Chapter 24: But Sister, you are a snake, how are you going to repay the favor?

"Crack."

"Crack."

"Crack."

Inside the courtyard, Xiao Mo was incessantly chopping wood.

Under the eaves of the dilapidated wooden house, a small white snake watched the eleven-year-old boy intently.

This was already her third day here.

During these three days, this boy named Xiao Mo had caught mice for her to eat every single day.

He had changed her medicine every single day.

The little white snake did not know why he was so good to her.

She was clearly just a snake.

And he was a human.

Half a month passed.

The little white snake felt that her injuries had mostly healed.

She bit through the cloth wrapping her body; the flesh and blood had regrown, though her scales had not yet fully formed, making her look a bit unsightly.

But it didn't matter.

The little white snake crawled up to the roof beam and looked toward the direction of Mount She: "It's time to go back, otherwise Xiao Qing will worry about me."

However, the little white snake felt she could not leave without saying goodbye.

She wanted to wait for him to return to bid him farewell.

At dusk, the setting sun dipped toward the horizon, dyeing the entire world in the crimson hues of the twilight.

A young cowherd riding a large black ox walked slowly toward home.

After tying the black ox outside the gate, the boy walked into the courtyard and shouted, "Xiao Bai, I'm back!"

The little white snake descended from the roof beam, crawled to Xiao Mo's side, flicked her tongue, and then turned around to show him her wounds.

"Eh? Your injuries are healed?" Seeing Xiao Bai's wounds, Xiao Mo noted that although the scales hadn't fully grown back, she was mostly recovered.

The little white snake nodded, her head turning toward the distant mountain.

"Do you want to leave?" Xiao Mo felt he understood her meaning.

The little white snake nodded again.

"Alright then." A flash of loss crossed Xiao Mo's eyes, but he spoke in the innocent tone of an eleven-year-old: "Then go ahead. You must be careful from now on, okay? Don't get hurt again."

"Hiss, hiss, hiss~"

The little white snake flicked her tongue as if promising him, then crawled out of the courtyard.

Outside the courtyard, the little white snake turned her body and glanced back at the boy.

Seeing her turn, the boy waved and called out, "Xiao Bai, don't get hurt again!"

"Hiss..."

The little white snake wagged her tail, waving goodbye to him like a human hand, before disappearing into the tall grass.

"Sigh."

After the little white snake left, Xiao Mo let out a sigh.

How could he help her transform into a dragon?

With this parting, they might never meet again.

As for forcing her to stay, that was even more impossible.

Setting aside the fact that she wouldn't find any great opportunities staying by the side of an ordinary person like him, if she wanted to leave and he forced her to stay, he would only turn this bond of kindness into a grudge.

"Do my best and leave the rest to fate. That is all I can do."

Xiao Mo gathered his thoughts and walked back into the house.

Since things had come to this, he should focus on his studies first.

The village chief was an old scholar who taught the village children how to read and write.

Xiao Mo planned to go check it out tomorrow.

"Sister!"

After the little white snake returned to her cave in the mountains, a small green snake saw her and crawled over joyfully, coiling around her sister.

"Sister, where have you been this past month?" Xiao Qing flicked her tongue, looking at her sister with concern. "I've been looking for you for so long. I was worried something had happened to you."

"I went to catch mice for food a while ago, but I was targeted by an eagle. I managed to escape with some injuries, and a human saved me," Xiao Bai said briefly. "He even gave me a name."

"A name?" Xiao Qing tilted her head.

"Yes." The little white snake nodded. "He said I am as white as snow, so he named me Bai Ruxue. What do you think? Is it pretty? One day, I'll take you to see him and have him give you a name too."

"Oh, sister..." Xiao Qing said helplessly, "Humans are nothing but trouble. People are always coming up the mountain to hunt snakes, have you forgotten?"

"But Xiao Qing, I don't think we can generalize. For example, not all snakes are the same; you are green and I am white. The same goes for humans. There are bad people in this world, but there are also good people."

"Hmph!" Xiao Qing turned her head away. "Humans are all bad!"

"But he saved me."

"That doesn't make him good!"

"But he saved me."

"Sister..." Xiao Qing was so angry her tail thrashed against the rocks.

"Alright, alright." Xiao Bai's tail stroked the tip of Xiao Qing's tail. "Xiao Qing, trust me. He really is a good person. Moreover, he saved my life, and I must repay his kindness."

"But sister, you're a snake. How are you going to repay him?"

"Emmm..." The little white snake thought seriously.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "I've got it!"

"You've got what?"

"Yes!" The little white snake raised her small tail, waving it like a little girl's finger. "From this day forward, I will cultivate diligently to achieve human form as soon as possible, and then I will repay my benefactor..."

"You want to study?"

In the small courtyard, the old village chief, Wang Can, looked at Xiao Mo.

On the stone table in the courtyard lay the medicinal herbs Wang Can had gathered on 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 need to study for?"

At that moment, 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 is 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 trade, you'll never go hungry."

"Mother, I want to study too~" a 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. You must never be like me and marry a useless, pedantic scholar, do you hear?"

"Oh..." The little girl nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Xiao Mo and the Village Chief: "..."

Based on the memories of "Xiao Mo" in this world, he knew the situation of the Village Chief's family.

The Village Chief was fifty-three, and his wife, Chen Hong, was ten years younger than him.

The two had a child in their later years, a daughter named Wang Yan, who was now nine.

Although Auntie Chen always looked down on the Village Chief, she had never left him and kept the household in perfect order.

"If you can study, then study. Even if you can't master it, knowing a few words is good."

The Village Chief sighed and said to Xiao Mo.

"Mo'er, don't listen to your Auntie Chen's nonsense. Starting tomorrow, you can go to the village's thatched school to listen to the lessons. However, the children from this village and the two neighboring villages have all paid their fees, so it wouldn't be right for me to let you sit inside. You can audit the classes from the outside, alright?"

Xiao Mo was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "Thank you, Village Chief!"

"Hmph, studying, studying... studying will starve a person to death."

Auntie Chen curled her lip and led her daughter into the house.

"Don't listen to her nonsense," the Village Chief whispered. "See? I haven't starved to death, have I?"

"..." Xiao Mo's brow twitched. He really wanted to say, "If it weren't for Auntie Chen, you would have starved long ago."

But Xiao Mo simply nodded earnestly: "The Village Chief is right!"

(End of Chapter)