Encountering a Snake - Chapter 17

The candlelight in the Nanmu Pavilion was bright. The newly arrived concubine, Xiao Tao, sat by the bed, feeling uneasy about the unknown events outside and her unfamiliarity with the new surroundings. She felt time dragging since the afternoon when she had been carried in the blue sedan to this not-so-strange courtyard. The minutes seemed to stretch endlessly, causing her anxiety. She even unintentionally fell asleep on the bed, only to wake up with her husband still absent.

 

Xiao Tao did not dare to move. Despite feeling stiff, she remained motionless, her head bowed, and continued to wait with her pink handkerchief. After an unknown amount of time, the sound of the wheelchair’s wheels in the courtyard, now a familiar comfort, was heard. Xiao Tao let out a small sigh of relief, her tensed nerves relaxing. The shyness of a newlywed surged again, her cheeks flushing pink.

 

When Shen Qingxuan entered the room, he dismissed the maids and maneuvered the wheelchair closer to the bed, then opened the wooden door of the side room. There before him was the new bride, Xiao Tao, sitting by the bed with her head lowered, her hair arranged in a woman’s bun and her ears glowing red from the candlelight.

 

Shen Qingxuan looked at her with an inscrutable expression. As he approached, he wore his usual gentle smile, masking any true emotion. No one could read anything from his smile, not even himself.

 

Stopping in front of Xiao Tao, he found her extremely shy, burying her face even deeper, entirely the picture of a new bride, overwhelmed by shyness and nothing else. Shen Qingxuan lifted her chin with his hand, feeling her soft skin and smelling a faint fragrance. The maid, usually dressed simply, looked quite unfamiliar in her fine silks and adorned with jewels. Her bashfulness made Shen Qingxuan think that she was indeed a beautiful and charming woman.

 

Under normal circumstances, Shen Qingxuan would not have wanted to trouble her. After all, she was a maid he had seen grow up. He remembered the day she first came to his room, timid and hiding behind her mother, with big, blinking eyes like a little rabbit. Now, that little maid had grown up and could be a wife and mother. It made him lament how quickly time passes.

 

Xiao Tao was unsure what Shen Qingxuan would do next, her heart racing as if a lively little rabbit were in her chest. She was both shy and expectant. Marriage was a major event in a woman’s life, and though her husband was ill, he was still a talented and wealthy man. Even as a concubine, she was happy and felt that her unspoken admiration and feelings had come true overnight. Xiao Tao thought she would be good to him in every way, serving him attentively, taking care of his needs, and treating the main wife with respect, just like the second concubine had done with the mother. She only hoped for stability and family happiness.

 

Xiao Tao thought this way, similar to the second concubine when she first entered the Shen family, feeling the same as she did now.

 

But Shen Qingxuan did not think this way. He gently touched Xiao Tao’s chin, rubbing her cheek for a moment before withdrawing his hand. Then, he made a gesture.

 

Xiao Tao was very familiar with this gesture. In the past, it would have felt comforting as it signified the master’s pity. At this moment, however, seeing the gesture made her feel disoriented and unsure why.

 

The gesture meant: Rest early.

 

The sound of the wooden wheels resumed as Shen Qingxuan made the gesture and then turned to enter his study, leaving Xiao Tao alone by the bed. She sat there for a long time, unable to recover her composure. Eventually, her eyes grew red and tears fell.

 

This continued throughout the night. By noon the next day, Xiao Tao was moved to another courtyard as a concubine, accompanied by two maids and an elderly woman, and spent the night alone. The same happened on the third and fourth nights.

 

The southern courtyard of the Shen residence belonged to Shen Qingxuan. The courtyard layout included the main Nanmu Pavilion and a separate courtyard for concubines. Xiao Tao lived in the separate courtyard.

 

The maids whispered among themselves, quickly spreading rumors throughout the estate, claiming that the eldest son did not like Xiao Tao, suggesting she had climbed too high. These private discussions somehow leaked outside, leading to various crude speculations about Shen Qingxuan having a “hidden ailment,” which supposedly explained why the beautiful concubine remained celibate. The rumors eventually reached Shen Mother.

 

One night, Shen Mother visited her son’s room in the dead of night and found him alone with a solitary pillow and no signs of marital joy on his face. She was confirmed in her suspicions but could not speak openly about it and silently summoned a doctor.

 

Shen Qingxuan initially questioned why the doctor was summoned but soon understood. He could only shake his head and wrote a note saying he was fine. He dismissed the doctor and sulked alone in his room. How could he not be angry? Despite being perfectly fine except for being unable to move below the knees, people thought he had a “hidden ailment.” How absurd!

 

That night, Shen Qingxuan lay in bed, having spent the day sulking. He took out the bead from under his pillow and played with it, rolling the round bead with his fingertip on the bed. After rolling it for several circles, he held it in his hand, tapping it with his nail, saying, “This round thing, with no holes or eyes, what if it’s lost in the pouch? You should have threaded a string through it.”

 

He spoke to the bead, which of course, did not respond. He spent some quiet time with the bead, and surprisingly, his anger dissipated, and his mood inexplicably improved. He turned off the light, put the bead back under the pillow, and went to sleep.

 

The next morning, after washing up, Shen Qingxuan habitually uncovered his pillow to retrieve the bead and place it in his pouch. When he lifted the pillow, he was stunned.

 

The previously hole-less red bead was now threaded with a golden thread.

 

Shen Qingxuan’s face broke into a smile, his delight spreading from the corner of his lips to his bright eyes. This smile lasted the entire day.

 

That night, as Shen Qingxuan lay on his couch, he tapped the red bead on his chest and said, “I heard from Xu Ming Shi that he came to find you. Is that true? If so, you should know that I promised him the two treasures you have. I only lied about having them to save face. If you don’t want to give them, just don’t. After all, cultivation results are just empty talk; it’s up to me whether to give them or not.”

 

He waited for a response from the red bead but received none. The bead remained motionless on his chest.

 

Shen Qingxuan grew tired of waiting and inadvertently fell asleep.

 

The next morning, as he woke up and had not yet opened his eyes, he sensed something was off. His nose felt cold with an unusual chill. Shen Qingxuan opened his eyes and saw a white garment on the pillow, with a small purple-brown incense burner resting on it.

 

Instinctively, he looked down at his chest, and the red bead, in response to his movement, slid down to his collarbone.

 

It was chilling.

 

Yet, Shen Qingxuan felt a warmth rising within him, as if a flame had ignited inside him, burning intensely in his chest.

 

He closed his eyes and heard his heart call out: Yi Mo.

 

Yi Mo.

 

The two silent words held a depth of emotion that even made him feel moved.

 

From then on, every night, Shen Qingxuan would find something to talk about, such as wanting to see a legendary rare book said to be only available in the palace. He would talk about it so longingly that he could mumble to himself until he fell asleep in a daze. The next morning, the book would appear by his pillow, quietly placed there.

 

Opening the book, he found that all the margins were filled with handwritten notes, clearly annotations made by previous readers. Shen Qingxuan flipped through it and indeed found a line of neatly written characters. It was written by Yi Mo, and Shen Qingxuan had no doubt about it.

 

Reading the book, he felt a different kind of emotion infused in it, making his reading both serious and tender.

 

Nearly half a month passed like this. Shen Qingxuan planned to summon his neglected concubine the next day to complete the marital duties.

 

A month of neglect was enough. After all, she was his concubine and would be the mother of his child in the future.

 

That evening, Shen Qingxuan lay in bed, holding the bead, and talked about his plans for the next night’s intimacy. He hesitated for a moment and said, “I wonder what it’s like to enjoy the company of a woman.” Moreover, he was indeed a novice in this regard. Although he knew about the matters of intimacy, the previous encounters had been led by Yi Mo, and he only needed to lie there. But this time, he would be in charge and was physically impaired, which made him feel uneasy.

 

The next morning, Shen Qingxuan, as usual, reached for the pillow and felt the rustling of paper. Opening his eyes, he turned red instantly, hurriedly lifting the bed curtains and peeking around like a thief, then tucked the book and illustrations into the quilt.

 

This time, Yi Mo had sent all materials on spring palace. Various postures were illustrated with text and detailed annotations. Even a young child could understand it.

 

Shen Qingxuan stayed in his room, avoiding disturbance, and spent the whole day with a red face.

 

The reason was simple: Yi Mo had circled all the moves that were light and required only waist strength with a red pen, making detailed notes in his meticulous handwriting, such as “This position is feasible.”

 

That night, when the marital duties were performed, Xiao Tao, now truly a new bride, had a blushing face and a graceful demeanor.

 

Shen Qingxuan accompanied her for one night but returned to his own small building to sleep alone the next day. Xiao Tao realized that her husband’s thoughts were clearly not on her.

 

Over a month later, during breakfast, Xiao Tao suddenly covered her mouth and withdrew. Although she remained slender, Shen Qingxuan saw traces in her figure.

 

Realizing that his child was in her, Shen Qingxuan felt an emotion welling up inside him. This emotion even broke through his usual gloomy and cold demeanor, appearing as a calm joy on his face—a fatherly delight. When Xiao Tao returned, covering her mouth, and saw her husband, who always seemed distant, smiling warmly at her, she suddenly realized that this was a true smile, warm as the spring breeze, like a night in Jiangnan.

 

This smile was for her and also for the unborn child in her womb.

 

The Shen family was about to have its first grandchild. Although born of a secondary wife, the family was very pleased, and Xiao Tao received much more care than before. She had heard many unkind remarks when she was neglected, but as soon as she became pregnant, she received a lot of attention, and her grievances gradually faded. Her husband remained indifferent, only seeing her at mealtimes, and at night they still slept separately. Xiao Tao harbored no resentment, understanding that her husband’s affections were not on her. Since she had a child, she would have support in the future. Even if she was not favored, she would not fear being mistreated when her sister entered the family. Thus, Xiao Tao’s face grew serene, embodying the kindness and compassion of a mother-to-be.

 

Shen Qingxuan was delighted for many days. The most obvious sign was that he spent noticeably less time talking to the bead at night and instead sat by the candlelight, thinking about names for his child. He had two names ready, one for a boy and one for a girl. Once he decided on the names, he realized he hadn’t spoken to Yi Mo for several days—even though he spoke to the bead. He knew Yi Mo could hear him because the bead was made from Yi Mo’s blood.

 

That night, he took the bead and talked about his children, writing the names he had chosen on paper and holding it up for the bead to see. Despite his calm demeanor, his joy was evident. He stayed up until midnight.

 

The next morning, before he even opened his eyes, Shen Qingxuan thought about the previous night and reached out groggily to his pillow. He knew there would be nothing of Yi Mo’s there.

 

His hand grasped nothing but smooth satin.

 

Unbelieving, Shen Qingxuan opened his eyes and searched the bed, tossing and turning, sweating, even letting the quilt fall to the ground, but found nothing.

 

“…No gifts at all?” Shen Qingxuan tapped the bead, half-jokingly and half-mockingly, “Really stingy.”

 

The bead never responded, as always.

 

Shen Qingxuan opened the lock and held the bead in his hand, inspecting it carefully. It was still red and bright as ever. After examining it for a while, he hung it back around his neck and muttered, “Could it be that it’s feeling jealous now?” He laughed at himself, realizing he couldn’t clearly define his relationship with Yi Mo. Yet, he knew that perhaps one day he would be jealous of Yi Mo, while Yi Mo would never be jealous of him. Yi Mo was destined to cultivate to become an immortal, to remain detached and pure.

 

He was to cultivate for a thousand years, without desires or emotions. Shen Qingxuan had gradually come to understand this.

 

He had previously thought Yi Mo disliked him, with their interactions seeming like favors. In reality, Shen Qingxuan had realized from the birthday gift that Yi Mo didn’t dislike him. Otherwise, Yi Mo wouldn’t have given such a gift, so Yi Mo didn’t dislike him and even had some affection.

 

Otherwise, Yi Mo wouldn’t have always complied with his requests, even for trivial matters like suddenly wanting to eat dumplings from East City the next morning. Of course, this was merely affection, indicating that Yi Mo didn’t have a bad impression of him. It was unrelated to romantic feelings, and thus there was no liking.

 

Shen Qingxuan even wondered if Yi Mo had ever liked anyone during his thousand years of life.

 

Of course, he wouldn’t ask such questions now. Some questions could only be answered at the right time. Shen Qingxuan understood this principle since he was young.

 

So why had Yi Mo suddenly disappeared without warning?

 

Shen Qingxuan thought he might wake up to find something like a longevity lock by his pillow.

 

Dressing himself, he felt a restless unease in his heart.

 

Yi Mo must be delayed by something, Shen Qingxuan thought, trying to console himself, and soon returned to his usual state. However, a sense of unease lingered, as if something bad was about to happen.

 

The thought that something might have happened to Yi Mo was unstoppable once it appeared. Shen Qingxuan took a deep breath, his mind racing with concerns and worries.

 

Shen Qingxuan decided to return to the mountain villa, a sudden choice that surprised everyone in the Shen household. His mother tried to persuade him to stay, citing Xiao Tao’s pregnancy and the inconvenience of traveling on mountainous roads. Yet Shen Qingxuan was resolute and left Xiao Tao behind, not taking her with him.

 

No one could change his decision. In the afternoon, Shen Qingxuan went back to the mountain. Xu Mingshi also suggested that the mountain was a good place and wanted to come along.

 

Concerned about Yi Mo’s possible mishap, Shen Qingxuan thought Xu Mingshi, with some cultivation, might be able to help if needed, so he took him along.

 

Returning to the long-quiet villa, it immediately became lively.

 

Shen Qingxuan didn’t want anyone to suspect anything, so upon arriving, he resumed his usual activities: having the garden trimmed, cleaning the rain stains off the garden decorations, and setting up Xu Mingshi’s quarters. Afterward, he had dinner.

 

Only at night, did he have a moment to sit alone in his room, holding the red bead, and sat by the candlelight in solitude.

 

He didn’t know how long he had been sitting. The person he was waiting for didn’t come, and Shen Qingxuan felt his limbs growing colder. With no other thoughts, he murmured softly, “If something happens, come find me. I have no special skills, only this body. If needed, I can still shield you from some swords and arrows.” As he spoke, his heart was already filled with sorrow, unable to imagine life without Yi Mo.

 

He couldn’t even bear to think about it. Whenever the thought crossed his mind, his chest felt as if pierced by a sharp weapon—cold and painful, as if his very marrow was being eroded.

 

Shen Qingxuan realized that this emotional attachment could not be severed. Despite his current ruthlessness and scheming nature, he was still willing to live or die for someone else. He didn’t know when this emotional bond had become so deeply rooted.

 

“Yi Mo.”

 

Shen Qingxuan called out, to the emptiness.

 

“Come back soon,” he said. He lowered his head, then lifted it again. After a thousand words, only four came out, murmured as if to himself, softly:

 

“I miss you.”

 

I miss you. Shen Qingxuan said.

 

No other words of affection came out, just these four words, as if they drained all the love he had in his life.