Encountering a Snake - Chapter 26

V3C26

The firecrackers beneath Luofu Mountain echoed one after another, the sounds persistent, traveling through the air and reaching the isolated courtyard in the mountains, waking up a snake that had been asleep.

Lifting its head, the black snake was confused by the unfamiliar sound. It waited for a while, and once it confirmed that the noise posed no threat, it slithered up to the belly of Liu Yan, winding through the warm body beneath the dark blanket.

It wasn’t until Liu Yan was startled awake and threw the snake to the side of the pillow, exposing it to the colder air, that the black snake finally quieted down, stopping its usual daily play.

Lying at the edge of the pillow with the expression of “I’m about to freeze to death,” the black snake waited for a moment before being gently pulled back into the blanket by the soft-hearted Liu Yan.

Liu Yan pulled the blanket over his head, burying himself in it, and sleepily remembered that today was New Year’s Eve.

Another year of New Year’s Eve.

Liu Yan lay in the blanket for a while, slowly coming to his senses, and sat up groggily. The black snake was wrapped around his arm, reluctant for him to get out of bed, clinging and pulling, until Liu Yan gently pried it off and said, “Aren’t you supposed to be hibernating?”

When the black snake’s attempts to stop him were unsuccessful, it coiled its tail around Liu Yan’s waist and tried to burrow into his loose clothes. Liu Yan tapped its head and said, “Snakes should sleep. There’s still a lot to do today.”

The spoiled black snake was completely oblivious, still clinging to him and attempting to burrow into his embrace.

Liu Yan sighed and grabbed its head with one hand, its tail with the other, spreading his arms wide to stretch the coiled black snake straight, resembling a noodle. He placed its head on the pillow and tucked its tail into the blanket, covering it with the quilt. Liu Yan smiled as he finished, coaxing, “Good.”

Then, he slipped out of bed.

The snake, with its unnatural stretched position, resisted its own nature. It could only remain like that if it were dead. So, when Liu Yan left the bed, the black snake immediately curled up again, returning to the depths of the blanket and finding the still-warm hand warmer to curl up beside, falling back to sleep.

Liu Yan didn’t understand why the snake, Yi Mo, wasn’t hibernating, and neither did Shen Jue. Perhaps it was because the room was too warm; after all, the charcoal fire had been burning non-stop since the beginning of winter.

At the end of the year, one must celebrate properly. Liu Yan and Shen Jue busied themselves preparing for the transition into the new year, while Xu Mingshi, now aged, had nothing to do. He sat at the footstool beside the bed, showing full enthusiasm for the black snake, as now they were the only ones with nothing to do.

After spending so much time together, the black snake wasn’t unfamiliar with Xu Mingshi. It allowed him to come closer, and the snake patiently endured his incessant muttering, curling up beside him while listening to things it didn’t understand. Most of it was about reminiscing the past.

Xu Mingshi felt that the only thing he could do now was sit here, reminiscing about his past, and gain some comfort from having someone listen. His life was much shorter than this person in front of him. When he was still young, the snake was already a thousand-year-old demon, their age gap too vast. Yet, despite his short life, Xu Mingshi felt his life had been splendid. He recounted his life, filled with mistakes and good deeds, helping many people and demons, ensuring that those who caused harm got what they deserved. No matter what, he had not wasted his life.

The only difference from Yi Mo was that he had never experienced this kind of relationship.

At this point, Xu Mingshi remained stubborn. He leaned toward the black snake and whispered a secret.

Unfortunately, the words he thought would have an impact had no effect on the black snake. The black snake, steady as a mountain, remained coiled next to the hand warmer, completely uninterested in the old man’s stubborn nature.

Shen Jue, who was chopping wood outside, caught that improper whisper with his keen hearing. The axe blade wavered slightly, and a chunk of wood was chopped off, bouncing against the wall, creating a small hole in the mud wall with dust falling everywhere.

Liu Yan heard the noise and rushed out of the kitchen, asking, “Are you going to fix the wall?”

Shen Jue shook his head. “I chopped it wrong.”

Inside the house, Xu Mingshi was still mumbling to the black snake, and Shen Jue lowered his gaze, bent down to pick up the piece of wood that had been forced out and bounced back. With a single-handed swing of the axe, he chopped it again, and the wood split into eight pieces. Xu Mingshi, oblivious to everything in the courtyard, continued talking to the snake, unaware that his words had been overheard. What he knew was that Shen Jue was laboriously chopping wood for the stove, while Liu Yan prepared firewood for cooking. As for the piece of wood that was split into eight pieces, Xu Mingshi was as ignorant as he was of the conversation being overheard.

The old man went on, “That year, the snake skin you gave me helped me avoid many disasters. Now, in your current state, you can’t produce such treasures. After I die, I’ll leave it to Xiao Bao, so it’s returned to its rightful owner. I don’t owe you anything…”

The black snake looked up at the window. The sunlight was good, the light was abundant, and it yawned. Ah, the days were long.

When the New Year’s meal was finally laid out on the table, the black snake was relieved from the old man’s endless muttering. It was cradled by Liu Yan and sat at the banquet. This was the first New Year’s Eve since it returned to its original form.

Naturally, it drank wine. Since the first time it drank, it had fallen in love with that warm feeling that spread through its body, as if it were a perfect spring day, with birds flying and grass growing, wandering freely.

Xu Mingshi spent the day pouring out all his complaints, feeling much lighter in spirit. Holding up his wine cup, he frequently made toasts and, with a slight tipsiness, looked at Shen Jue and said, “Boy, call me uncle.”

As the saying goes—alcohol emboldens people. Liu Yan tore off a piece of pig’s head meat and shoved it into the mouth of the drunkard.

Shen Jue put down his bowl and chopsticks, looking at Xu Mingshi, the greasy, white-haired old man, and calmly asked, “What did you say? I didn’t catch that.”

Xu Mingshi immediately realized and laughed heartily, saying, “Nothing. I just said the dish is really good.”

As another saying goes—some things are beyond help. Liu Yan silently cursed, feeling helpless.

Soon after the New Year’s Eve came the Lantern Festival. Shen Jue made a pot of osmanthus and sesame-filled tangyuan, sweetened with plenty of honey. After everyone’s teeth were nearly sweetened beyond capacity, the festive atmosphere gradually faded away. It seemed that in the blink of an eye, the trees in the mountains had sprouted a layer of soft green, with tender leaves emerging. In the mornings, the birds sang again, and little insects could be seen crawling all over the ground. This spring came quickly.

With the heavy winter clothes removed, Xu Mingshi felt much lighter. His hunched back straightened, and he often wandered the mountains, chatting with the flowers, birds, fish, and insects, his mood lighter than ever. Shen Jue suspected he could live for several more decades. But, of course, he couldn’t say that, so he just continued serving the old man’s daily needs.

In this noisy season, when the birds chirped and squirrels leaped across the mountains, the black snake, coiled in Liu Yan’s arms, seemed to be infected by the vibrant life all around. It roamed all day long, weaving through the trees and sometimes lingering so long that Shen Jue had to search for it.

One night, when Liu Yan took the black snake from Shen Jue, it was spitting out its fangs and hissing, seemingly impatient. Liu Yan finally noticed that its restlessness wasn’t just from playing, but it wasn’t immediately clear why. He asked Shen Jue, “What’s wrong with it? Is it sick?”

Shen Jue shook his head. “It’s in great spirits. It doesn’t look sick at all.”

Xu Mingshi sneaked a jar of wine from the kitchen and paused as he passed beneath the window, hesitating whether or not to speak the truth. The problem was immediately apparent to him, but the two intelligent people inside were still in the fog, and the only reason for this was that they did not see the snake as a snake. In their hearts, it was their beloved, a living person, despite its serpent form. Therefore, the simplest answer was something they could not conceive.

After a moment of hesitation, Xu Mingshi softly said to those inside the window, “It’s just… it’s his spring.” After saying this, he hurried away with the jar of wine in his arms, his footsteps hurried, as though he had committed a wrongdoing.

—His spring had arrived.

Xu Mingshi’s words were like a sudden revelation to Shen Jue. So that’s why Yi Mo had been so restless recently. He looked toward Liu Yan, only to see him looking dejected.

His grip unconsciously tightened a little, and Liu Yan lowered his eyes, skillfully hiding his expression. He only said coldly to the black snake struggling in his arms, “Don’t even think about it.”