"The old tales of China tell us that all things may grow and change. A stone may become a plant. A plant may become an animal.

An animal may become a human. A human may become a god. Just so, a snake may become a woman. And we are told of one who did.

Who can say for sure how it began? Yet after centuries of ceaseless effort—meditating, disciplining herself, mastering the energies

of the universe—this white snake took human form. Immortal now and with great powers, she longed for one thing more.

 

Human love."