Invincible Snake Emperor-Chapter 128 - 126: Peacock Pecking Rice

"Wow, this chicken isn't just pretty, it's smart too!"

Wen Qiu stroked the Peacock's magnificent feathers, full of praise. The texture was incredibly pleasant.

Tu Xiaoyue giggled and explained, "Mom, that's a Peacock. It's a bird, not a chicken."

The Azure Owl was about to cough up blood. 'I'm the King of Hundred Birds, and you're treating me like a chicken?'

"It's a bird?" Wen Qiu asked doubtfully. "Birds can get that big?"

In the mind of a rural woman like Wen Qiu, birds were small creatures like sparrows, swallows, pigeons, and magpies. When had she ever seen a Peacock bigger than a chicken, one whose tail could fan out so breathtakingly?

"Since it's a bird, what should we feed it?"

Wen Qiu clearly adored the beautiful animal before her and couldn't seem to get enough of it.

Tu Xiaoyue shrugged. It was her first time seeing a Peacock too. She glanced at the Gold and Silver Snake on her shoulder. With their mom around, the girl and the snake couldn't communicate directly.

Seeing how well-behaved and intelligent the Peacock was, Wen Qiu couldn't bear the thought of it going hungry. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she turned and went into the inner room.

A moment later, she came back out with a handful of rice, which she scattered all over the ground for the Peacock.

Tu Xiaoyue froze for a second, then burst out laughing. "Mom, my dear mother, I already told you it's a bird, not a chicken! Why are you feeding it rice?"

"Birds eat grains too," Wen Qiu said with a smile. "Back when we used to dry rice paddies on the ground, the sparrows were always stealing some."

Tu Xiaoyue tried to explain again, "Mom, this is a Peacock, not some ordinary bird. It's known as the King of Hundred..." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Before she could finish, she stared blankly. The proud Peacock was already pecking at the rice on the ground like a common chicken, and it even seemed to be enjoying it.

Wen Qiu looked at Xiaoyue and said smugly, "See, sweetie? Your mom's eaten more salt than you've eaten rice."

Tu Xiaoyue was speechless. 'So much for being noble and extraordinary.'

They say a Phoenix that has landed is worth less than a chicken. In her house, a grounded Peacock was being raised like one.

Neither the mother nor daughter noticed that as the Azure Owl pecked at the rice, its bright eyes were welling up with tears. The only reason it was willing to eat the rice was because of Tu Xiao'an's threat: 'If you make my mom unhappy, I'll cook you.'

'How could I dare not eat the rice she scattered? What if she gets upset?'

Seeing this, Tu Xiao'an was secretly laughing so hard he almost slid off his sister's shoulder.

He knew, of course, that the Azure Owl wasn't willingly eating rice because it liked it, but was just swallowing its pride to get by.

Just imagine: on She Mountain, this bird was majestic, plucking out a venomous snake's gallbladder with a single peck and swallowing it down. How domineering was that, eating Snake Gallbladders for a snack?

Now, it had been reduced to eating rice. The contrast was just too great.

Just as the Azure Owl, holding back tears, had finally pecked up most of the rice, Wen Qiu chimed in, "This Peacock is big. This little bit of rice definitely isn't enough. I'll go get some more."

Azure Owl: "..."

It despaired.

Having the Peacock around the house brought a bit more laughter and joy. After all, there probably wasn't a single person in the world who disliked a creature like a Peacock.

Its symbolism was also excellent, representing auspiciousness, wealth, peace, and even being the legendary incarnation of the Phoenix.

Seeing his mom and sister's attention focused on the Peacock, Tu Xiao'an didn't mind being ignored. In fact, he was happy about it. Subtly, he noticed many new messages appearing in his system.

Power of Faith from Chen Yonghe increased by 10 Points...

Power of Faith from Hu Dasheng increased by 10 Points...

Power of Faith from Lü Bangbao increased by 20 Points...

Throughout the morning, new streams of Power of Faith kept coming in. Tu Xiao'an was delighted, and he more or less understood what was happening. News of the incident at Zhao Village must have started to spread.

The Snake King appearing and delivering Celestial Punishment—this was a major event that couldn't possibly be kept secret.

It probably wouldn't even take a full day for the news to spread throughout all of Bai Town.

By that count, the Snake King had now appeared before the world twice.

In truth, Tu Xiao'an had no intention of hiding anything. He needed more and more followers now; he couldn't wait for people to start believing in him.

Besides, he'd been careful from the start, leaving no physical evidence behind for anyone to find.

The legends of the Snake King would only add to its mystique and majesty. As for seeing what the Snake King looked like, through photos or anything else, that was impossible.

Power of Faith: 5,730.

Faith Points were now coming in almost every moment. Tu Xiao'an glanced at the total but didn't pay it much mind. The Mall required 100,000 to unlock, so he still had a long way to go.

He was actually very curious about the System Mall. It surely contained countless treasures that could greatly increase his power. 'Perhaps,' he thought, 'it might even hold a treasure that would allow me to achieve Transformation.'

That was what Tu Xiao'an desired most. Although he had voluntarily become a House Snake, how could he truly be willing to spend his entire life as a venomous snake slithering in the darkness?

'If, one day, I could stand under the open sky again, with my feet firmly on the ground, how wonderful would that be?'

Regardless, Tu Xiao'an's first priority was to unlock the Mall. But with his Power of Faith only increasing bit by bit, the pace was still far too slow.

If he wanted his followers to increase exponentially, he would probably have to do a few more earth-shattering deeds.

The prerequisite, however, was that these deeds couldn't be the kind that brought disaster upon the country and its people. Otherwise, who would believe in the Snake King?

The Snake King was a Divine Spirit who delivered all living beings from suffering and saved the common folk from peril. Bai Town had a Snake King Temple dedicated to its worship, where the incense burned ceaselessly. People even came from surrounding areas to burn incense and make wishes.

As for whether it was effective, that was hard to say. If you believed, it was effective; sincerity brought results.

Speaking of the Snake King Temple, Tu Xiao'an really wanted to go take a look. If he could replace the Snake King statue inside the temple with one in his own image, then when people came to kowtow and make wishes, they would generate Power of Faith for him.

It was a plan with a huge potential return on a small investment. As long as people came to the temple to kowtow and pray to the Snake King, their Power of Faith would be his.

However, this was both easy and difficult to achieve.

How could the Snake King statue be replaced so easily? It had been enshrined in the temple for several hundred years.

It would only be remade if it cracked or was damaged.

But it wasn't entirely impossible. He was now the living Snake King, a being who controlled Thunder. If he were to truly manifest before the people of Bai Town and speak a single sentence, it would be like an imperial edict.

As for how exactly to do it, he was still considering his options.

After that, Tu Xiao'an spent a quiet morning at home. Once noon passed, he slipped out in a flash.

His sister's attention was now completely focused on the Peacock, the Azure Owl, so she had no time to pay him any mind.

The Snake King Temple was located on the busiest street in the eastern part of Bai Town. Facing northwest, the building complex was imposing, quaint, and antique. The temple had two main sections. The lower section was a theater building with a stage in the middle, flanked by symmetrical side towers. The main temple hall was a grand, formal structure with a double-eaved, flush-gable roof.

This fully reflected the Snake King's status in the hearts of Bai Town's people.

This humble Snake King Temple was in no way inferior to some of the great Buddhist monasteries.

From dawn till dusk, the air was thick with the smoke of incense, which never ceased.