In the emerald mists of Mount Emei, two serpents once dwelled in deep meditation, seeking the secrets of the Dao. One was white as the purest jade, and the other was green as the deepest forest. Through a thousand years of cultivation, these spirits gained the power to assume human form. The white snake, taking the name Bai Suzhen, felt a profound longing for the world of mortals, a world she had watched from afar for centuries. Her companion, the green snake Xiaoqing, followed her as a loyal sister and maid. Together, they descended from the mountain peaks and traveled to the city of Hangzhou, drawn by the fabled beauty of the West Lake.
On a day of soft, mist-filled rain, Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing stood upon the Broken Bridge. It was here that fate intervened in the form of a young, kind-hearted scholar named Xu Xian. Seeing the two women caught in the downpour without cover, Xu Xian offered them his umbrella. This simple act of mortal kindness ignited a spark of love in Bai Suzhen’s heart. In the days that followed, the umbrella became the thread that bound their lives together. They met again to return the item, spoke of their lives, and soon, with the blessing of Xiaoqing’s clever orchestrations, Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian were married. They established a pharmacy called Baohe Tang, where Bai Suzhen used her spiritual knowledge of herbs to heal the sick, often for no cost, earning the adoration of the local people.
However, their happiness was not unnoticed by the heavens or their earthly guardians. In the Jinshan Temple, the Zen master Fahai sat in meditation. Fahai was a monk of immense power and even greater rigidity. To him, the universe was a place of strict boundaries; humans belonged in the mortal realm, and spirits, no matter how benevolent, belonged in the spiritual or animal realms. He viewed the union of Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian as a corruption of the natural law. To Fahai, Bai Suzhen was not a loving wife or a healer; she was a 'demon' whose very presence threatened the spiritual equilibrium of the world. He vowed to break the union and return the snake to her true form.
Fahai’s first attempt at interference occurred during the Dragon Boat Festival. He sought out Xu Xian and warned him that his wife was not human. When Xu Xian scoffed at the idea, Fahai advised him to serve her realgar wine, a traditional drink believed to ward off evil spirits and reveal the true nature of serpents. Trusting the monk's perceived wisdom, Xu Xian pressured a reluctant, pregnant Bai Suzhen to drink. The wine, potent against her spiritual essence, forced her to lose control. When Xu Xian entered their bedchamber and saw a massive white serpent coiled where his wife should be, he died of sheer terror. Desperate to save her husband, Bai Suzhen risked her life by flying to the Kunlun Mountains to steal the celestial 'Lingzhi' herb from the Old Man of the South Pole. Her devotion moved the gods, and she was allowed to take the herb, which she used to resurrect Xu Xian.
Despite this proof of her love, Fahai remained undeterred. He later abducted Xu Xian, taking him to the Jinshan Temple and forcing him to take monastic vows to separate him from his wife. Enraged and desperate, Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing gathered an army of aquatic creatures and used their magic to summon a great flood, drowning the lands around the temple to force Fahai to release Xu Xian. This act, while born of love, was a grave sin, as many innocent lives were lost in the rising waters. The celestial bureaucracy noted her transgression, and Fahai used this as further justification for his crusade. Because she was pregnant, the gods allowed her a brief period of respite, but the shadow of the golden alms bowl now hung over her future.
After the waters receded and Xu Xian escaped the temple to reunite with his wife at the Broken Bridge, they found a temporary peace. Bai Suzhen gave birth to a son, Xu Mengjiao, a child born of both the spirit and mortal worlds. The family shared a few precious weeks of joy, but the law of the monk was as inevitable as the tide. One month after the birth, while the family was celebrating the child’s arrival, a golden light descended upon their home. It was Fahai, holding the magical alms bowl bestowed upon him by the heavens. He stood at the threshold, his voice like rolling thunder, declaring that Bai Suzhen’s time in the human world had ended.