For over a thousand years, deep within the verdant, mist-shrouded peaks of Mount Emei, a white snake of extraordinary grace practiced the rigorous arts of Taoist cultivation. This serpent, known as Bai Suzhen, was no mere beast of the earth. Through centuries of meditation, she had absorbed the cosmic essence of the sun and the silver light of the moon, refining her spirit until she possessed the power to transcend her reptilian form. She transformed into a woman of unparalleled beauty, possessing a heart that beat with a strange, burgeoning humanity. Her journey toward the mortal world was not born of malice, but of a profound karmic debt. In a previous life, a young boy had saved her from a snake catcher, and she felt a spiritual pull to repay that kindness in the realm of men.
On her descent from the celestial mountains, she encountered a green snake spirit named Xiaoqing. Their first meeting was a violent dance of elemental powers, as Xiaoqing was a fierce and temperamental spirit who guarded her territory with sharp scales and sharper wit. However, Bai Suzhen’s wisdom and superior cultivation eventually won the younger spirit’s respect. Xiaoqing, impressed by Bai’s nobility, pledged herself as a younger sister and loyal companion. Together, they traveled to the bustling city of Hangzhou, appearing as a noble lady and her spirited maidservant. It was here, amidst the weeping willows and the shimmering surface of the West Lake, that they met the scholar Xu Xian. A sudden spring downpour served as the catalyst for their union; Xu Xian, seeing the two women caught in the rain, offered them his umbrella. This simple act of chivalry reignited the ancient karmic bond, and soon, Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian were married.
The couple moved to the city of Zhenjiang, where they opened a pharmacy called the Baohe Tang. Bai Suzhen used her vast knowledge of herbs and her secret spiritual powers to heal the sick, often providing medicine for free to those who could not afford it. Their life was a tapestry of domestic bliss and altruism, but it was watched with a cold, disapproving eye by the monk Fahai. Fahai, a powerful Buddhist master residing at the Jinshan Temple, was a man of rigid adherence to the natural order. In his view, the boundary between the spirit world and the human world was absolute. To him, Bai Suzhen was not a benevolent healer, but a 'monstrous beast' whose presence in the human realm was an abomination and a threat to the soul of Xu Xian.
Fahai’s first strike was psychological. During the Dragon Boat Festival, he secretly met with Xu Xian and warned him that his wife was a demon. He convinced the scholar to serve his wife Realgar wine, a traditional drink known to repel pests and reveal the true forms of malevolent spirits. When Bai Suzhen, weakened by her pregnancy and the potent wine, retreated to her bedchamber, she could not maintain her human illusion. Xu Xian entered the room to find a giant white serpent coiled amidst the silk sheets. The shock was so profound that his heart stopped, and he fell dead on the spot. Devastated by the consequences of her secret, Bai Suzhen embarked on a perilous journey to the celestial Mount Kunlun. She risked her life to steal the Lingzhi, the mushroom of immortality, from the gardens of the gods. After a fierce battle with the celestial guardians—the Crane Boy and the Deer Boy—her sincerity moved the Old Man of the South Pole, who allowed her to take the herb. She returned to Zhenjiang just in time to revive Xu Xian.
However, the peace was short-lived. Fahai, seeing that the marriage had survived even the revelation of Bai’s true nature, took more drastic measures. He lured Xu Xian to the Jinshan Temple on the pretext of offering a blessing and then held him captive, claiming it was necessary to protect the man's soul from the snake spirit's 'miasma.' When Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing arrived at the foot of the mountain to reclaim Xu Xian, they were met with the iron gates and the cold indifference of the temple guards. Bai Suzhen, though she possessed the power to level the mountain, began her plea with humility. She knelt before the temple, her pregnant belly a testament to her vulnerability, and begged Fahai to release her husband. She argued that her love was pure and her deeds in the human world were virtuous. But Fahai, standing atop the temple walls, only mocked her, calling her a 'vile serpent' and declaring that no union between species could ever be sanctioned by Heaven.