life for him, the Old Man permitted her to leave the mountain with the immortal herb.
Bai Su Zhen menjelaskan rasa cintanya pada Xu Xian. Bahkan jika ia tidak lagi mau bersamanya karena tahu dirinya siluman, ia bertekad untuk menghidupkannya kembali. Keduanya memiliki hubungan karma sejak lebih dari ribuan tahun. Ketika Bai Su Zhen masih seekor ular kecil, seorang gelandangan hendak membunuhnya, namun pejalan kaki yang baik menyelamatkannya. Penyelamatnya itu adalah Xu Xian di kehidupan sebelumnya. Tersentuh oleh kerelaannya berkorban nyawa demi suaminya, si Orang Tua itu mengizinkannya pergi dengan tanaman keabadian.
Bai Su Zhen returned home to revive Xu Xian. When he opened his eyes, the terrified look frozen on his face became a smile. Demon or not, he was still happy to see his wife.
Bai Su Zhen pulang ke rumah untuk membangkitkan Xu Xian. Saat ia membuka matanya, ekspresi ketakutan di wajahnya berubah menjadi senyum. Siluman atau bukan, ia tetap bahagia bertemu istrinya.