Winter Returns

Chapter 91 Catching the "Snake" (The End)
a step far.

Last second.

Four.

Plop.

As a cloud of snow mist billowed into view, the rapidly approaching figure vanished instantly.

Zhang Shutong heard a girl's muffled groan coming from the snow pit. Her voice was clear and cold, without much emotion, but now it carried a hint of pain.

Zhang Shutong did not approach rashly, but instead took a few steps back. When the snow fog dissipated, he stared intently at the top of the snow pit. Qingyi and the others had dug really deep, leaving no room for anything. At this moment, they could not even see the top of Lu Qinglian's head. This kind of snow pit either won't make you fall in, or once you do, the surroundings are loose snow, and the more you struggle, the deeper you sink.

But this is only in theory.

Zhang Shutong silently counted a few seconds in his mind until there was no sound from the snow pit before cautiously approaching.

Looking down, he saw Lu Qinglian raise her beautiful face. Her peach-blossom eyes were devoid of any emotion, or rather, any emotion had reached a freezing point. She was just staring intently at him.

The once aloof girl was now covered in snow, her long hair clinging to her face, looking like a fairy fallen to earth, utterly disheveled.

"I'm sorry." Zhang Shutong squatted down and sighed. "Perhaps you had your reasons, but no matter what, you shouldn't have laid a hand on Gu Qiumian."

Lu Qinglian frowned again upon hearing this.

Then she spoke.

The woman who was sealed in the black and white photo album eight years later seemed to reappear before my eyes:

"Zhang Shutong. You are not bad."

Lu Qinglian spoke each word clearly, her expression unchanged, but Zhang Shutong felt a deep chill.

“Why bother?” He looked away, unwilling to meet her gaze. “I don’t want to do this either.”

In the past, when facing murderers, whether it was Li Yipeng, Zhou Ziheng, his father, or the arsonist in the commercial street, he was too lazy to waste words with them.

He has always been a straightforward person who only seeks efficiency in his work, so he easily overlooks the feelings of others. It is impossible to trace when he developed this personality, but it is precisely because of this that he wants to say a few more words to Lu Qinglian at this moment.

With a sense of regret.

The trigger for my retrospection was attending her funeral.

Even when she returned to eight years ago, the first words she spoke to her sixteen-year-old self were those spoken by Lu Qinglian.

“Anyway, you haven’t made a move yet, so there’s no way I can really do anything to you,” Zhang Shutong said, becoming a bit long-winded. “What’s the real story, the motive, and who else is involved? Why don’t you tell me everything now, and we can pretend nothing happened. You can still go to school, and I won’t threaten you.”

"A threat?" He saw Lu Qinglian say coldly, "Isn't this a threat now?"

"no way."

"How did you guess?" Lu Qinglian simply asked.

How did you guess that?

Whether it's poisoning dogs or getting tattoos, those are things from the last timeline.

It's actually a bit sad that even something like this has to be a lie.

"Answer my question first." So Zhang Shutong didn't want to explain. He didn't respond to her question. The mystery was about to be revealed, even though this was what he once considered his most glorious moment.

It was hard to say what joy he felt; he just wanted to take a deep breath and exhale a faint weariness.

Lu Qinglian ignored his words. She blinked uncomfortably, as if trying to brush the snowflakes off her eyelashes, and quickly analyzed the situation:

"You had everything prepared from the moment you saw me get in the car? Relying on your few friends?"

"It's not this early, let's change clothes first." Zhang Shutong was silent for a moment. "You're too hard to control, there's nothing I can do about it."

What else is being prepared?

“That’s it.” He spread his hands. “As you can see, it was just a hasty preparation, and I’m not even sure if it will succeed.”

Who knows about this?

"Don't worry, I haven't told anyone about my suspicions. I just mentioned the unusual things to Qingyi. Of course, neither of us figured anything out." Zhang Shutong held up three fingers. "Except that your fingers are very nimble."

“You know,” he continued, “there are too many mysteries surrounding you, but no matter how I ask you, you won’t tell me. This is the only way I can think of.”

"You too." The girl's expression remained unchanged, her words like sharp blades.

“We are still quite different.” Zhang Shutong couldn’t stand her cold gaze. “At least I don’t have any intention of harming anyone.”

"Then what is this?"

Zhang Shutong fell silent again; to be honest, he was already a little tired.

Interrogating someone in freezing weather is no easy task.

"Let's get down to business. I'll ask you questions, and you can answer them," Zhang Shutong said. "The Green Snake Temple, or rather, what does the Green Snake represent? I know of several versions so far. Some say the Green Snake represents longevity and is still alive today. Others say your temple keeper is the Green Snake's offspring. I don't know if your fighting prowess has anything to do with that... Of course, these versions are all different. What is the truth?"

Lu Qinglian remained silent.

Zhang Shutong waited a while, then asked:

"Why did you harm Gu Qiumian, and even take her to the forbidden... that wasteland by the lake in the west? Don't ask me how I know, now it's your turn to answer me. Also, was it just because her family wanted to demolish your temple? Was there any other reason?"
"Oh, right, there's one more thing. What's the connection between those frozen snakes and you? Are they sending messages? Are they poisonous? I didn't really believe in these things before, but it seems there really are some supernatural beings. Of course, maybe it can be explained scientifically. If someone can train a dog, then training a snake might not be impossible. It's just that the methods have always been very secretive."

Zhang Shutong rattled off a long string of words, but Lu Qinglian remained completely silent. He was now in a bit of a headache. He had thought the other party would surrender without resistance, but instead, she remained defiant to the death. Moreover, in this situation, the principle of "presumption of guilt" applied, and there was no way to even call the police.

Lu Qinglian kept staring at him, giving him a feeling of betrayal. Of course, that might not be the real meaning; it's possible that his mind was in turmoil, with thoughts fluttering around his ears and eyes, constantly bothering him.

"Don't look at me like that, have some apple?"

Zhang Shutong didn't dare to reach too close, in case she caught him.

To everyone's surprise, Lu Qinglian finally spoke:

"Any other questions?"

"That's all for now." Zhang Shutong breathed a sigh of relief. If she hadn't said anything, she would have had to go find the rope and shovel that Qingyi had left behind. This was for the best. "You can pick an answer first."

Is it really gone?

"Gone……"

He paused, startled, before he could finish speaking.

Although Zhang Shutong and she didn't communicate much, strangely, he could always guess what she meant. For example, at this moment, that strange emphasis gave him an ominous premonition.

This is not how someone trapped should react...

The thought had just crossed my mind;

Then he saw that familiar, playful smile on Lu Qinglian's lips.

Zhang Shutong's hair stood on end instantly.

Oops!

It's a snake!

Patient and cunning.

He almost forgot he was catching snakes!
That look in his eyes wasn't one of betrayal, but rather a relentless search for his weaknesses!

Kill with one blow!
His eyes couldn't yet discern what would happen next, but his subconscious had already reacted—almost a conditioned reflex from his muscles—Zhang Shutong immediately stood up and stepped back.

But it's too late!
The girl trapped in the snow pit suddenly burst out!

How can it be……

Amidst a rising cloud of snow, he opened his eyes wide in disbelief. It turned out that Lu Qinglian hadn't fallen in at all!

She reacted the moment her foot slipped!

With one leg pushing forward and the other bent backward, she used unimaginable flexibility to wed herself in the snow pit, and she has maintained this posture until this moment!
Once it exerts its strength, it can escape at any time. And now is the moment for this snake to deliver its fatal blow!

It was too late for him to run. He heard a sharp whistling sound in his ears, and a leg that moved so fast it was almost invisible was rapidly approaching. He reacted quickly and braced his arms, but even so, he still felt a tremendous force coming from his chest. Then his body was forced backward uncontrollably, his feet staggered, and he almost left the ground before falling directly onto the snow.

Snowflakes flew, making him dizzy, and Zhang Shutong vaguely heard a woman's clear voice.

"You are very good."

He struggled to sit up, his chest burning with pain. In his line of sight was the hem of a blue robe, covered in snowflakes. Looking up, he saw Lu Qinglian looking down at him.

She approached step by step, her footsteps light, yet she exuded an unparalleled sense of oppression.

“Zhang Shutong,” she said expressionlessly, “you are even more courageous than I thought. I originally thought you would always be timid and hesitant, but you actually dug a pit in advance and successfully made me fall into it.”

Zhang Shutong opened his mouth, but he couldn't speak. He took a few deep breaths to stop the churning in his chest, gasping for air and coughing violently. The sky was a bleak, cloudless expanse, just as he couldn't see any opportunity. All he could do now was keep his mouth shut and gather his strength. Wait for the next chance, if…

It really still exists.

"It seems you still don't understand," Lu Qinglian said indifferently. "I've already warned you. If you don't want any accidents to happen, don't try to pry into my affairs. Why do you have to be so clever?"

"Forget it." She lowered her eyes. "There's no point in saying anything more. I believe you were prepared for this outcome before you came. It's best not to beg for mercy; that would be very boring."

Zhang Shutong was trying to calm his breathing. He was lying on his back on the snow in a very disheveled position. He couldn't even tell what his position was like. He only knew that he had tried to sit up several times but failed.

At the same time, his brain was working at high speed. He knew that Lu Qinglian would not do anything meaningless. Since she was not trapped at all, why did she have to stay in that pit for so long just to extract information?
But even after she kicked herself down, she could still...

opportunity.

He is still looking for opportunities.

Where is it?

Sure enough, Lu Qinglian spoke calmly again:

"You are very smart, but you still think too little, or to be precise, you lack imagination."

“What…does that mean…” Zhang Shutong finally managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth.

"It means you have no idea what you're facing."

"You asked me what the Green Snake means, whether it's a legend or a fact, whether it represents immortality or offspring. I can answer all your questions one by one. Now listen carefully."

Her amber eyes flashed with a cold light, radiating a chilling killing intent:
"Actually, you're very close to the right answer, but what if I told you that all those legends are both wrong and right at the same time?"

What does it mean to be both completely right and completely wrong...?

A chilling conjecture suddenly surged into Zhang Shutong's mind, sending a shiver down his spine. Zhang Shutong had never been so shocked before, because this conjecture was completely beyond his imagination, even beyond common sense...

"That's right——"

Lu Qinglian held up three fingers. Just like that day at school, with each word she spoke, she retracted one finger in a gesture impossible for most people. Her voice was calm, her enunciation clear, and her words resounding:
“The snake is me.”

"..."

"But you yourselves have dismissed that guess. I remember someone asked me that before," she said thoughtfully. "Why are you acting so mature, unlike your sixteen-year-old peers? Well, I'll tell you all at once. After all, the dead keep secrets. If I say..."

She smiled knowingly and said, "I'm not sixteen years old at all, as you all think. I'm actually ten times that number, one hundred and sixty years old!"

Zhang Shutong was speechless.

His chest burned and felt icy cold at the same time, like a dream, and his breath caught in his throat for a moment.

160 years old...

The incarnation of a snake...

At this moment, the mysterious girl finally shed her disguise...

It turns out she wasn't human at all!
His brain was struggling to process this information, but Lu Qinglian gave him no room to breathe:

"Oh, and Gu Qiu Mian, you think you've protected her well? You think staying in the villa means she's safe? You think..."

She paused for a moment, then said coldly:
"There were only two frozen snakes? They really couldn't move? Remember what I told you in the car?"

Zhang Shutong instantly recalled those words.

At the same time, the girl in front of him said, word by word:

"A frozen snake doesn't mean it's dead. It will regain its vitality once the temperature rises, but right now..."

She looked up at the dim light of day, as if she had expected it, and said softly:

"It's already morning."

morning……

Zhang Shutong recalled the snakes he had seen on the mountain path, their dense, frozen forms lurking beneath the heavy snow, and now…

"You can make a phone call right now."

Zhang Shutong hurriedly took out his phone and dialed Lao Song's number. He wanted to wait patiently, but no matter how long he waited, all he heard was a busy signal.

He dialed Gu Qiumian's number again, and it was the same.

He considered the worst-case scenario.

Those snakes...

They have probably all entered the villa.

The three were surrounded by countless snakes and probably had no time to worry about themselves.

No, this wasn't actually the worst outcome, because he was still gambling on the possibility of returning to eight years in the future. He remembered that the time travel in the early morning had been like that. Zhang Shutong gritted his teeth, so all he could do now was stall for time. Only by stalling could everyone have a glimmer of hope. However, even this conjecture was quickly and ruthlessly shattered as the woman in front of him slowly spoke:
"Actually, there's one thing wrong in the legends you mentioned."

"The secret to immortality is not shedding skin, but eating people."

"Devours living people."

She extended her artfully crafted arm, adorned with a birthmark, knelt down, and gently covered Zhang Shutong's eyes with her hand. The woman's voice was flat, seemingly commonplace, yet also comforting:
"Close your eyes. For the sake of that cup of hot water, it won't hurt."

It won't hurt...

……

Time passed, I don't know how much. On the boundless snowfield, all was silent, except for the sound of my own heart pounding.

When Zhang Shutong opened his eyes again, the woman in front of him had already stood up and was standing quietly beside him.

He subconsciously tried to sense the changes in his body, but nothing changed; only the pain in his chest reminded him that he was still alive.

He raised his hand and looked at the lines on his palm. They had never been so clear. Zhang Shutong opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Devouring... Am I already dead? Or is it just a hallucination?
He turned his face, looking at the woman in front of him, speechless. But then, Lu Qinglian suddenly curled her lips into a slight smile:

“Zhang Shutong, I didn’t know you could have other expressions too. That’s quite interesting.”

"……What's the meaning?"

He suddenly raised his head, but his voice was a beat slow, and he just asked blankly.

“What I mean is,” Lu Qinglian’s smile vanished in an instant, her tone becoming calm, “that all of this is fake.”

"……Fake?"

“Well, I just made it up on the spot. Based on the stories you just told, this should have reminded you,” she said expressionlessly. “Some things I said were serious, and some were just casual remarks. Don’t take every word I say too seriously.”

She took out a hair tie from her blue robe and calmly tied her hair up.
"Your imagination is richer than I thought, or are all boys this naive? Snakes? Immortality? Shedding skin? What other stories are there? Tell me, I can tell them when someone comes to the temple."

"you……"

Zhang Shutong was about to say something when he realized his hand had slipped. It turned out that Lu Qinglian had taken the bag of apples. She casually opened the bag, picked up a piece of apple, put it to her small lips, and slowly chewed it, though her expression remained blank.
"Have I reminded you several times not to doubt me? Although I don't know why you think I'm the murderer, this kind of despicable behavior of digging a hole for someone without saying a word is very troubling to me. I figure you wouldn't believe me even if I explained properly, so I had to take some measures. Please forgive me."

"...What about Gu Qiumian?"

"Her? I don't know. She should be at home right now. By the way, those snakes were a lie too. There were actually no more than ten, and they were basically beyond saving," Lu Qinglian said calmly. "Judging from your expression, are you wondering why I can't get through to you on the phone?"

Zhang Shutong nodded subconsciously.

"Because there is no signal here."

"..."

He stared in disbelief at the girl eating an apple, confirming it once more:
"It's all a lie?"

"Yes."

"Aren't you some kind of snake?"

"of course."

"One hundred and sixty years old?"

"Only sixteen years old, the same age as you."

"And your fingers?"

"I've had special training."

"Then why were you in my car today?"

"I did have something to ask you. In fact, I would have gone to your house even if I hadn't run into your mother. I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence."

"Then why did you put your hand on her headrest..."

"Because it was in the suburbs, the car was a bit bumpy, so I needed to find something to hold onto."

Why not pull the handle on the roof?

"Handle, handlebars?" The girl tilted her head, her cheek bulging out with her flesh, and asked in confusion, "What are those things? I've only ridden in Teacher Song's car before, I don't understand what you're talking about."

Well, she doesn't even own a bicycle, so she probably doesn't know what a handlebar on the roof is.

This doesn't sound like a lie.

Why are you getting hung up on these details?

He was too embarrassed to say it, but I was worried that you would break Mom's neck.

Zhang Shutong felt a mix of emotions.

He lay dejectedly on the ground, a sharp pain shooting through the back of his head, the only sound in his ears the girl's clear, rhythmic chewing.

Zhang Shutong was panting heavily:

"Since it's all fake, then that kick was really vicious."

“You suddenly tricked me into that pit, and I sprained my ankle. I probably won’t be able to walk for long. It’s only fair that this is retribution.” Lu Qinglian’s tone returned to its usual calm. “Besides, I deliberately held back. You should know what happened to that poacher, otherwise you wouldn’t still be conscious enough to speak.”

He looked up with difficulty and realized that the girl was indeed standing on one tiptoe, covered in snow from head to toe, and was in no better shape than himself in terms of her disheveled state.

"I'm sorry." Zhang Shutong felt deeply guilty.

"I've vented my anger, thankfully." She nodded casually.

"So you lied to me from the beginning?"

"No, actually, before you suddenly turned around and ran away, I was planning to have a serious talk with you."

"Then why didn't you say so in the car earlier?"

Are you sure you want your mother to know these things?

Lu Qinglian said indifferently:

“If you have no problem, I don’t mind. Also, as I said before, if you want to be honest, you should show the corresponding attitude. I asked you about it on the rooftop yesterday, but you hid it from me then.”

"You might as well have voiced all your doubts back then; it would have been better for everyone."

Zhang Shutong felt a little embarrassed because of that photo and those three tattoos. He had always been suspicious of Lu Qinglian.

From the other person's perspective, their suspicions are mostly unfounded, like those of a madman, completely baseless.

Zhang Shutong even thought she was already considered to have a good temper.

But what followed was a deep sense of bewilderment:

Since Lu Qinglian is not the murderer.

So what do those tattoos mean?
Did I guess completely wrong?

There seemed to be some deep misunderstanding between the two, but Zhang Shutong couldn't figure it out for the time being.

"Alright, now it's my turn to ask."

Lu Qinglian picked up another piece of apple, eating it quite quickly, her peach-blossom eyes narrowing slightly:

"I've been wondering about something. You were alright yesterday, and if I understand you correctly, why did you suddenly seem scared and even a bit stressed when you saw me today? Did I do something to you?"

"That's what I wanted to ask too..."

He finally felt his breathing catch up, rolled over on the snow, and stood up unsteadily:

"Why did you go to that wasteland to the west last night, and even squatted on the shore, only to suddenly run away when you saw me?"

To everyone's surprise, the chewing sound suddenly stopped as soon as he said that.

In his line of sight, he saw the girl named Lu Qinglian frown deeply, her eyes fixed intently on his.

"Zhang Shutong, what I'm about to say is serious. I can tell you this with certainty now—"

“I didn’t go there last night.”

(End of this chapter)