Chapter 8

For several days after that, Ah Wan no longer initiated conversation with Little Snake. After waking up and eating breakfast, she would carry her basket and take her medicine hoe up the mountain, not returning until evening.

Little Snake didn’t understand that Ah Wan was avoiding her. Every day, she diligently cleaned, cooked, cultivated Gu, and then crouched by the door, waiting for someone to come back.

The weather had been poor lately, often overcast. Ah Wan always remembered to bring her bamboo hat or put a small folding umbrella in her basket when she went out. But today, she forgot.

She was halfway there when she remembered and was about to turn back to get it, but hesitated as she shifted her steps.

Going back meant seeing Little Snake’s pitiful, wronged expression.

Ah Wan didn’t want to see that, so she chose to continue up the mountain.

However, less than two hours after going up, a torrential downpour suddenly began.

It was as if the gods in heaven were pouring water from buckets, giving no one a chance to hide.

Ah Wan carried her basket and found a cave to shelter from the rain, her entire body almost completely soaked.

She put down her basket and unhurriedly found a slightly cleaner-looking rock to sit on, hugging her knees as she quietly gazed outside.

Waiting for the rain to stop.

The rain was so heavy, like a curtain of water. The weeds at the cave entrance were beaten into a mess, just like her heart, a tangled knot.

When she was eight years old, she went up the mountain to pick mushrooms. Her five-year-old sister secretly followed behind. She only noticed halfway there.

Her sister begged her pitifully, and Ah Wan’s heart softened for a moment, so she let her sister come along.

It also rained that day, and the two of them hid at the cave entrance waiting for the rain to stop.

What arrived before the rain stopped was their parents.

When her mother found them, she immediately slapped Ah Wan across the face, pointed at her nose, and screamed hysterically: “If anything happens to your sister, I will not let you off!”

Her father, who arrived shortly after, grabbed a stick and said he would break her legs. Only the neighbor auntie who had come along to search for them managed to stop him.

That very night, after returning home, Ah Wan put a Gu insect in her parents’ cups.

Unfortunately, she was only eight then and had not yet mastered the skill, only causing them a night of diarrhea.

The next day, her parents took her sister and moved away, abandoning her to be raised by her grandmother.

Ah Wan still remembered the words her mother said before leaving: “No wonder you were born in the year of the Snake. A cold-blooded creature that can’t be tamed.”

Ah Wan had remembered those words until now. A snake—

One that can’t be tamed.

“Sss~” A familiar sound came from the grass nearby. Ah Wan’s body stiffened, and she slowly turned her head to look.

A little white snake was crawling over through the heavy rain, the lanyard of a folding umbrella held in its mouth. It was looking around, occasionally lowering its head to sniff around the ground.

Perhaps the rain had washed away Ah Wan’s scent, because Little Snake crawled right up to the cave entrance without finding where she was.

Ah Wan was helpless and called out to her: “Stupid snake.”

“Come here.”

Little Snake heard the voice and turned her head. When she saw Ah Wan, she was so happy she flicked her tongue rapidly and crawled over, swaying her tail.

She lowered her head to drop the rope hanging from her teeth, then nudged the folding umbrella with her head.

The umbrella had been dragged all the way by Little Snake and was already filthy.

Ah Wan looked at it but still picked it up and put it in her basket, then extended her hand to Little Snake.

“Come up.”

Little Snake was stunned for a moment, glanced at Ah Wan, and then joyfully crawled into her palm.

“Let me see your fangs.” Ah Wan pinched her head and said.

Little Snake obediently opened her mouth, revealing her sharp, venomous fangs for her to see.

The fangs were fine, undamaged. Only the flesh near the corners of her mouth was rubbed a little red, looking like it was about to bleed.

Ah Wan let go, glared at her, and fiercely scolded: “Stupid snake.”

After yelling, she couldn’t help but soften her tone. “What did you come here for?”

Little Snake sprawled out in Ah Wan’s palm, stealthily rubbing her head against the base of her thumb, and said quietly: “To bring you home.”

“Once the rain stops, I’ll go back myself.” Ah Wan’s tone was icy.

Little Snake swayed her tail, looking very happy. She replied proudly: “Snakey made food. If we don’t go home soon, it’ll get cold.”

Hearing this, Ah Wan felt a moment of compassion.

The little snake in her palm was so small, looking pitiful and cute.

Ah Wan couldn’t help but gently flick her tail tip with a finger, softening her tone again. “Once the rain stops, I’ll go back myself.”

“Go home even if the rain doesn’t stop.” Little Snake finished speaking and raised her upper body, patting Ah Wan’s palm with the tip of her tail. “Snakey will bring you.”

Ah Wan fell silent.

A long while later, Ah Wan held Little Snake in one hand and picked up the basket with the other. She said softly: “Then let’s go home.”

After saying this, she placed Little Snake on the ground and took the folding umbrella from her basket.

Little Snake turned her head back, a little worried. Ah Wan opened the umbrella, lowered her head, and said: “Let’s go.”

Only then did Little Snake crawl forward with peace of mind.

The rain showed no sign of stopping. Ah Wan walked behind, holding the umbrella. The little white snake crawled in front, twisting and turning. Every few meters, she would turn her head back to check if the human was still following.

She was practically crawling with three backward glances per step.

After this happened repeatedly, Ah Wan couldn’t stand it anymore and scolded her coldly: “Crawl properly. Don’t look back.”

Little Snake flicked her tongue in the rain and turned her head back with some displeasure, crawling ahead in a huff.

Watching her like this, Ah Wan actually smiled, as if bullying her was very amusing.

Rain pelted the mountain forest. The little white snake laboriously paved the way ahead, and the umbrella in Ah Wan’s hand slowly tilted forward.

Hm?

Little Snake noticed the rain had stopped and wanted to turn her head to tell Ah Wan, but was suddenly reprimanded loudly: “Don’t you dare look back.”

Arriving home, Ah Wan placed the folding umbrella at the door and went into the bathroom to change clothes.

Little Snake crawled into the house to put on clothes, then hurriedly ran to the table.

The food on the table was already cold. When Ah Wan came out, she saw Little One holding the edge of a bowl with both hands, testing the temperature. Then she frowned and carried the dishes back to the kitchen.

Not bad, she’d even learned to heat up food.

Just as Ah Wan was feeling gratified, she suddenly saw Little One carry a plate of food and dump it straight into the trash can with a slap. Then an anxious voice came from the kitchen.

“Human, I’ll make it again, okay?”

Ah Wan: …

Forget it, couldn’t ask for too much.

She rolled up her sleeves and went into the room, nudging aside Little Snake, who was preparing to cook again. “Let’s just cook noodles. Get me the noodles from the fridge.”

“Oh,” Little Snake immediately opened the fridge, crouched in front of it, and asked curiously, “Noodles?”

Ah Wan: …

Couldn’t set the bar too low, either.

She walked over and lightly kicked the young girl squatting on the ground with her foot, pressing: “Move.”

Little Snake hugged her legs and shuffled sideways like a crab, watching as Ah Wan bent over and took out a bunch of long, thin, white noodles.

She also took out an egg.

“I’ll only teach you once.” Ah Wan looked down at her, then closed the fridge door and turned to leave.

Little Snake immediately followed, standing beside her on tiptoes, watching curiously with a very studious look.

The egg noodles were cooked quickly. Ah Wan carried the bowl out and sat at the table to eat. Little Snake also climbed onto a stool, sat properly, and began gnawing on raw meat, hugging it.

But every time she took a bite, she couldn’t help looking up at the human across from her.

Before she finished even one bowl of noodles, Ah Wan lost her appetite. Her head felt fuzzy and dizzy; she must have caught a chill from the rain.

She laid her chopsticks across the bowl, leaned back, and looked at Little Snake across the table, speaking lazily: “You do the dishes.”

“Mhm mhm.”

Little Snake nodded her head vigorously, glanced at the unfinished bowl of noodles, then looked at Ah Wan. Seeing that she wasn’t telling her to leave, she finally relaxed, hugged her raw meat, and gobbled it down ravenously.

After eating, Little Snake obediently took the bowls and chopsticks back to the kitchen. Ah Wan had already fallen asleep leaning against the chair.

Little Snake, as usual, stuck out her tongue and laboriously cleaned the bowls. Then she faced the iron wok with difficulty.

She hated washing the iron wok the most; it was especially troublesome.

As Ah Wan slept in a daze, she felt her head throbbing and her body heating up.

She opened her eyes, planning to make herself some medicine, but as she stepped into the kitchen, she saw Little One happily licking the spatula Ah Wan had just used to fry the egg. Her clean little face was smeared with dirt.

In the instant their eyes met.

Ah Wan: …

For the first time, she reflected on whether she was being too excessive. Although the other was a snake, she was in human form most of the time. Not giving her proper food and always tossing her a hunk of raw meat to fob her off…

No wonder she had been staring at the noodles in Ah Wan’s bowl while eating just now; she wanted some.

Ah Wan’s heart softened for a moment. She stepped forward and snatched the spatula from her hand but habitually asked coldly: “Haven’t I fed you enough?”

Little Snake shook her head blankly, then pulled Ah Wan’s hand and placed it on her own abdomen, smiling sweetly. “Full.”

She didn’t need to go out hunting; she could eat an enormous hunk of meat every day. She was so happy.

Ah Wan looked down at the girl’s flat belly, feeling a searing heat in her palm. As if possessed, she reached out and squeezed it.

Little Snake immediately guarded her lower abdomen and dodged backward, frowning and glaring huffily at the perpetrator. She said with utter seriousness: “Human, don’t squeeze Snakey. This is where eggs are made and baby snakes are incubated. If it’s squeezed and broken, can’t make eggs, there’ll be no baby snakes.”

“Oh?” Ah Wan’s mind was also muddled from the fever. Not only did she feel no guilt, but she became excited instead. She stepped forward, closing in on Little Snake, the corners of her lips curving up slightly. “Egg-laying?”

Then she gently placed her hand over her lower abdomen and asked curiously: “Here… are there eggs?”

“No,” Little Snake looked at her nervously, afraid she would squeeze again. She answered honestly in a small voice, “Snakey has to be in heat first, then there will be eggs.”

Hearing this, Ah Wan’s mind instantly sobered.

In heat. Right, how could she have forgotten?

In an instant, her gaze upon Little Snake turned ice-cold. Through the layer of clothing, her fingers slowly traced along the girl’s abdomen. She asked softly: “Can such a small snake also go into heat?”

It sounded like a question, but it was more like a mumble to herself. Her tone held a hint of disappointment as she looked down, avoiding the girl before her eyes. “If a little snake goes into heat, what should be done…”

Little Snake was a bit nervous. Her lower abdomen felt hot from being touched, but she still answered honestly: “When Snakey goes into heat, she will hide and not mate.”

She was a snake trying to cultivate into human form; she would not mate indiscriminately.

“Ah, I see…” Ah Wan’s tone became slightly lighter. She slowly leaned closer, her fingertip hooking the waistband of Little Snake’s pants, and whispered in her ear, “Good little snake.”

Hearing the praise, Little Snake immediately perked up, saying “Mhm,” and lifted her small head, waiting for a kiss.

But instead, Ah Wan heavily dropped her head onto her shoulder and then closed her eyes.

Little Snake’s body trembled; she was a little scared.

“Human, you’re so hot.”