Chapter 39

Ten years was far too long a span of time, and for quite a while no one in the room said a word.

Who could remember the trivial things that had happened ten years ago? They could not even recall whether they had visited Mount Dafeng back then.

Hu Yuanfei asked with considerable curiosity, “If this happened ten years ago, why have you only come for revenge now? What have you been doing all this time?”

The viper’s movements seemed to stiffen for a moment. Its eyes turned slowly.

“Practicing.”

Even the cats and dogs were rendered speechless.

Hu Yuanfei struck at it mercilessly. “Then you’ve wasted the past ten years. You haven’t accumulated much strength, and you haven’t even killed a single person.”

At once, every human in the room glared at him.

What sort of thing was this master saying? What did he mean, they had not killed a single person? Did he actually want them to be killed? How could he take the snake’s side?

The viper hissed. “The scent of that human remains here, but he is not. There is a debtor for every debt and a perpetrator for every grievance. I do not slaughter the innocent indiscriminately.”

“Oh? A snake with principles, is it? If you don’t slaughter the innocent, then what do you call biting that child?”

“His body carried the strongest trace of that human’s scent.”

Hu Yuanfei suddenly understood. “So you picked the weakest one and bit him to vent your anger first? What a classless snake.”

The viper grew angry. It raised its body high, but after a few seconds, it deflated again. These several great demons were far too powerful; it could not defeat them.

It seemed it would have to return and cultivate for another ten years before coming back for revenge.

Meanwhile, Zhong Yilan was still struggling to puzzle out what had happened ten years ago and why the enemy was not there. Suddenly, she remembered something.

“Is the person you’re talking about my eldest brother? Ten years ago, he hadn’t divorced yet, and his children were still young. Every weekend, he loved taking them out to play. They went to Mount Dafeng many times and liked camping there overnight. Apart from his family, no one else was fond of going to Mount Dafeng.”

The old lady had been unconscious for quite some time, but someone pinched her philtrum and finally revived her. Trembling, she sat up, and when she heard this, she added, “The eldest? He did love going to Mount Dafeng. One of his friends ran a country inn there. The food was especially delicious, and he once came to our house and showed off his cooking.”

Hu Yuanfei smacked his lips. “Was it really that good? What could he cook?”

The old lady thought for a long while before recalling one dish. “Free-range mountain chicken stewed in an iron pot. The meat was wonderfully fragrant. And the corn cakes stuck around the edge of the pot—dip them in the broth, and you could swallow down a whole one in a single bite.”

Hu Yuanfei’s saliva ran down to his chin. Lang Xiao, looking thoroughly disgusted, raised a hand and wiped it away. He wiped so hard that Hu Yuanfei’s chin began to ache.

Clutching his chin, Hu Yuanfei continued, “Anything else?”

The old lady could not remember, but Zhong Yilan’s husband named several dishes. “The mixed-fish stew was delicious too, very fresh. The preserved vegetables they put in the pot were crispier and more flavorful than anything sold outside. And there was braised pork made from black mountain pig. It was rich but not greasy.”

The few of them began listing dishes as though reciting a menu, and the tense atmosphere vanished at once.

Hu Yuanfei’s stomach rumbled loudly. He wished he could fly to that country inn right then and feast.

Zhong Yilan’s husband said, “But that place closed down two years ago.”

“What?” Hu Yuanfei let out an indignant roar. Why had it closed? He had not even tasted a single bite.

The viper hissed with a cold laugh. “The man is dead. Naturally, it had to close.”

“Dead?”

There was no scent of blood on the viper, so it should not have killed anyone.

“I only frightened him. I did not kill him. He frightened himself to death.”

Zhong Yilan’s husband suddenly understood. “The news said the owner of the country inn had died suddenly. We thought he had worked himself to death. So he was frightened to death instead.”

The viper stared coldly at the humans. “That human killed twenty-three of my kind. I was the only one who escaped. He even stripped their skins and hung them from trees to humiliate us. Merely frightening him to death was already far too lenient.”

It seemed this snake was quite intelligent. It knew that killing humans would make it impossible to cultivate the righteous path. In that respect, it was rather admirable.

Lang Xiao asked, “Were you cultivating on Mount Dafeng before?”

“Yes.”

“How did you gain intelligence?”

“Through the Imperial Flowing Elixir.”

It had obtained very little of the Imperial Flowing Elixir and had never encountered it again afterward, which was why its cultivation remained so poor. It had cultivated for only a little over ten years and could not compare even with the cats and dogs. Still, it possessed decent talent and had already refined the transverse bone in its throat, allowing it to speak.

Many demons became spirits because of the Imperial Flowing Elixir. It was nothing unusual, so Lang Xiao did not continue questioning it and changed the subject.

“Is the enemy you’re looking for the eldest son of this family?”

“Yes. I saw him once two years ago, but unfortunately, he managed to escape.”

Human vehicles were far too fast. The viper could not catch up, and scarcely any of the man’s scent had remained behind. Finding him was difficult enough, especially since the viper had no sense of direction. It had searched for more than a year before finally locating the place where the man’s scent was strongest.

Unfortunately, it had waited there for a long time without seeing him appear. All it could do was occasionally vent its anger by sending insects inside and causing a little mischief.

That was also why insects had been appearing in the house throughout the past year.

Perhaps he had been frightened. The man had not returned even for the New Year. After waiting fruitlessly for another year, the viper caught the man’s scent on the child. Acting on impulse, it bit him.

It had restrained itself and injected only a small amount of venom. The child would suffer, but he would not die.

As for the collective hallucinations and terror that night, they were likewise the result of its furious revenge after failing to find the true culprit.

When Ming Jing learned that she had suffered entirely because of someone else’s grudge, her anger flared.

“What kind of mess has the eldest brother gotten himself into? He frightened Auntie into unconsciousness and even dragged his own mother into it!”

“No wonder he was in such a hurry to leave two years ago. He looked so panicked at the time. I thought he was ill. So he was frightened because he had a guilty conscience.”

Zhong Yilan was furious as well. Her daughter had fainted twice, and her face was now as pale as paper. She would certainly need to see a psychiatrist after returning home.

It was fortunate that her second brother was not there. If his wife found out that her own child had been caught up in this because of the eldest brother, she might tear him apart.

“No wonder Yihui has refused to come back for the past two years, always claiming that work was keeping him busy. I think he was simply too frightened to return. Fine, he didn’t want to come back—but he could at least have said something or found someone to resolve the matter. Now look at the suffering he’s put us through.”

The old lady had never imagined that the matter involved her eldest son. Clutching her chest, she began groaning and sighing.

Lang Xiao watched as everyone shouted and blamed him, yet not one person suggested calling him back. He could not help raising an eyebrow.

“This matter cannot remain unresolved. If he had the courage to do it, he should have the courage to face the consequences. There’s no point talking about him while he’s away. Call him back first and discuss it face-to-face. Little snake, what do you think?”

The viper nodded. “I agree.”

Hu Yuanfei clapped his hands. “Good. Then who’s making the call?”

The group exchanged glances.

They were angry, but the man might die if he came back. If their own phone call brought him home and caused his death, they might be cursed and blamed for it in the future. Thus, no one was willing to make the call.

In the end, the old lady proved the most decisive. “I’ll do it.”

She shakily took out her old-fashioned mobile phone and called Zhong Yihui.

The phone rang for a long, long time before it was answered. The old lady’s phone was so loud that even without the speaker on, everyone could clearly hear the noisy surroundings on the other end.

Zhong Yihui appeared to be dining and drinking with a group of people. His voice was thick with alcohol, and as the liquor took hold, his volume rose as well.

“Mom, what do you want? I’m busy here. Brother Wang, I’m taking a call. I’ll toast you again in a moment.”

The old lady gave a heavy snort. “You haven’t come home to see me in two years. Would you care even if I were dead?”

Zhong Yihui hurriedly apologized and began coaxing her. “Mom, what are you saying? You’re healthy and strong. It’s New Year’s—don’t say anything so inauspicious. I’ve only been busy with work. Once I’m finished, I’ll come back to see you. I’ll bring you over here so we can celebrate together. I’ll show you around too. You must get bored staying at home all the time.”

“Are you too busy to come home, or are you too frightened?”

Those words instantly lowered Zhong Yihui’s voice. He asked cautiously, “Mom, what are you talking about? What am I frightened of?”

“Snakes.”

There was a loud thud from the phone, as though it had been dropped. Someone nearby loudly asked what had happened.

Zhong Yihui’s voice came faintly from a distance. “Nothing. My hand slipped.”

After a long while, he picked up the phone again. “Mom, how could you say that? I’ve never been afraid of snakes since I was a child. It really is because I’m busy.”

The old lady was about to say something else when Hu Yuanfei took the phone from her.

“Mr. Zhong, when you do something wrong, you have to take responsibility. Continuing to run away will only harm yourself and others. The snake has found its way to your home. If you don’t come back immediately, your whole family may not have much time left.”

The alcohol left Zhong Yihui completely. His hands and feet turned cold.

“Who are you?”

“I’m the master your family hired. Oh, and the snake that’s been looking for you is right beside me. Would you like to speak with it? It’s been waiting for you a long time.”

Zhong Yihui slammed the phone down.

Hu Yuanfei did not take it to heart. He opened the old lady’s camera, took two photographs of the viper and the group of snakes, then opened WeChat and sent them out.

The old lady’s contacts were clearly organized. Without anyone’s guidance, he quickly found the right person.

When Zhong Yihui saw the familiar snake, he dropped heavily onto a stool. But he failed to sit properly and fell straight onto the floor.

The people beside him hurried to help him up.

“Old Zhong, what happened?”

Holding onto the table, Zhong Yihui rose to his feet. “Something’s happened at home. I have to go back now.”

“Isn’t there no one at your place? What could have happened?”

“It’s my old home.”

Whatever had happened at that hour had to be serious. No one tried to stop him. Instead, they all urged him to hurry home.

Zhong Yihui quickly bought a first-class ticket on the fastest high-speed train. By then, only first-class tickets remained. The two cities were not especially far apart; even counting everything, the journey would take only about two hours.

Once the viper learned that he was on his way, it quieted down as well. It coiled beside the swarm of snakes and waited in silence.

Lang Xiao did not want to sit around doing nothing. Carrying Qing Yao, she asked for a guest room so they could rest for a while. But the guest room on the first floor still contained bloodstains and traces of demonic energy that had not yet been cleaned up. Frowning, she withdrew.

“There are guest rooms upstairs too. You can sleep up there. I’ll take you.”

Zhong Yilan hurried forward to lead the way.

After settling them in, the people downstairs did not dare remain alone with the snake. They wanted to go upstairs and stay close to the master as well. But the instant they moved, the viper raised itself again and fixed them with a rigid stare.

Helpless, the group could only crouch nervously in the living room and continue waiting.

Toward the latter half of the night, just as dawn was beginning to break, Zhong Yihui finally returned, weary and travel-stained.

The viper, which had appeared to be asleep, raised its head the instant he stepped through the door. Cold, murderous hatred shone from its eyes.