Chapter 24 But Sister, you are a snake, how are you going to repay him?
"Crack."
"Crack."
"Crack."
In the courtyard, Xiao Mo was chopping wood non-stop.
Under the eaves of the dilapidated wooden house, a White Snake seriously watched the eleven-year-old boy.
This was her third day staying there.
During these three days, the boy named Xiao Mowould catch mice for her to eat every day.
He would also change her medicine every day.
The White Snake didn't know why he was so kind to her.
She was clearly just a snake.
And he was a human.
Another half a month passed.
The White Snake felt that her injuries were almost healed.
She bit open the cloth wrapped around her body; her flesh had regrown, but her scales hadn't fully grown back, making her look a bit unsightly.
But it didn't matter.
The White Snake climbed onto the beam and looked in the direction of She Mountain: "It's time to go back, otherwise Xiao Qing will worry about me."
However, the White Snake felt she couldn't leave without saying goodbye.
She would wait for him to return and bid him farewell.
In the evening, the setting sun dipped below the horizon, and everything in the world was dyed red by the sunset glow.
A cowherd boy rode a large black ox, slowly making his way home.
After tying the ox outside the gate, the boy walked into the courtyard and shouted, "Xiao Bai, I'm back."
The White Snake came down from the beam, crawled to Xiao Mo's side, flicked her tongue, and then turned around to show him her wound.
"Eh? Your injury is healed?" Xiao Mo saw Xiao Bai's wound; although the scales hadn't fully grown back, it was almost healed.
The White Snake nodded, her head looking towards the distant mountain.
"You want to leave?" Xiao Mo felt he understood Xiao Bai's meaning.
The White Snake nodded again.
"Alright then." A hint of disappointment flashed in Xiao Mo's eyes, and then he said with the innocent tone of an eleven-year-old child, "Then go, and be careful in the future, don't get hurt again."
"Hiss hiss hiss~"
The White Snake flicked her tongue, as if agreeing to Xiao Mo, and crawled out of the courtyard.
Outside the courtyard, the White Snake turned around and glanced at the boy.
Seeing Xiao Bai turn, the boy waved and shouted, "Xiao Bai, don't get hurt again in the future."
"Hiss hiss."
The White Snake wagged her tail, bidding him farewell like a human hand, then burrowed into the grass and disappeared.
"Sigh."
After the White Snake left, Xiao Mo sighed.
How could he help her transform into a Dragon?
After this separation, it might be difficult to see her again.
As for forcing her to stay, that was even more impossible.
Not to mention what Opportunity she could have by staying with an ordinary person like him.
If she wanted to leave, but he still forced her to stay, it would only turn this good Karma into bad Karma.
"Do your best, and leave the rest to fate; that's all I can do."
Xiao Mo collected his thoughts and walked back into the house.
Since things were as they were, he should focus on studying first.
The village chief was an old scholar who taught the village children to read and write.
Xiao Mo planned to go see him tomorrow.
"Sister!"
After the White Snake returned to the mountain cave, a small green snake, seeing her sister, excitedly crawled over and coiled around her.
"Sister, where have you been this past month?" Xiao Qing flicked her tongue, looking at her sister worriedly, "Little sister has been looking for you for a long time, worried that something might have happened to you."
"A few days ago, I went to catch mice to eat, but I was targeted by an eagle. I narrowly escaped with some injuries, and a human saved me," Bai Ruxue said briefly, "He even gave sister a name."
"A name?" Xiao Qing tilted her head.
"Yes." The White Snake nodded, "He said I was as white as snow, so he named me Bai Ruxue. How does it sound? Good, right? Someday, sister will take you to see him and let him give you a name too."
"Oh, sister," Xiao Qing said helplessly, "Humans are all bad. People often come up the mountain to catch snakes, sister, have you forgotten?"
"But Xiao Qing, I think many things can't be generalized. For example, snakes are different from each other; you are green, I am white. How much more so for humans? There are bad people in this world, and there are good people too."
"Hmph!" Xiao Qing turned her head, "Humans are all bad!"
"But he saved me."
"He's still bad!"
"But he saved me."
"Sister…" Xiao Qing was so angry that her tail slapped against the stone.
"Alright." Bai Ruxue's tail touched the tip of Xiao Qing's tail, "Xiao Qing, trust sister, he really is a good person, and he saved sister's life, so sister must repay his kindness."
"But Sister, you are a snake, how are you going to repay him?"
"Emmm…" The White Snake thought seriously.
Suddenly, the White Snake's eyes lit up: "I've got it."
"Got what?"
"Yes," the White Snake raised her small tail, wiggling it like a little girl's finger, "From today onwards, sister will diligently cultivate, strive to transform into human form as soon as possible, and then repay my benefactor."
"You want to study?"
In the small courtyard, Old Village Chief Wang Canlooked at Xiao Mo.
On the stone table in the courtyard were the medicinal herbs Wang Can had collected from the mountain today.
"Yes, Village Chief." Xiao Mo looked up, his eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge, "I want to study!"
"You little brat, what do you want to study for?"
Just then, the Village Chief's wife walked out.
"What's the use of studying? Look at my old man, he's studied his whole life and he's still just a scholar, how much money does he have? My uncle works as a blacksmith in town. Next year, I'll send you there to be an apprentice. If you learn a good skill, you'll never starve."
"Mom, I want to study too~" The nine-year-old girl chimed in beside her mother.
"Go, go, go, girls don't need to study even more. Finding a good family to marry into is the proper thing to do. In the future, you absolutely must not be like your mother and marry a useless, pedantic scholar, understand?"
"Oh, woo." The little girl nodded, seemingly understanding.
Xiao Mo, Village Chief: "…"
According to the memories of "Xiao Mo" in this world, Xiao Mo knew the situation of the Village Chief's family.
The Village Chief was fifty-three years old, and his wife, Chen Yi, was ten years younger than him.
They had a daughter, Wang Yan, born late in life, who was now nine years old.
Although Chen Yi always found fault with the Village Chief, she never left him and managed the household meticulously.
"If you can study, then study. If you can't, at least recognizing a few characters is good."
The Village Chief sighed and said to Xiao Mo.
"Mo'er, don't listen to your Chen Yi's nonsense. Starting tomorrow, you can attend classes at the village's school. However, children from this village and the two neighboring villages all pay with money and meat, so it's not convenient for me to let you listen inside. You can listen from outside, how about that?"
Xiao Mo's heart filled with joy, and he quickly said, "Thank you, Village Chief."
"Hmph, studying, studying, studying will starve a person to death."
Chen Yi pouted and led her daughter into the house.
"Don't listen to your Chen Yi's nonsense," the Village Chief whispered, "See, I, the Village Chief, haven't starved to death, have I?"
"…" Xiao Mo's eyebrow twitched. He really wanted to say, "If it weren't for Chen Yi, you would have starved to death long ago."
But Xiao Mo still nodded seriously: "The Village Chief is right!"