Encountering a Snake - Chapter 9

v3c9

Once again left behind, Liu Yan stared blankly at the empty courtyard. It wasn’t until Shen Jue came out of the house that he regained his senses and said to him, “He said that when he comes back, we will get married.”

Because that person had left again, the expression on his face as he spoke lacked joy and was instead tinged with a bit of daze.

Shen Jue had been inside the house, so naturally, nothing that happened in the courtyard escaped his ears. He wasn’t surprised by the outcome. In his view, this marriage was already overdue by two hundred years. It should have been arranged back then. However, at the time, no one believed they could get married. He didn’t believe it, Yi Mo didn’t believe it, and even Shen Qingxuan of that time probably didn’t believe it either.

Noticing Liu Yan’s daze, Shen Jue smiled slightly and said, “If he says so, he’ll certainly make it happen. Why don’t we prepare the wedding hall in the meantime?” With that, he pulled Liu Yan into the house.

Yi Mo headed westward, and along the way, he encountered Xu Mingshi, who was hurrying toward the mountains. Xu Mingshi asked him where he was going, to which Yi Mo replied, “To find your master.”

Xu Mingshi was stunned at first. His master had passed away over two hundred years ago—how could he still be around? After a moment’s thought, he understood that Yi Mo was referring to the patriarch—the one who had long since ascended to immortality. Because he was a disciple of the sect and blessed with natural talent, Xu Mingshi had spent these years cultivating Daoist practices and aiding people in the mortal world. As such, he had encountered the patriarch a few times. However, as cultivators of the Dao are often detached from matters of emotion, their acquaintance was shallow at best.

Xu Mingshi hesitated for a moment. Although Yi Mo’s expression was calm, an inexplicable sense of unease welled up in him, as though something major was about to happen. Without thinking further, he quickly said, “I’ll go with you.”

Yi Mo replied, “Your mortal body won’t last much longer. Why not focus on your cultivation so you can ascend to immortality? Why follow me into this mess?”

Hearing this, Xu Mingshi touched his face. His fingers met wrinkles and deep grooves. He chuckled and said, “I fear I’ll never achieve immortality. Otherwise, I wouldn’t look like this.”

After a pause, Xu Mingshi continued, “I still have many attachments to the mortal world. My mortal roots aren’t severed, nor are my worldly ties. Forget it. I’ll accompany you for the journey—it’ll pass the time. At most, I have two years left. When I’m laid to rest, Old Snake, will you see me off?”

Yi Mo glanced at him sideways and said, “Why would I see you off? Even if you die, you’ll reincarnate as a Daoist again and continue cultivating.”

Xu Mingshi let out a chuckle. “I owe your son. If I don’t repay him in this life, how could I bear to reincarnate and continue cultivating?” Saying this, he laughed at himself. Thinking back to his reckless youth, regret and guilt had long turned into nothingness after two hundred years, leaving only laughter. His smile was indescribably mischievous, resembling his lively younger self. Yet displayed on his wrinkled face, it looked somewhat comical—a true old child.

Yi Mo knew he wouldn’t be able to shake him off, so he gave up arguing and strode ahead without further entanglement.

Xu Mingshi followed closely behind, step by step, as if on a carefree journey. Lighthearted and cheerful, he kept rambling on and on. Initially, he thought Yi Mo wouldn’t respond to his chatter. However, to his surprise, the old serpent seemed to have changed. Though he remained taciturn, he was no longer as cold as before. When encountering interesting topics, he would even exchange a few words.

At first, Xu Mingshi thought he had misheard. After traveling several hundred miles, he finally realized it was probably this lifetime’s Shen Qingxuan who had brought about such a change in him.

“Old Snake,” Xu Mingshi continued addressing him as he always had, “what’s going on between you and Shen Qingxuan?”

Yi Mo didn’t stop, replying calmly, “We’re getting married.”

“Huh?” Xu Mingshi froze for a moment, instinctively stopping in his tracks. By the time he recovered, the old serpent had already left him three hundred miles behind. He quickly used magic to catch up and asked, “Really?”

“Really,” Yi Mo replied.

Xu Mingshi let out a loud whoop and leaped into the air. His face, wrinkled and weathered, bloomed into a deep, joyful smile. He hopped and skipped in front of Yi Mo, exclaiming, “Wedding wine—I must drink your wedding wine! You have to invite me!”

Yi Mo’s expression seemed to relax slightly. He even stopped walking, smiled faintly, and said, “Alright, you’re invited.”

Xu Mingshi burst into hearty laughter, dancing with joy as he dashed ahead.

With such good news, their pace quickened significantly. They soon reached their destination: a mountain of remarkable beauty. Towering straight into the clouds, its peak was perpetually snow-covered, while its lower slopes were adorned with lush greenery, flowing streams, and vibrant birdsong.

But apart from the creatures of the wild, there was no sign of human presence.

Surveying the surroundings, Xu Mingshi asked, “Does he live here?”

Yi Mo continued walking, ascending from the mountainside toward the summit. As he climbed, he replied, “He has become an immortal, and I am a demon. How would I know where he lives?”

Xu Mingshi stopped in his tracks at these words and asked, “Then why come here to find him?”

Yi Mo smiled faintly but didn’t answer. He climbed all the way to the summit and began digging through the snow at a certain spot. After a while, he unearthed a jar of wine from beneath the icy layers and said, “Though I don’t know where he lives, I know where he keeps his wine.”

Before he finished speaking, a flash of white light appeared. Within it, an angry voice roared, “You little serpent! Stealing my wine for no reason!” The voice boomed like thunder, startling Xu Mingshi so much that he nearly stumbled.

Yi Mo finally set the wine jar down and leisurely straightened up. He said, “I have something to discuss with you.”

The old immortal, seeing his wine returned, snorted and said, “When you come looking for me, it’s never for anything good!”

Yi Mo merely smiled without replying, as if silently agreeing.

The old immortal, noticing his expression, suddenly felt a headache brewing. He sensed that the matter would be troublesome. If it were an ordinary issue, the snake demon could have handled it on his own. Why come seeking him? Moreover, this cold and aloof serpent was actually smiling… The old immortal had lived for over two thousand years and had never seen him smile before. Immediately taking a step back, he said, “I heard you broke into the underworld.”

Yi Mo said, “Yes.”

Beside them, Xu Mingshi widened his eyes and exclaimed, “You broke into the underworld?!”

But neither the immortal nor the demon paid any attention to his outburst. The old immortal fell silent for a moment, already guessing what Yi Mo wanted from him. He quickly said, “This matter is beyond my control.”

Yi Mo did not respond. He crouched down, dug out the wine jar he had just put back, and unearthed two more jars, cradling them in his arms as he walked toward the cliff. Holding the jars high, his back to the immortal, he asked faintly, “Will you help or not?”

The old immortal fell silent, staring at Yi Mo’s figure. His silhouette, jagged like a snow-covered mountain, exuded coldness yet inexplicably radiated a trace of humanity. This faint trace of humanity was a harbinger of disaster. The cold and indifferent serpent refused to remain cold anymore. It wasn’t that he couldn’t bear losing these few jars of wine—what did it matter if they had aged nearly a thousand years? In the end, looking at the serpent demon he had personally enlightened, he couldn’t help feeling a twinge of compassion.

After a long while, the immortal asked, “What exactly do you want to do?”

Yi Mo turned around and replied lightly, “I want Shen Qingxuan’s memories from three lifetimes.”

Three lifetimes of memories. Only by restoring these could he marry without regrets.

He was a cold and indifferent serpent, unfamiliar with human emotions. Wandering through three lifetimes, searching relentlessly, he remained foolish and unaware.

Because of his ignorance, his heart held only one soul. He knew he had done many excessive things yet was easily forgiven; hurt him countless times yet was readily absolved.

Two lifetimes, he had left him with nothing but solitary graves, without a single complaint.

In the third lifetime, foolish and dazed as he was, he still wanted to “be together.”

So he understood that his two-hundred-year search was simply to tell that person: there was no unattainable wish, no separation in love, no regrets. Don’t cry.

For two hundred years, all he sought was the chance, at the right moment, to make up for one sentence: I like you.

—I like you.

—I will marry you.

There is nothing you cannot have. Don’t be sad.

After everything they had been through, he still wanted to ask: Will you still be willing to marry me? Will you be willing to say these words—though our paths diverge, they ultimately lead to the same destination?

The old immortal was stunned. After a long pause, he asked, “What will you exchange for this?”

Yi Mo paused briefly and replied:

“Everything.”

Everything.

The old immortal gazed at him and sighed deeply. “Very well. Go and retrieve the fragment of his soul that is missing. Only when his soul is complete can I restore his memories of three lifetimes.”

Yi Mo asked, “Where should I look?”

The immortal gave him a doubtful look. “You don’t know?”

Yi Mo said, “I don’t. I’ve searched everywhere and found nothing.”

“You fool…” The immortal stomped his foot in frustration. “When he died in his last life, didn’t you even go to see him?”

Yi Mo was silent for a moment before answering, “He didn’t let me see him off.”

In his last life, he had forbidden him from attending his farewell, so Yi Mo obeyed and didn’t go.

The immortal sighed heavily. “Both of you are fools. He didn’t let you send him off because he feared it would grieve you. But in the end…” How could he bear it, not seeing you one last time?

Mortal love is probably like this—full of struggles, with no way forward or back.

In the first life, Shen Qingxuan adamantly refused to let him seek him out, yet left a snakebite mark on his hand, hoping he would come and continue their fate.

In the second life, Ji Jiu didn’t want him to see him off, fearing he would be saddened. Yet he left a fragment of his soul in the blood pearl on his chest, hoping to see him one last time.

There is no right or wrong, no black or white—only emotions overpowering reason, leaving one trapped, every step a mistake, every step a folly.

Yi Mo turned to leave, heading to find the remains of his previous lifetime to take the blood pearl from his chest and see that fragment of the soul.

No wonder he couldn’t find it. From beginning to end, it had been in his own blood.

“Little serpent,” the immortal called out from behind him. “A thousand years of cultivation, ruined in an instant. Do you truly have no regrets?”

Yi Mo turned around, looking at the benefactor who had given him sentience and eternal life. He replied firmly, “If not for him, I would rather die.”

If he gained him only to lose him again, he would rather die.

No complaints, no regrets.

With that, he smiled quietly, a smile so gentle it resembled the golden glow of dawn.