Ten Brothers of the Snake and Ghost

  "What did you say? Snake Immortal?" I glanced at the snake man sitting on the edge of the bed, with an innocent face, and swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

  Ming Yan kicked his foot and sat down on the edge of the bed, facing me. He answered honestly: "He really is Snake Immortal, just like the one that ordinary people worship on the first and fifteenth days of the month at the immortal hall. However, that temple has dispersed now and he has become a wandering immortal. Because immortals like him cannot show their true face to humans, and also because they were afraid something would happen to Yuan Xue, they had no choice but to appear in that way."

  Saying that, he turned his head and gave Chang Yu a wink, then scolded, "Stupid snake, aren't you going to apologize quickly?"

  "Oh!" Chang Yu stood solemnly beside the bed, "That, beauty, sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to help that little girl."

  As soon as he walked over, I felt a chill run down my spine and my mood, which had just calmed down, became tense again. Wrapped in the quilt, I stuck close to the headboard, "Don't, don't come any closer! Take three steps back! No need to apologize, just let me adjust for a bit. You two ganging up on a mere mortal like me is really not right."

  Chang Yu looked very wronged and pouted, looking quite comical and cute, and surprisingly actually listened and retreated a few steps, appearing very innocent.

  I shot a sideways glance at Ming Yan, especially this guy, I'm familiar with him now, what a scoundrel. Saying he wouldn't hurt me, yet he actually brought a huge snake to scare and threaten me.

  Since I realized that I could touch him and he could also touch me, I no longer worried about him possessing my body. Grabbing his collar in a very impolite manner, I said to Yuan Xue and Chang Yu: "You two just stay here, don't sneak outside the door to eavesdrop on our conversation, or else there's nothing to discuss, no room for negotiation. If you dare, go ahead and kill me too."

  Yuan Xue worriedly watched as I roughly pulled Ming Yan out the door, seeking help from Chang Yu. Chang Yu was quite sensible, raising his hands in surrender and showing a hint of a smile.

  I dragged Ming Yan into Uncle's room and pressed him against the wall, not asking anything, just staring at him, even if my eyes were sore from staring, I wouldn't back down.

  He stuck to the wall, initially smiling nervously, but later didn't dare to look me straight in the eye, instead glancing sideways at the door. In the end, he was finally forced by me to tell the truth.

  "Yes, it's what Chang Yu meant."

  I sat on the bed with a huff, my hands clasped together at my chest, gritting my teeth and giving him a cold stare: "Chang Yu? What do you mean?"

  After being with him for half a month, I finally figured out his weird temper. On the surface, he's warm and gentle, but if you're nice to him, he won't tell you the truth. If you get angry and ignore him, he'll speak the truth in a roundabout way, which is basically just being insincere.

  Donkeys won't budge unless led by the nose and beaten.

  He walked over with a pitiful expression, just like the first time, and said truthfully: "Yuan Xue was picked up by him from the Yellow Spring Road because she had grievances on her body and wasn't collected. After all, she died too young and still retained the habits of the living, and was almost scattered by the same boundary sunlight. I'm worried about that child, so I let Chang Yu go take a look, coincidentally passing by to save her, knowing that I've been following you, so..."

  "What's your relationship with each other?"

  "Master, fellow disciples."

  "I'll ask you again, if he's looking for you, it means you can help him, why are you dragging me into this mess? I stared at him half-believing and half-doubting, feeling that there were many loopholes in his words. Snake Immortal should be all-powerful, even if they're sworn brothers, they could have thought of a way themselves, why did they need to find me to help them? It's their own business, can't they just resolve it among the dead?"

  "Chang Yu is a loose immortal, and in his cultivation, he cannot interfere with worldly affairs. I am a ghost, even if I can find out the truth, I still can't do anything. The heavens have their rules, and ghosts also have their own constraints. So we need your help, and you can see ghosts, which means that in some sense, you have a connection to the spiritual realm. I can only follow you."

  I twitched the corner of my mouth and ground my molars, "So your meaning is that I'm doomed to be stuck with you every day for the rest of my life? Then can I still get married?"

  "No, no, not for a long time." Ming Yan saw me hastily shaking my head repeatedly, and was at a loss as to how to explain. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, "I see, it's just because your blood is still imprinted on the skeleton. As long as the color fades slowly, it won't be stuck to you like this anymore."

  In the end, the bright light in his eyes actually faded away. I don't know why, but I saw a faint sadness flash by. What was he sad about?

  Ignoring him, I pondered the credibility of his words. I put down my legs and stood up, because he was taller than me, so I could only look up at him with narrowed eyes, questioning: "You didn't deceive me? If you let me know that you're leading me by the nose again, I'll make you sorry!"

  "This time it's really gone."