Chapter 42

When it was Qinglai's turn to take a photo, there weren't that many formalities. He stood firmly in place, grinning extraordinarily brightly with his eyes curved into crescents.

Lang Xiao commented: "Resembles a fox by eighty percent."

Fortunately, Hu Yuanfei wasn't here; otherwise, he definitely would have protested. How could he possibly look like a dog? A stray dog was so ordinary, not a ten-thousandth as beautiful as him.

After registration and photos were completed, Yan Kai prepared to leave.

Crouching nearby, Qingli trotted over to Yan Kai's leg, gently brushed her tail against his trouser cuff to catch his attention, and then raised her head to look up at him.

"Officer, could I take a picture with you guys?"

This invitation surprised both police officers. "Take a photo with us? Why?"

Qingli flicked her tail. "This is my first time getting up close and personal with police officers, and I want to keep a memento."

Today, Yan Kai had come wearing his police uniform. Being tall and sturdy to begin with, the uniform made him look even more upright, righteous, and fiercely heroic. Back in her stray days, he was the exact type of person Qingli would never, ever approach and would run far away from upon sight.

But now, she could approach him openly and proudly.

How could Yan Kai possibly refuse such a small request? His colleague even agreed a step ahead of him.

"Of course no problem, such a small matter." Having said that, he hopped over happily and squatted next to the civet cat. "How do you want to pose? Is this okay?"

Qingli shook her head, gesturing for the two police officers to sit side by side on a stool. Then she leaped up, landing right on Yan Kai's lap, settling herself in a half-lying, half-sitting posture.

Yan Kai's hands went rigid; he didn't even know where to put them.

Qingli said, "Officer, you can put your hand on my back, you know."

Yan Kai had never been so cautious with a cat in his life. He gently placed his palm on Qingli's back. With the arrival of cold weather, the cat's fur had grown many small, soft under-hairs. Compared to the extremely smooth texture of summer, the winter cat fur felt thick, plush, and very soft, like sinking into a ball of warm cotton that rose and fell rhythmically with every breath.

His colleague nearby was so envious his eyes were turning red. Why didn't the cat jump onto him instead!

Yan Kai ignored his envious gaze and stared straight ahead.

Taking the picture now was Lang Xiao. Qingli didn't dare make so many demands of Lang Xiao; as long as he could capture the photo, it would do.

Perhaps finding it amusing, Qingyao—who had been playing nearby and had been ordered not to disturb the cats and dogs—finally couldn't help herself and crept over to Yan Kai's side as well. She looked at Lang Xiao with curiosity, not understanding what they were doing.

Seeing himself ignored, Qinglai aggrievedly and quietly crept over to sit beside Yan Kai's colleague, since there was no space left on the other side.

Soon, the group photo was freshly printed. Qingli thanked Yan Kai with full satisfaction.

Yan Kai packed up his things. Before leaving, he hesitated with unsaid words for a long time, and finally spoke to Qingli.

"Um, could you not always call me 'Officer'?" Although citizens often addressed him that way, being called that by a cat made him feel particularly strange, as if it were a constant reminder that there was a grandmother-aged soul living inside this cat's body.

Qingli looked up in confusion. "If not 'Officer', what should I call you?"

"Next time, you can just call me by my name, Yan Kai, or call me Officer Yan."

"Got it, Officer Yan. I'll remember."

It was around ten o'clock after the two police officers left, and Hu Yuanfei still hadn't returned.

Lang Xiao had been lingering on the balcony for a while, his gaze fixed continuously in the direction of the villa. The matter had already been concluded; there shouldn't be any more unexpected trouble. Why hadn't he returned yet?

Lang Xiao was even contemplating going to check on the situation himself.

Hu Yuanfei had indeed run into some unexpected trouble over on his side, though it had nothing to do with him—it was that unlucky child who had been bitten by the snake.

Because they didn't know what kind of snake had bitten the child when he was brought to the hospital, the doctors could only administer standard treatment. The viper hadn't bitten with heavy force, having no intention of driving the child to a fatal end. However, after a night of observation, the boy's condition not only failed to improve but worsened, as if the venom had reinvaded his body.

Before the Snake Immortal had even been invited into the home, the child was rushed into the emergency room. If Jiahe died, the two brothers would turn against each other as mortal enemies, and welcoming the Snake Immortal into the home at that point would hardly be a good thing.

With a bruised and battered forehead, Zhong Yihui knelt down hard in front of the viper. This time, even the old matriarch knelt with him.

"Snake Immortal, you must have a way, right? Please save that child and neutralize the poison for him."

The viper had just declared that it would never respond to any request from this household, and now people were begging right in front of it.

It raised its head high and stared at the people before it.

Hu Yuanfei sat in the back without speaking. His previously listless expression had grown much more spirited due to this unexpected turn of events.

Seeing that the viper remained silent, Zhong Yihui gritted his teeth, wanting to say he could trade his other leg, but in the end, he still couldn't bear to part with it. He only said, "All the wrongdoing was committed by me. The child is innocent; please forgive him."

At least he still knew how to care for the child, Hu Yuanfei thought lazily as he opened his mouth.

"Actually, I'm a bit curious."

The moment he spoke, everyone's attention instantly shifted to him. The viper turned its head back as well, as if those words were meant for it.

Sure enough, Hu Yuanfei asked, "With a whole house full of people, why did you specifically choose to bite a child? Was it because children are easier to bully?"

Of course, the viper refused to admit that it bullied the weak and feared the strong. It immediately snapped, "No! That child had the strongest scent of him on him!"

Unable to find the man for a whole year, upon suddenly discovering a child exuding a strong scent of Zhong Yihui, it had directly treated the boy as Zhong Yihui himself and lashed out with a bite to vent its spleen.

Fortunately, it still retained a shred of sanity and hadn't actually bitten him to death.

Zhong Yihui thought for a moment before realizing what had happened. His second younger brother's family knew he wouldn't be returning to his hometown this year, and while driving back home, they happened to pass through his city, dropping by to stop and have a meal. Having not seen his own child in a long time and seeing a nephew roughly the same age as his son, Zhong Yihui couldn't resist hugging him, even giving him some clothes left behind by his son to wear and handing him a toy upon departure. Jiahe had loved it and held it tightly in his arms the entire trip.

This had resulted in the child being tainted with his scent.

If Jiahe were to die because of this, Zhong Yihui would likely live in remorse for the rest of his life.

Having figured out the inside story, the viper twitched its tail. A wrong has its source, and a debt has its master; there really was no need to take it out on an innocent child, and it didn't wish to incur any extra karmic entanglement.

It hissed, "I can save him."

The entire room instantly rejoiced.

"But I have one more condition. Aside from the spirit tablet, I also want a Dharma vessel made of top-grade jade."

This requirement sounded quite difficult, but to wealthy people, anything that could be bought with money was not a difficult task. As it happened, the Zhong family was very wealthy.

However, the viper's demand didn't stop there: "This jade Dharma vessel must be carved by him personally. If it's not done well, it won't do."

The expression of joy on Zhong Yihui's face instantly froze. He didn't know how to carve! Yet this was the only way to save the child, so no matter what, he had to agree.

"Alright, I promise you."

Once the conditions were settled, the viper said with satisfaction, "Take me to the child's side."

Hu Yuanfei was somewhat curious about how the viper would save someone, so he simply followed the group of people rushing to the hospital.

When they arrived, Jiahe had just finished receiving serum treatment, and the doctors were discussing whether or not to subject the child to plasma exchange.

Zhong Yinian, the second younger brother, hadn't slept all night. With a stubbly beard and a look of absolute exhaustion, he leaned against his wife. His wife was constantly wiping away tears, never imagining that this homecoming would result in such a catastrophe. Having shed so many tears, her eyes were red and swollen almost to the point of being unable to open.

Seeing the family arrive, the couple fell into another wave of grief. However, seeing that their eldest brother had also returned, they were somewhat startled.

"Why did Big Brother rush back too? Are you here to see Jiahe? And what happened to your leg?"

The two of them assumed Zhong Yihui had returned solely because of the child, which made Zhong Yihui too ashamed to face them.

The old matriarch hurriedly asked, "How is the child?"

"Not looking good. We might have to do a blood transfusion."

"Is he still in the ward? Can we visit him now? We have a way to cure his poison."

The old matriarch gave Zhong Yihui a pat, and he immediately lifted the bag he was carrying on his back, inside of which was the viper. He unzipped a section, and the viper's head poked out.

Catching sight of the snake, Zhong Yinian's wife shrieked in terror and almost fainted from fright.

"A snake! There's a snake!"

Zhong Yinian hurriedly asked, "Is that the snake that bit Jiahe? Quick, give it to the doctor! With the snake, the doctor can administer the right targeted treatment!"

The old matriarch shushed him. "No, this is the Snake Immortal that has come to cure Jiahe. We can talk about the details slowly at home after Jiahe gets better. Saving the child is what matters now. Don't tell the doctors about this for now; I guarantee Jiahe will be fine."

The couple was left somewhat dazed by this superstitious display. The old matriarch had never believed in ghosts and deities; why was she suddenly messing around with a Snake Immortal?

The viper paid no attention to their bickering, crawling out of the bag at lightning speed and heading straight into the ward.

This was a private room with no one else inside. The viper crawled over to Jiahe, who had a ghastly complexion and remained unconscious, and with a few quick bites, nipped him on the neck, wrist, and ankle.

From the puncture wounds left by the teeth, tiny droplets of black blood oozed out. As the black blood flowed away, Jiahe's dark, bruised lips returned to a red color at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his complexion regained its rosy glow. He let out a distressed groan and actually opened his eyes shortly after.

Jiahe didn't yet know what had happened to him. Feeling weak in his limbs, he tried to sit up and felt something flowing down his neck. Reaching out to touch it, his hand came away covered in black blood, causing him to cry out.

"Ah!"

Hearing the sound from inside, the family members who were still arguing outside the ward instantly turned their heads to look in, catching sight of Jiahe sitting up.

At that moment, having successfully accomplished its mission, the viper had already retreated from the bed and crawled back into the backpack.

Having watched the whole process unfold right beside them without making a sound, Hu Yuanfei curled his lips in boredom. It was surprisingly simple—it had merely used demonic qi to force the toxins out of the child's body, making all his running around a wasted trip.

Jiahe's sudden recovery stunned the doctors, who were still discussing blood replacement therapy. They rushed inside, gently pushed him back down onto the bed, and wheeled him off for examinations. His heart rate and blood pressure had returned to normal, the tremors and pain had vanished, and his rosy complexion looked nothing like someone who had been critically ill and on the verge of death moments ago.

A doctor noticed the four extra punctures on his body and the black blood that had leaked out, prompting him to question the family members who followed inside.

"What did you people just do? What are these injuries about?"

The family hadn't seen clearly how the viper had operated and didn't dare mention that they had brought a snake in for treatment, so they all shook their heads and said nothing.

The old matriarch secretly glanced at the bag behind Zhong Yihui, noticing that the zipper had already been pulled shut.