Du Ruo, an herb-gathering woman unmarried at thirty, is "duped" into a mountain cave by a small mouse that speaks human words, where she bumps into an arrow-wounded, entirely white snake. She fears snakes and hates trouble even more, but faced with the white snake tempting her with gold and silver, she replies only, "I just want to eat my fill," yet still turns back to bite the bullet and pull out the arrow to apply medicine. Once healed, the snake shrinks and is taken home by her to recover—at night, the water vat fills itself and old rice sprouts; while the snake says with its mouth, "I owe no mortal karma," its hands fulfill the repayment completely. The next day, hunters come knocking to search for the snake; Du Ruo hides the snake in a clothing basket, defies them head-on for its life, and from then on becomes bound together with it.