Jiang Zhique nodded, removing her left knee from the chair Qi Ran was sitting on. Perhaps because her knee had been pressing on the chair for too long and had gone numb, her stance was a bit awkward. Qi Ran stood up. Both of them were somewhat limping, a sight that was a little comical.
Jiang Zhique asked hesitantly, “You… don’t have any unusual sensations?”
Qi Ran’s situation was somewhat beyond her expectations. In her memory, when she had first accepted the Snake Tattoo, the pain she showed during the process was nowhere near as exaggerated as Qi Ran’s. But the after-effects of accepting the snake tattoo were a convoluted mess, too numerous to count. For example, sensory confusion lasting several days, dehydration of the body surface, persistent high fever, and so on. Yet, the Qi Ran before her showed none of this at all. Apart from seeming somewhat weak and drained of energy, there were no other changes.
“Unusual sensations?” Qi Ran rolled up her sleeve and looked at the entangled snake tattoos on her wrist. She asked, “It’s a bit itchy… Can I scratch it?”
She had heard that even if a wound is itchy, you shouldn’t touch it with your hands because of the risk of bacterial infection. She wasn’t sure if the same issue applied to Snake Tattoos. Better to ask just to be safe.
Jiang Zhique was momentarily speechless. She was just about to say something when she suddenly stopped. Because the Snake Tattoos on Qi Ran’s wrist had actually started attacking each other. To be precise, they weren’t attacking each other. Rather, the two ink-black serpent tattoos, which were biting each other’s tails, were unilaterally driving away the smaller, finer snake tattoos. They herded them in one breath to the end of her forearm. The tiny snake tattoos gathered there, linking together to form three black rings.
After finishing this eviction, the two ink-black Snake Tattoos leisurely returned to Qi Ran’s slender index and middle fingers on her left hand, looking quite satisfied.
“…Is this bullying?” Watching the scene unfolding on her own arm, Qi Ran was flabbergasted. She asked in a low voice, “Do you have any idea why this is happening?”
Jiang Zhique shook her head. This scene was completely beyond her expectations. She had never seen these two Snake Tattoos show such obvious emotional expression. In her impression, these two tattoos put on tremendous airs. Even if you pleaded humbly for them to help with something, they might still ignore you completely. Yet, on Qi Ran’s arm, she actually sensed a hint… possessiveness? Or was it a declaration of claiming the entire arm as their territory? She couldn’t think of a more fitting description.
“How do I command them?” Qi Ran extended her hand, pointed at the glass of water on the table in the room, and tried saying, “Go, fetch the cup?”
The two Snake Tattoos wrapped around her slender fingers remained indifferent.
“Commanding them requires paying a price. The price can be light or severe. It’s best not to command them too frequently,” Jiang Zhique hesitated, then advised, “They have their own intelligence. If you adopt too arrogant an attitude toward them, bad things might happen…”
“Bad things?” Qi Ran paused slightly. “For example?”
“It’s just a rumor,” Jiang Zhique said quietly. “There was one Snake Mark Bearer who did something she shouldn’t have and angered these two Snake Tattoos. Late that night, her Mind Lake was devoured by the tattoos. After her Mind Lake was completely consumed, she became a useless person, stripped of the ability to think. But this story has no real evidence; it’s just a rumor.”
“The price?” Qi Ran gazed at the pitch-black Snake Tattoos on her fingers. “To command them, there’s always a price to pay, right?”
“Many, varied. But the price that must inevitably be paid is lifespan,” Jiang Zhique said quietly. “If you don’t command them, you don’t have to pay the price. But this thing is like an abyss; it’s not something you can control just because you want to.”
Qi Ran paused, then asked, “How many times have you used them?”
“I don’t remember,” Jiang Zhique shook her head. “But I probably have about twelve years of life left to use.”
“Twelve years?” Qi Ran froze.
This number was completely unexpected. Jiang Zhique was only sixteen now. Had she already used her lifespan down to just twelve years remaining?
“Each use makes it shorter,” Jiang Zhique’s fingertip rubbed the sharp edge of her cigarette case. Her tone was calm. “The Snake Tattoos don’t really like me as a host, so the price is a bit more expensive than for other Snake Mark Bearers.”
“…Why didn’t you tell me before?”
Qi Ran asked in a low voice. She had never imagined the price of the Snake Tattoo would be so great. Jiang Zhique had never shown any regard for her own lifespan. Her attitude toward the Snake Tattoos was almost ‘use them whenever possible.’ It seemed that if Qi Ran hadn’t now been marked with them herself, she would have kept the secret of her shortened life hidden forever. Whenever Qi Ran asked, she would use her Snake Tattoos… watching her own lifespan decrease day by day. Wasn’t she afraid?
“Because only the me with the Snake Tattoos is useful,” Jiang Zhique enunciated each word, speaking very slowly. “Only a useful me can survive.”
Qi Ran was about to say something, but Jiang Zhique spoke first, cutting off the words she was about to utter. “Without the Snake Tattoos, I would have died at the hands of the Executors long ago. The reason I could live on as a remnant of the Jiang family is precisely because I bear the Snake Tattoos. It is my only value.”
Qi Ran looked at her dark eyes, which held a trace of stubbornness, and couldn’t help but fall silent.
A cell phone ringtone suddenly rang, breaking the slightly somber atmosphere. Qi Ran took out her phone. It was an unfamiliar number. She answered the call but said nothing, just holding it to her ear, waiting silently for the other party to speak first.
“Are you there?” To her surprise, it was He Ling’s voice. He was panting heavily, sounding utterly exhausted. “I’ll keep it brief. You two need to find a place to hide for the time being. Try not to leave the house at all. And tell the others this news. Until we contact you again, don’t try calling the contact info we left before. Don’t go to Xie Liusheng’s shop. Don’t use that card. In short, don’t touch anything related to Xie Liusheng. Understood?”
“What happened? Where is Xie Liusheng?” Qi Ran’s brows furrowed deeply. “Is it convenient for you to talk right now? If not, just hang up.”
“…It’s fine, don’t worry about me. I’m safe for the moment, should have shaken off those lunatics,” He Ling’s voice sounded like he was taking a deep breath, the tail end of his words trembling slightly. “I got a minor injury, but it’s nothing, just a flesh wound. Xie Liusheng and I got separated. I don’t know if he’s still alive. Those Police officers have gone mad.”
“Police?” Qi Ran was stunned. “Why would the Police attack you?”
“I don’t know. We weren’t the only ones thinking about going to Nine Hut Mountain. Quite a few people were locked up in the Detention Center. We all thought the Police were just confirming our identities as patients before releasing us, or transferring us to the Executors. But they didn’t. They kept us locked up for a day and a night. Then, around noon today, two people in Executor uniforms suddenly arrived. It looked like they said something to those cops. Soon after, I heard the sound of several gunshots coming from the far side… The originally quiet atmosphere exploded in an instant. Someone forcibly released their Syndrome and destroyed the wall.” He Ling’s voice trembled. “We escaped from there. But it seems like some Police officers died from the Syndromes. Someone shouted that a cop was dead. I don’t know if it’s true.”
“You don’t know if it’s true? You heard gunshots?” Qi Ran said quietly. “You didn’t see it with your own eyes?”
“No. Xie Liusheng said it might be a setup, but we couldn’t stop the others,” He Ling replied. “Maybe it was just a trick played by those Executors. They needed an excuse. But even if it was a setup, the setup worked. We could only flee through that hole in the wall. Most of the people who came to Nine Hut Mountain at this time have backgrounds behind them, like Xie Liusheng. That’s why I’m calling you. Hide away, try not to go out.”
Qi Ran’s brow furrowed tightly. As if suddenly realizing something, she hung up the phone.
He Ling’s voice ceased abruptly.
