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Chapter 2 - Volume 1: The White Snake Demon ImmortalChapter 1: The Medical University Ghost

**The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao.

The name that can be named is not the eternal name.**

These opening lines of the *Tao Te Ching* are deceptively simple, yet they contain the profound truth that the deepest mysteries of existence cannot be fully captured in words. To explain them completely might take a lifetime—or even then, their meaning would remain just out of reach. In essence: *The truths we can articulate are not the eternal truths. The things we can name are not the everlasting.*

The world is vast and filled with wonders. Every day, strange and inexplicable tales unfold, passed from person to person until they become little more than gossip shared over cups of tea. Each of us interprets these stories through our own experiences, reshaping them with every retelling. By the time a tale reaches its third or fourth listener, it has often transformed into something entirely different.

Most rumors distort with repetition, straying further from the truth until they become ghost stories—cautionary tales told to frighten children. But has anyone ever stopped to consider that the reality behind these stories might be even stranger than the legends?

My name is Mu Shenyu. As a child, I was sickly and frail. Fearing I wouldn't survive, my mother entrusted me to the care of another—a godmother, chosen through an old family tradition. In my mother's lineage, ailing children were often placed under the protection of a shamaness, believed to ensure their survival.

My godmother was Ghost Granny Ling, the most renowned shamaness in our region. Every year, hundreds sought her as a godmother for their children, but she accepted only nine, claiming any more would strain her spiritual power.

I was born prematurely in the Ghost Month, plagued by illness from the start. At eighteen months old, I fell deathly ill with a fever that raged for three days, reaching forty degrees. The doctors could do nothing. Just as hope seemed lost, my aunt—a fisherwoman who spent most of her life at sea—rushed to the hospital and insisted we take me to Ghost Granny Ling.

Granny Ling lived in a crumbling stone boat—a house shaped like a vessel, built from bricks, wood, and sheet metal, forever anchored onshore. We arrived at dusk on New Year's Eve, when her altar was already closed for the holiday. Only after my aunt's desperate pleading did she agree to help.

According to my mother, I was listless when we entered the stone boat. But after Granny Ling performed her rituals and gave me sacred tea blessed before the "Granny Deity," I revived instantly. By the time we left, I was as lively as a tiger. The herbal medicine she provided soon broke my fever.

After the New Year, my mother begged Granny Ling to formally adopt me as her godchild. At first, she refused—but moved by my aunt's tears, she relented. Rumor had it I was the only child she took in that year.

On the day of the adoption, she gave me a black bead bracelet made of "soul-anchoring iron," explaining that my spirit was prone to fright and needed the talisman to stay grounded. To this day, I still wear it, adding beads over the years as my wrist grew. The extras were procured by my aunt from distant relatives.

During festivals, I visited Ghost Granny Ling's stone boat. From the outside, it was unremarkable, but inside, it resembled a small temple, fragrant with sandalwood incense and echoing with Buddhist chants. The walls were draped with embroidered banners—gifts from grateful devotees. With each visit, there were more, until there was no space left to hang them.

Times have changed. When I was young, people dismissed Granny Ling as a superstitious relic. But those banners told a different story—one of countless lives touched by something beyond ordinary understanding.

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### Key Improvements:

1. **Flow & Readability** – Smoother transitions between ideas, avoiding abrupt shifts.

2. **Consistency** – Removed unnecessary Latin names (e.g., *homo sapiens*) unless critical to the theme.

3. **Mystical Tone** – Enhanced the ethereal, folkloric atmosphere while keeping the narrative grounded.

4. **Pacing** – Tightened lengthy passages for better engagement.

5. **Cultural Nuance** – Clarified traditions (e.g., godmother adoption) without over-explaining.

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