Encountering a Snake - Chapter 21

v2c21

 

Outside the imperial city, a mountain stood a hundred miles away, surrounded by green waters. Because it was winter, the rice fields at the foot of the mountain were desolate. The ancestral tomb of the Ji family was located at the foot of this mountain.

 

Ji Jiu claimed to be observing the mourning period for his father for three years. He moved out of the general’s residence and lived alone in a humble courtyard at the foot of the mountain. The only person by his side was Shen Jue, who took care of him and kept away all visitors.

 

Ji Jiu rarely went out, spending his days shut inside, and no one knew what he was doing. Even the emperor never mentioned him in court, as if deliberately trying to erase his presence from the court.

 

Old Minister Chen had been stripped of his title, and the Chen family had fallen into decline, leaving only the Ji family as the most powerful. With the old general of the Ji family gone and Ji Jiu in mourning, refusing visitors, the emperor’s attitude became intriguing. It seemed the great tree of the Ji family was beginning to wither. Among the two great trees in the court, one had already fallen, and the other was showing signs of weakness. No one could understand what the emperor was trying to do, so everyone became cautious, and even the trees seemed to bend.

 

Outside the court, Ji Jiu went to his father’s tomb every day to pay his respects. After returning to the house, he would spend his days with books, while Shen Jue served him on all sides. The days passed peacefully. Shen Jue remained by his side, watching the sun rise and set, speaking only in a few words, never showing any sign of impatience. It was as if no matter how the days went by, he could calmly accept them, showing a sense of contentment with whatever came his way. Because of his nature, Ji Jiu relied on him more and more, not avoiding him when dealing with matters. Sometimes, Ji Jiu even spoke to him about past lives, but never going too deep, for Ji Jiu was unwilling to let him treat him like Shen Qingxuan.

 

Though in his heart, Ji Jiu was willing to be his father.

 

After meals, Shen Jue would clean up the dishes, while Ji Jiu rinsed his mouth and took a stroll around the courtyard before returning to his room to read by the window. After Shen Jue finished his tasks, he would sit by the window, leaning on the railing to bask in the sun. The two were only separated by an open window. As Ji Jiu read, he spoke softly, as if to himself or perhaps to Shen Jue outside the window. Shen Jue listened and answered, and it was an ordinary afternoon.

 

But suddenly, their conversation stopped. Shen Jue tilted his head, listening to the sound of footsteps at the courtyard door. He said, “Father, someone from the palace has come.”

 

Ji Jiu grunted, too lazy to even lift his eyelids. He said, “Send them away.”

 

“Should I send them away from the palace as well?” Shen Jue asked again.

 

“Send away those looking for me,” Ji Jiu then raised his eyes, seemingly smiling, though it was unclear. “As for those looking for you, you decide.”

 

Shen Jue had intended to ask what the person from the palace wanted with him, but suddenly stopped. He remembered that two years ago, he seemed to have some “history” with the emperor, so he fell silent. After a brief pause, when the footsteps were almost at the door, he said, “Father, I don’t think they’re here for me.”

 

Ji Jiu said, “Not necessarily.” His words were ambiguous, yet his tone was certain. Turning a page in his book, he added, “I understand him better than you.”

 

At that moment, the door was knocked. Shen Jue, half believing, went to open the door.

 

Ji Jiu waited calmly until Shen Jue returned with a strange expression and asked for leave. Ji Jiu said, “Go ahead.”

 

Shen Jue was about to leave when Ji Jiu added, “Be careful.”

 

Shen Jue stopped, turned back, and stood in front of Ji Jiu, asking seriously, “Father, do you think I should go or stay?”

 

Ji Jiu answered, “What do you think?”

 

Shen Jue was caught off guard by the question and couldn’t respond. After a long pause, he said, “I don’t dislike him.”

 

Ji Jiu put down his book but asked a completely unrelated question: “Why don’t you pursue immortality?”

 

“If I can’t let go, I won’t cultivate,” Shen Jue replied quickly. “Otherwise, I might lose control.”

 

“Let go of what?” Ji Jiu asked again.

 

“Let go of happiness,” Shen Jue said.

 

“Happiness?” Ji Jiu was momentarily stunned and then asked, “Isn’t it wasting time, spending each day with me, revolving around fame and fortune? How could that be happiness?”

 

“Even wasting time like this, I still find it joyful, so I can’t let go. That’s why I won’t cultivate,” Shen Jue smiled and showed his tiger teeth. “Father, do you think life is short and that immortality is transcendence, which is why you worry I’ll fall into it? But I think immortality is a long road, watching the sun rise and set with nothing to do. It’s better to enjoy these brief moments of happiness. Father, this is something like drinking water—only the person knows if it’s cold or warm.”

 

Ji Jiu fell silent for a moment, then waved his hand. “You may go.” Shen Jue took a few steps, then heard Ji Jiu say behind him, “He’s a suspicious and fickle man. These years, no one has dared to restrain him, and he’s become even more ruthless. But he’s never made a mistake; he is truly the Son of Heaven. You should know that the emperor is cold-hearted.”

 

Shen Jue nodded. “I understand, Father.”

 

Ji Jiu lowered his eyes and looked at the sunlight streaming in from the window, so bright it almost hurt his eyes, and continued, “In the wild, only wolves spend their lives with a single companion, never abandoning them. If you wait until he’s gone to seek another, then don’t go.”

 

Shen Jue stood for a moment, then said, “If that day comes, I’ll destroy my cultivation, drink the soup of the underworld, reincarnate, and never suffer for him again.” Without waiting for Ji Jiu’s reaction, he turned and left.

 

Ji Jiu stood motionless, like a statue, unable to move because of those words.

 

So resolute, so decisive. Willing to destroy himself. This was the only choice for the demon.

 

Humans and demons should never meet in the first place, nor fall in love. Otherwise, no matter how they proceed, it will always be a journey down different paths.

 

After a long time, Ji Jiu regained his senses. He blankly gazed at the view outside the window and unconsciously reached for the bead hanging on his chest, rubbing it for a moment before asking softly, “Where are you?”

 

The question was so soft, it was as if it were carried by the wind. Two years had passed, and after the snake woke up, it disappeared without a word, never coming to see him, vanishing without a trace, as though it had never existed.

 

So… where?

 

Had it also destroyed its cultivation, drunk the soup of the underworld, reincarnated, and never suffered again?

 

Had it been hurt so badly that it could not redeem itself and had to sever ties?

 

Ji Jiu thought, no, it wouldn’t. With that bad temper, how could it do such a foolish thing? A hint of anxiety rose in his heart, and Ji Jiu nervously clenched the red bead.

 

The blood-red bead flashed slightly between his fingers, and then suddenly, a gust of wind rose. Ji Jiu loosened his grip and looked outside the window, where a shadow under the locust tree appeared, a figure in wide robes, black hair flowing, hands behind its back, standing there.

 

It seemed like it had always been there.

 

Ji Jiu let out a short, panicked “ah” and relaxed considerably as he looked at the figure, but then didn’t know what to say.

 

Yi Mo, however, said, “I haven’t left.” Saying this, he walked closer, and through the window, as if already knowing Ji Jiu’s thoughts, he said, “Shen Jue is both a wolf and a human. He only has a hundred years of cultivation, so even if he destroys it, it doesn’t matter; he’ll become a mortal. If I destroy my cultivation, I’ll be just an ordinary snake in the mountains, not understanding human speech or human hearts, no different from a beast.” He paused and smiled. “Maybe I’ll be eaten by a bird of prey.”

 

Ji Jiu’s face turned pale, and he threw the book in his hand at Yi Mo. “Shut up.”

 

Yi Mo caught the book and asked, “Are you scared?”

 

Ji Jiu turned his face away, snorting coldly. “If you want to destroy your cultivation, wait until I’m dead first, so I won’t carry the burden and be disturbed day and night.”

 

Yi Mo held the book up to the window and evaluated him without showing any emotion. “You’re speaking against your heart.”

 

Ji Jiu gave the impression that he hadn’t heard, and waited until Yi Mo leaned closer, then said indifferently, “That’s the truth.”

 

It was the truth. So this time, Yi Mo did not argue him.

 

Like Shen Jue before him, Yi Mo sat under the window, leaning against the porch pillar, squinting in the sunlight. Ji Jiu lowered his head to read, occasionally glancing over, but quickly looking away, pretending as if there was no one there, reading with intense “focus.”

 

During the brief moments of flipping through the book, Ji Jiu spoke up, “Where have you been these past two years?”

 

Yi Mo, eyes closed, lazily basking in the sunlight, answered, “Sleeping.”

 

“Have you not had enough sleep in three months? Do you have to find another place to sleep after waking up?” Ji Jiu didn’t believe it.

 

“You have your own things to do, why should I not sleep?” Yi Mo retorted.

 

Ji Jiu flipped through the book gloomily, turning over ten or so pages before continuing, “I thought you went back to the mountain to cultivate.”

 

“You thought I went to the place where he was buried to keep him company as bones?” Yi Mo said, dead serious.

 

Ji Jiu scoffed, “Who you accompany has nothing to do with me. Even if you turn into bones together, it’s your choice. I can’t do anything about it.”

 

“Do you want to manage?” Yi Mo straightened up, looked at him through the window, “Do you want to?” His tone was serious, yet there was an indescribable hint of ambiguity, like playful teasing between lovers.

 

Ji Jiu flipped a few more pages of the book. It was clear that he couldn’t settle down anymore, so he tossed the book aside, looked at him directly, and didn’t respond to the previous remark. Instead, he said, “Shen Jue went to see the emperor.”

 

Yi Mo knew that he didn’t want to talk about this subject, so he obliged, saying, “Let him go. He won’t lose out.”

 

Ji Jiu pondered the meaning of “won’t lose out” and quickly figured it out, still feeling somewhat skeptical. The emperor, after all, was the supreme ruler. Even though he favored men, he could not allow anyone to offend him. How could the emperor tolerate his defiance?

 

While thinking about it, Yi Mo said, “Everyone has their fate, worrying about it is pointless.”

 

It was all just fate. Even if Shen Jue suffered, it was his destined tribulation. After over a hundred years of experience, the wolf boy, though silent, had always been high-minded, dismissive of ordinary people.

 

So in these hundred-plus years of wandering through the world, Yi Mo had never seen him develop feelings for anyone. Now, it seemed like the time had come. Since they had met, there was no avoiding it.

 

Even if the emperor didn’t summon him to the palace today, Shen Jue would still go to find him tomorrow.

 

There was no point in worrying about such things. It was better to watch quietly and step in only when necessary.

 

Actually, Yi Mo wasn’t worried about Shen Jue. The man had been trained by Shen Qingxuan, skilled in plotting and always clear-headed and self-controlled. He wouldn’t cause any big problems.

 

Even if problems arose, Yi Mo believed he could still protect him. Let him have his fun.

 

Ji Jiu, hearing this, didn’t say anything more.

 

Yi Mo leaned back against the pillar again, basking in the warm sunlight, returning to his peaceful state.

 

In the evening, Shen Jue still hadn’t returned. Ji Jiu waited and waited, but as the night grew deeper, he gave up on the slim hope. He unstrapped his clothes, lay down on the bed, and thought about the first time they met—carrying a bundle, holding a sword, arguing with Captain Wu in a calm manner, as if it had happened yesterday. In the blink of an eye, it had already been three years.

 

The people and events around him had changed so much in these three years. The dead and the living—except for Shen Jue, he had no one left.

 

Hiding in this villa, waiting for the imperial edict to march. By then, even he should have disappeared.

 

Yi Mo lifted the bed curtain and lay down on top of him. Ji Jiu opened his eyes in the dark, their gazes meeting, both of them with clear, shining eyes.

 

After two years, he was pinned down again. Ji Jiu wasn’t angry but spoke in a fiercely threatening tone, “You dare!”

 

Yi Mo wasn’t afraid to dare, but he didn’t want to force him. Moreover, he had promised Xiao Bao not to pressure Ji Jiu. After a moment, he lowered his head and kissed his face before rolling to the side.

 

The weight on his body disappeared, and Ji Jiu let out a sigh of relief, not reacting to the person beside him. He closed his eyes again, wrapping himself in the blanket, ready to sleep.

 

Yet, a steady hand slipped through the gap in the blanket, wrapping around his waist.

 

Ji Jiu stiffened for a moment, then relaxed. Without opening his eyes, he said faintly, “The thing you want, I don’t have.”

 

The hand around his waist tightened slightly. Yi Mo pulled back the blanket, crawled into his bed, and asked, “What don’t you have?”

 

Ji Jiu remained still, speaking to himself, “Though I’m not Shen Qingxuan, I am his reincarnation. If you want to settle the score with me, I have no words to say.” But he could not be Shen Qingxuan, could not share everything with him day and night, and certainly could not give up his family business, watching his dead ancestors be humiliated, turning years of effort into dust.

 

He couldn’t do it. He was Ji Jiu. He could only be Ji Jiu.

 

There was no way out for Ji Jiu.

 

“I just can’t be Shen Qingxuan. Don’t force me to do what I can’t.”

 

“If you want to hold on to someone who doesn’t want to respond, then hold on. I’m not a stingy person. You’ve been searching for over a hundred years, this little thing, I can still give you.”

 

“Anything more, I can’t give.”

 

Ji Jiu spoke. It was the first time he had told him the truth. The old resentment could be put aside, though it was never erased, it didn’t matter anymore. To the snake demon who had searched for him for so many years, he was willing to offer his sympathy, even though it had nothing to do with love.

 

So, if you want to hold on, then hold on. Shen Jue said that in the summer, Shen Qingxuan would hold that person tightly, his cold body pressed close. In the winter, he would hold his true form close to his heart.

 

This bit of past attachment, even though it wasn’t in his memory, Ji Jiu didn’t hesitate to give to him.

 

After all, he was the reincarnation of Shen Qingxuan. Once found, there was no escaping.

 

Yi Mo said, “In the end, you just don’t want to be intimate with me.” He stroked his body and then added, “If you don’t want to, then don’t do it.” He stopped his hand, pulled him close, and held him still, without further advances.

 

Ji Jiu didn’t struggle. After lying still for a while, he murmured, almost like a dream, “That drunken snake form is even more likable.” It wouldn’t babble nonsense like this, living people could make him so mad.

 

Yi Mo heard this and deeply felt that Xiao Bao had too many issues.

 

He was drunk. Who dared to do anything to him? Yet, they insisted on packing him in a box and bringing him back, making him look at a drunken snake, not knowing what had happened.

 

He tightened his arms around Ji Jiu and leaned close to his ear, whispering, “You like my original form because it’s a snake, so you can’t be with me, right?”

 

Ji Jiu immediately reached out, grabbed Yi Mo’s shoulder, and pushed him away, nearly sending him flying to the floor. Yi Mo quickly grabbed his hand, and they wrestled. Ji Jiu couldn’t be bothered to waste words with him. He struck with ruthless moves, locking Yi Mo’s neck several times, almost crushing his throat.

 

Finally, Yi Mo grabbed the back of his neck, leaned down, and kissed him. Ji Jiu, taken by surprise, didn’t react in time, opening his mouth, allowing him to kiss to his satisfaction.

 

When their lips parted, Ji Jiu was panting but didn’t continue to hit him. Yi Mo lowered his head again, stuck out his tongue, and licked the corner of his lips, spreading the wetness, then lay back on the pillow, saying with a serious face, “Stop making trouble.”

 

Who’s making trouble?!

 

Ji Jiu lay beside him, genuinely wanting to return to his past life, gouge out Shen Qingxuan’s eyes, and stomp them into the mud with his shoes.

 

What kind of eyes did he need to have to fall for such a bad thing?