When love draws near, it's like snow - Chapter 8
I pretended not to hear his shouts, my only thought was to get rid of that troublesome, stinky flower! I kept urging Little White to go forward, forward, and forward again!
In the blink of an eye, we were less than two hundred meters from the azaleas. But suddenly, no matter how much I urged it on, Little White refused to move an inch. It kept barking softly, looking very uneasy.
"Get out of here! You brat, you stupid brat, stop cheating!" I yelled angrily.
"Shh! Don't make a sound!" Huaiyuan had caught up with me at some point. He grabbed my hand, solemnly put a finger to his lips, and gestured for me to be quiet. His eyes, however, were fixed on what lay ahead.
I followed his gaze and stared intently ahead. My heart nearly leaped into my throat—a gigantic python lay coiled before the road, its entire body emitting a strong, pungent stench. Its enormous, ugly head was held high, its eyes, as large as copper bells, staring menacingly at the ground.
Huaiyuan gently gestured, signaling Xiaobai to carry me onto an old tree. He pulled a gleaming object from his robes and held it quietly in his hand, his expression a mixture of seriousness and excitement. Was I seeing things? He actually broke into a genuine smile!
"No, it looks like we have to get down the mountain quickly. If we stay any longer, he might go crazy!" I groaned inwardly.
But who can save us now? God, please help us! I could only keep praying to God.
"Don't move, Huaiyuan!" I could only mouth to him. He gave me a reassuring look and then ignored me, quietly moving forward. I dared not speak, afraid of startling the giant python, and could only anxiously think to myself—you brat, you want to die? I don't care!
Looking down from my vantage point, I noticed a small snake, about fifty centimeters long and as thin as a thumb, slithering in front of the giant python. This snake had a red crest on its head and its body shimmered with golden light. The little golden snake was leisurely and nonchalantly wriggling its beautiful body, as if performing a graceful dance. Its expression seemed to completely disregard the giant python.
Strangely, Huaiyuan didn't seem to care about the python, focusing instead on the small golden snake that emitted an eerie light yet was incredibly beautiful.
A gentle breeze caressed my hair, carrying a rich floral fragrance to my nose. Looking out, I saw a strange flower, as large as a bronze mirror and as resembling a trumpet, quietly blooming under the moonlight. Upon closer inspection, I counted exactly seven colors: black, white, red, yellow, blue, purple, and cyan. Yes, seven colors in one flower! My goodness! Isn't this the legendary seven-colored azalea?
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[Volume 1: Encounter Chapter 8 - Heart Chilled Under the Moon]
Perhaps it smelled the fragrance of the flowers—I don't know if snakes have a sense of smell, I can only guess. The little golden snake's graceful body slowly slithered towards the azalea—no way? That's the thing that saved my life on Mount Tai! With it, I have any hope of returning to the mortal world! Please: just stop causing trouble! I cried out in my heart.
Huaiyuan approached the little golden snake stealthily yet swiftly. The large python, its head held high, began to sway from side to side, seemingly plotting something wicked—yet it feared the little golden snake and dared not advance. It seemed to want to wait for Huaiyuan's actions to unfold before making its own decision—damn it, ugly creature, its thoughts so filthy! I cursed inwardly. But I was powerless to help; I could only cling to the tree trunk, hold my breath, and silently watch the unfolding events.
The little golden snake had already moved to the side of the azalea, but seemed to sense Huaiyuan's approach. It leaped up lightly, then its body did a 180-degree turn in the air, drawing a beautiful arc, and pounced towards Huaiyuan.
Huaiyuan gave a cold laugh, then bent over and shot into the air like a wisp of smoke. With a flick of his finger, a silver light flew swiftly toward the golden snake. But upon contact with the snake, it made a soft "hiss" sound, bounced away, and disappeared into the thick darkness of the night.
This didn't harm it, but it enraged the golden snake. It twisted its body wildly, and in an instant, it looked as if countless golden threads were dancing in the night sky, weaving together eerie pictures.
Huaiyuan's figure was like a ghost, appearing in front one moment and behind the next, to the left one moment and to the right the next. He was truly as swift as a rabbit, as fast as lightning. I was dazzled and my heart was captivated! I exclaimed, "Amazing! Amazing!"
In the midst of my astonishment, the giant python took advantage of the chaos and headed straight for the seven-colored azalea, opening its blood-red maw to swallow the azalea whole. I couldn't help but let out a scream.
Huaiyuan shifted his body in a flash, and in the midst of the chaos, flicked his finger, sending a silver light piercing the python's vital spot. The python, in pain, writhed angrily on the ground. Ignoring the golden snake, he leaped forward in a split second. His palm, sharp as a blade, slashed down at the snake's head.
No sooner said than done, the little golden snake darted forward and bit Huaiyuan's vest! Seeing its master injured, Xiaobai disregarded everything and rushed forward, grabbing the snake's body! The little golden snake twisted its body and quickly broke free from Xiaobai. Before I could even see what happened, Xiaobai was already lying on its back, its huge body hitting the ground with a dull thud!
Xiao Bai bought Huaiyuan an extremely precious 0.1 seconds—he twisted his body, flicked his right hand, and a flash of cold light cleaved the little golden snake in two!
The python's tail quickly coiled around Huaiyuan's small body. "Be careful!" I didn't have time to feel sorry for Xiaobai and shouted a warning to Huaiyuan.
He remained remarkably calm, leisurely circling the python's head once, and a complete head fell off, the blood gushing from the snake's body splattering him crimson. In the moonlight, it appeared exceptionally eerie and terrifying!
Huaiyuan raised his head to the sky and let out a long roar—a high-pitched and passionate sound that soared into the heavens, like the roar of a dragon and the howl of a tiger. It was filled with intense joy, like a sword drawn from its sheath!
The whistling sound startled countless roosting birds in the forest. They flew low, darted about, or danced wildly in the dense woods, in the night sky, and under the moonlight...
I was stunned—was this still the child I knew? Who was this spirited, high-spirited, and carefree person?
Slowly sliding down the tree, enduring the nauseating stench of the python, I covered my nose and walked towards Huaiyuan—he was gently wiping the blood off his clothes with the dagger that had killed the two snakes. In the moonlight, the cold gleam of the knife sent chills down my spine.
I touched Little White with a sorrowful expression—its face was completely bluish-purple, clearly it had succumbed to the poison and died. I was astonished; from the moment it was poisoned to its death, less than five minutes had passed. That little golden snake's venom was truly extraordinary! —Wait, didn't it bite Huaiyuan's vest earlier? Huaiyuan?? I quickly looked at him, "Are you alright?"
He gave me a reassuring look, then bent down and carefully used the knife to pluck the seven-colored azalea, putting it into a white jade bottle he always carried with him. He let out a long breath and then revealed a satisfied smile!
"Wait a minute," I looked at him questioningly, "didn't you say it would take an hour for the fruit to ripen? You wanted the fruit, not the flower, right? There's no fruit yet!"
He pursed his lips slightly, smiled at me, and casually gave me the answer: "Just kidding."
What?! I stared at him wide-eyed, utterly incredulous. "Why did you lie to me? What's in it for you? What do you mean?"
He didn't answer, but carefully picked up the small snake, took out a dark leather bag from his sleeve, and put the snake inside.
"Let's go back."
"What about Xiaobai? Are they just going to ignore her like this?" I stubbornly stood still and refused to leave.
"Then what are we going to do? Are you going to take its corpse back with you?" He looked at me mockingly. "If you can carry it, I won't object."
"You!" I was speechless with anger. "Is your blood cold? Little White has been with you for so many years, how can you just leave it to rot in the wilderness? Isn't that too heartless? You can do it, but I can't. If you're going to leave, at least bury Little White before you go!"
"Then take your time burying me, I'm leaving." And with that, he actually turned and walked away without even looking back!
"Go away, go away if you want, and don't come back!" I was trembling with anger, but I was helpless and could only shout loudly at his back.
I crouched down, found a flat stone on the ground, and began to dig with difficulty: "You brat, you cold-blooded bastard! I hope a tiger comes along and eats him halfway—but a tiger doesn't seem to be able to handle him, huh? Then let a demon catch him, then pull out his tendons, skin him, and drink his blood dry!" I cursed viciously.
Am I really that awful?
I looked up abruptly, only to find him standing behind me, looking at me with a wry smile, "Tsk, tsk, if you keep digging like this, you won't find anything even after days."
"What's it to you? If I can't dig it out in one day, I'll dig for two days! If two days isn't enough, then ten days will do. I'll dig it out until it's done!"
"What a silly girl!" He shook his head, looked at me helplessly, and gently pushed me away. "Let me do it."
"Hey! You have no manners! I'm clearly older than you, how can you talk to me like that? I'm the older sister!" I was indignant.
"Sister?" He raised an eyebrow and looked me up and down—his eyes full of disdain: "Wait until you act like a sister before you talk."