Chapter 53. There's a snake...
Green Willow dared not return to her own room, so she stayed in the west wing with Shanlai for company.
In the evening, Fen'er brought her dinner, but she didn't dare to see anyone. She sat sideways, not moving or speaking, pretending not to see or know anything.
Fen'er had been staring at her ever since she entered. After putting down the food box, she slowly walked to her side, grabbed her sleeve and shook it gently, timidly calling out "Sister," and said, "I know you wouldn't steal...we all know..."
After Fen'er left, Lü Yang slumped onto the table and cried. Shan Lai sat on the bed eating, taking each bite fiercely. After finishing, he got up and slowly walked around the room. He walked for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, and then continued walking.
Green Willow was a little worried and called out, "Sister, stop and rest. You're not fully recovered yet, don't overexert yourself."
Shanlai shook his head and said, "I'm fine. Let me walk a little longer; it will help me recover faster."
Her body was actually tired, but her spirits were high because she desperately wanted to get better quickly. For the first time, she felt a strong desire to fight and compete, not for anything else, but simply to prevent the person she hated from getting what they wanted.
There was only one bed in the room, and the two of them slept together. Green Willow was exhausted from crying, and she had also come to a realization: life had to go on. She had never been a thief, so why were others calling her one? She would never admit it, and she would tear anyone who dared to say it to shreds! Therefore, she needed to go to bed early and get enough rest to defend her innocence.
There was just a patient next to me.
"Little sister, I'm going to sleep now. Wake me up if you need anything during the night."
She heard a soft "hmm," and knowing that she had heard her, she closed her eyes with relief.
I don't know when I woke up, but I vaguely heard a series of squeaking sounds.
I know it's a rat, but how come there's a rat here? It's not like I'm at home.
Forget it, I can't catch him anyway. As long as he doesn't climb into my bed, I'll deal with it tomorrow.
But wait, that's not right. Normally, mice at night act like they own the place, strolling around leisurely and carefree. Why is this one running around like it's fleeing for its life, scurrying about and squeaking all over the place...
It's so noisy.
How am I supposed to sleep like this? I wasn't planning on doing anything about it, but now I realize I have to.
She sat up abruptly, impatiently put on her clothes, and was about to get out of bed when she realized something else was wrong.
It seemed to be more than just a squeaking sound; there was also a breathing sound and some subtle friction sounds.
Suddenly, a sharp, long scream rang out—it was a rat…
Besides rats, there are other things...
What is it?
I already have a vague answer in my heart...
It was just a guess, but a chill instantly seeped through the entire room, sending shivers down my spine...
She knew this wasn't right, but she was alone and finding it hard to bear the situation...
"Sister..." The voice was weak, and her arms were limp, almost powerless. "Wake up, sister... There seems to be a snake in the room... sister..."
Shanlai woke up, still groggy, her eyes stinging. She rubbed them and asked, "Sister, what's wrong?"
"There's a snake in our house..."
Snails...
I became fully conscious because I knew it was a snake.
"A worm is eating a mouse..."
Snakes, long, twisted, slippery, constantly flicking their tongues, crawling in the shadows, staring coldly, with sharp fangs, venomous, capable of killing—snakes.
Why was it in her house? The doors and windows were all tightly closed. Even if it wasn't there, it was late autumn, so cold, the grass and leaves were withered; a snake should have long since disappeared. But there was a snake in her house, right now.
For children who grew up in the mountains, snakes were commonplace. They were seen coiled up by the water, lying on branches, or hiding under leaves. If you were to unexpectedly spot one while looking around, you would be terrified...
Of course I'm afraid, because I value my life. If it's poisonous, one bite could be fatal...
While cutting cattails, I heard a noise, looked down, and saw a long, yellowish-brown cattail slithering swiftly away close to the ground near my feet…
It was a non-venomous snake, but I'll never forget the scene; just thinking about it makes me tremble...
Of course I was afraid, but anger overcame my fear and even conquered the pain.
He suddenly sprang to his senses, disregarding everything else, rushed to the table, lit a tinderbox, and the dim light illuminated the small space before him.
It was clearly visible; it was long, thin, and yellowish-green, with a long black stripe trailing behind its eyes. It had patterns on its back and was wide open, devouring a huge black-haired rat.
It wasn't a venomous snake, but it was still disgusting enough.
At a glance, Green Willow screamed in terror, clutching her head. Shan Lai also trembled violently, but the next moment, she suddenly reached out, her hand striking with the force of thunder, aiming straight for his vital spot…
Its scales are fine and dense, smooth to the touch, but rough to the touch. It's a long strip, and because it's being controlled by someone, all the bones in its body move, rubbing against the person's skin...
The door was flung open with a loud bang.
Green Willow was terrified. She didn't come to her senses until everyone was out of sight. Still in a daze, she scrambled off the bed, waving her hand and calling out in a trembling voice, "Sister... Sister! What are you doing!"
I was jolted awake by a loud noise. I screamed and sat bolt upright, panting and asking around, "What happened? What happened? What's going on?"
Who could know?
"Who is it? What do you want?"
Someone mustered up the courage to ask.
Is Li Ziyu there?
"Looking for Sister Ziyu? She doesn't live here, you..."
Where does she live?
"That row over there, the southernmost one..."
The person left, so she stopped talking.
In the darkness, a group of people looked at each other in bewilderment.
"What's going on? This is so strange..."
Someone suggested, "Shall we go take a look?"
Of course, we had to go check it out. How could we sleep if we didn't understand? So we all got out of bed and got dressed. When we got outside, we found that all the girls next door had opened their doors and were peeking out, looking around.
Ziyu heard the noise too, and without hesitation, she jumped out of bed and went to open the door the instant she heard it. She had been staying up all night; how could she possibly sleep? She had done something wrong, and there was still no consequence; now, the consequences were finally coming. Before leaving, she glanced back; the person lying on the bed under the window was still sleeping peacefully.
Wow, she's amazing! I really underestimated her before. I can't let her get away with this kind of person again.
Rats, disgusting things, she said with a look of revulsion. As for snakes, they were things that made her tremble with fear just thinking about them.
The person who had given her the things, seeing how frightened she was, asked curiously, "What do you need them for?" In his usual view, these were the kinds of things that girls would scream and run away from, but she had asked for them willingly.
What for? I can't tell anyone, so I quickly put on a smile, "Good brother, thank you so much for your trouble. I have my own reasons, but please don't tell anyone else, not even my brother. Good brother, I only came to you because I trust you, I haven't asked anyone else..."
Her two calls of "good brother" were so enchanting that no one could resist them.
This man was Li Chuan's good friend, so he naturally knew a lot about the Li family and their affairs. In his eyes, Ziyu was truly the best girl in the world. She was beautiful and had a strong will, which made her very likable. Every time he saw her, he couldn't help but stare at her intently. No matter what she said, he was willing to listen.
Ziyu didn't notice her brother's tender and affectionate gaze at all; her entire focus was on the two jars in her arms.
The snake remained motionless, and the rats stopped their commotion and made no more noise.
Disgusting, so disgusting, those two things, a snake and a rat...
Why was she holding them like that? Did she really want to scare a little girl with those two things? And the child was seriously ill; wouldn't something bad happen?
She voiced her concerns to the person who gave her the advice, who, unlike her, simply said calmly, "If you're scared, sister, just stop. I'm going to be someone's henchman anyway, so what difference does it make whose advice I take? I'm only doing this to defend you, sister. Now that you've backed down, what else can I say?"
Thus, with the car already attached to her, she had no choice but to keep walking.
But as soon as Bitao took the things out, she began to hesitate. She couldn't help but wonder if her pride and authority really weighed more than a human life?
A living, breathing life!
She truly regretted it and wanted to end it all.
Thinking about it carefully, she's really gone mad! That's her future concubine, half a mistress, so what if she's overshadowed by her? Besides the proper mistress, who can surpass her? I just can't understand it!
Now that she understood, she suddenly felt a sense of openness and clarity, and the heaviness and restlessness that had been weighing on her heart for so long were swept away in an instant. She couldn't help but smile, and even felt that her steps were much lighter. But as soon as she stepped out the door, she saw the person who had just left, and her smile froze, and her previous joy vanished.
"...So fast?"
The person in front of me smiled and said, "It's nothing difficult, of course it will be quick."
In that case, things seem beyond repair.
Snakes, such disgusting and terrifying things... She's just a little girl, she must be terrified...
She'll definitely be terrified. After all, the reason we went to find a snake was to scare her; we wanted a fatal blow. Only a snake is intimidating enough; nothing else will do...
Go find them! Tell them there's a snake, run, don't be scared.
What does that make you? A bad person suddenly repents? That's even more contemptible; they weren't even thoroughly bad, just weak and cowardly...
But what if she gets really scared?
While they were still struggling with this dilemma, they lost track of time until suddenly a great commotion erupted outside...
She knew something had happened, so she hurriedly got up to go and see.
I really regret it now.
That was a terrible mistake. No matter what, you shouldn't have thought about taking someone's life!
So what if I'm looked down upon? No matter what, I can't have a guilty conscience. I've been blinded by greed! I've done such stupid things! The more I think about it, the more anxious I get to get out and make amends.
She had just opened the door when a shadow suddenly flew towards her and hit her face with a thud. It didn't hurt much, but something felt off... She suddenly screamed, her screams growing louder and louder.
"Do you like it? It's my way of returning the favor. Why do you look so unhappy? Isn't it yours?"
She screamed incessantly for a long time until she was exhausted and stopped to catch her breath. Then she heard someone coldly say this in front of her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com