father snake

This is a long-distance journey, with trains and cars, cars and ox carts, twists and turns, and the destination is deep in the mountains.

Trekking along a small path in the mountains, even Shi Xiaochuan, who was accustomed to climbing mountains since childhood, was a bit overwhelmed.

He wiped off the sweat from his face, stood on a peak, looked at the mountains and mountains in front of him, and looked suspiciously at Tianqiu, who didn't even sweat a drop, standing beside him, "It's almost there, Persevere a little longer, or I'll carry you on my back?" Tian Qiu looked at Shi Xiaochuan who was out of breath and said.

Shi Xiaochuan shook his head, he wasn't that weak, he was a little bit tired, but he still couldn't hold on, it's just that he didn't know where the destination was with the endless high and low peaks in front of him.

After 300 years, and Tianqiu's memory is a bit fuzzy, it is still doubtful whether he can find the place, but Tianqiu looks very sure, so Shi Xiaochuan will not ask again, even if he can't find the place he was looking for. The place to go, a certain corner of this lofty mountain is also a good place to hide.

At night, they still couldn't find a place, so they had to camp in the woods.

The two of them packed lightly, and of course they didn't bring any camping tools. At night, Tianqiu found a big tree with a hollow center, and the inside was just big enough for two people to stay inside. After tidying up, one layer of branches and one layer of dry grass were paved several layers to insulate the moisture from the ground. Shi Xiaochuan also picked up a lot of dry branches and lit a bonfire beside the tree hole.

There is food everywhere in the woods, as long as you have the ability to catch it, Tianqiu only left for a while, and brought back a little wild boar. He skillfully cleaned up the prey, and in a short while, propped it up with branches Put it on the campfire and roast it.

Neither of them had ever done these things. Although they had supper, it was always easier to watch other people grill food than to do it themselves. After a while, they finally cooked the prey on the shelf. Some places were burnt, and some places were still half-cooked. Even so, the aroma was very strong. In the end, I had to pick and eat some places that could be eaten.

Tianqiu was not picky at all, she ate everything she could and couldn't eat, and at the end, she still licked her greasy fingers.

Shi Xiaochuan glanced at him, although Tianqiu looked like a normal person, but from these subtleties, he could still detect the difference between him and ordinary people.

After eating, Tianqiu dragged Shi Xiaochuan into the tree hole.

He hugged Shi Xiaochuan contentedly, sat in the tree hole, and climbed the mountain all day. Shi Xiaochuan was a little tired, and he didn't pay much attention to the ambiguous posture of the two of them. He lay on Tianqiu's legs In the meantime, Tianqiu half-bent his right leg, letting him lean on his chest, Shi Xiaochuan moved a little, and found a more comfortable position, after a while, he felt a little drowsy.

Tianqiu gently stroked Shi Xiaochuan's hair, looked at the person sleeping soundly on his chest, under the looming orange light of the bonfire not far away, Shi Xiaochuan's face looked extraordinarily soft and childish The innocence, the indescribable trust, and the heart-warming sense of unguarded relaxation.

Tianqiu couldn't help but lowered his head, kissed Shi Xiaochuan's forehead, touched his cheek, and slightly parted lips. This kind of subtle harassment made Shi Xiaochuan a little impatient in his sleep, and he frowned. , turned his face to the side, and hid in Tianqiu's arms, seeing Shi Xiaochuan like this, Tianqiu laughed silently.

He wanted to guard this half-grown boy.

Be with him for a long time.

How could such a person be met by himself?

The next morning, when Shi Xiaochuan woke up, it was already broad daylight, he was lying in the tree hole, and Tianqiu was still holding him in the same position as yesterday, at this moment, he was looking at him without blinking.

Shi Xiaochuan wanted to sit up, but found that after one night, Tianqiu's lower body turned into a snake shape again.

The thick snake's body was coiled into a ball, and the tree hole where two people were lying down suddenly seemed a bit crowded, and he was lying on it. No wonder when he fell asleep in the middle of the night, he felt that the hard mattress underneath suddenly felt a bit crowded. softened.

He fell asleep so deeply, Shi Xiaochuan scratched his disheveled hair in embarrassment, "What's the matter?" Shi Xiaochuan pointed to Tianqiu's snake body and asked.

Tianqiu's tail moved, "The mana is not enough, it will be fine after a while." He said.

Shi Xiaochuan thought for a while, "Let's just leave it like this. Anyway, it's in the mountains, and no one has seen it."

In order not to shock the world, Tianqiu wasted mana to maintain a human appearance, which was not a good thing for him. He didn't want Shi Xiaochuan to worry, so he didn't tell him his physical condition, but Shi Xiaochuan could instinctively notice His body is not right, the injury he suffered last time has not completely healed, so trying to support it like this will only exacerbate the deterioration of the injury.

Tianqiu shook his head, "Who said no one saw it, look outside."

Shi Xiaochuan turned his head and looked out of the tree hole, and saw three men standing there, looking at this side anxiously, whispering, whispering, and even quarreling.

Tianqiu grabbed Shi Xiaochuan's waist, swam and climbed out of the tree hole, and appeared in front of the three men, who were so careless and didn't have the slightest intention of avoiding it. Tianqiu, who was half human and half snake, looked at each other, then knelt down like this, shouting, "Welcome the return of the ancestor."

Tianqiu flicked his snake tail, put down Shi Xiaochuan in his hand, and accepted their kneeling without dodging or evading, taking it for granted.

Shi Xiaochuan looked at the scene in front of him depressed and puzzled. Could this be the legendary totem worship?

Several men led the way, and in the afternoon, the small village deep in the mountains finally appeared in front of them.

There are less than a hundred people in this village. At this time, men, women, young and old gathered at the entrance of the village. When they saw Tianqiu and the others, they immediately cheered. The older ones even burst into tears.

I heard from the three men who came to greet us that the reason why they appeared in front of us was because the head of the village had a dream, in which he said that their ancestors were finally coming back, and they were asked to send someone to greet them quickly, so they all came together. Early in the morning, I chose three of the smartest and most capable men and looked for them along the direction pointed in the dream.

Shi Xiaochuan looked at the villagers in front of him. They were all dressed plainly and looked like homemade clothes, but their appearance was very correct. Putting them in the outside world, all of them would attract a lot of attention.

This village is basically a closed world. Unless they exchange some daily necessities with the outside world, they may never step out of the mountains in their lives, so they are completely free from the impetuousness brought about by the bustling world outside.

More than 20 wooden houses are scattered in a valley, and the bluestone roads connect each household. Each household has a small yard surrounded by wooden fences. There are often some fruit trees in the yard, as well as essential Flowers and plants, of course, the most important thing is the vegetables that I eat at home. The wooden fence is full of creeping plants such as ivy.

Chickens and dogs hear each other, rice paddies are connected, and cooking smoke curls up.

The patriarch gave up his home to Shi Xiaochuan and the two of them.

At night, a tung oil lamp was lit, Shi Xiaochuan and Tianqiu had dinner, and saw the patriarch bringing a child over, standing outside the gate, anxiously begging to see Tianqiu.

Tian Qiu waved his hand and let them in.

As soon as the patriarch came in, he knelt down in front of Tianqiu without saying anything.

Tianqiu frowned slightly and said, "For so many years, you have lived well, and your blood has already been thinned. You don't have to be bound by those anymore. Those who want to leave can leave, and those who want to stay can stay. Hundreds of years ago Let’s let it go.”

"Holy Ancestor, save us descendants!" The patriarch said in a mournful voice while kowtowing.

"What happened?" Tian Qiu looked at him strangely.

The patriarch pulled the child who was standing blankly on one side, took off his clothes, and saw that the child's chest was covered with thin snake scales. Shi Xiaochuan looked at the child in amazement. The snake scales on his body , are exactly the same as the scales on his body, the only difference is that this child grows much smaller than him.

Tianqiu pulled the child over, touched it, and sighed, "Has it grown?"

The patriarch shook his head, "Several children have grown up. Once they grow up, I don't know why, these children become demented, and they don't grow up. They died when they were teenagers." The patriarch burst into tears. He said, "There are only a few people in our Zhoujia Village. Over the years, more than a dozen children have been there one after another, and it seems that it will soon—"

Tianqiu waved his hand, "You go back first, I will take care of this matter."

The patriarch hesitated to speak, and finally, seeing that Tianqiu didn't intend to say any more, he had no choice but to go back.

Here Shi Xiaochuan tugged Tianqiu's clothes and stared at him intently.

Tianqiu looked into his deep eyes and raised his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay, I'll tell you the matter."

This is a very old story, and it is very common to put it bluntly. 500 years ago, the snake king fell in love with a human woman and gave birth to several children. Those children multiplied and gradually became a village. Because they are the descendants of humans and snakes, not only are their bodies different from ordinary people, but their personalities are mostly cold and reticent, and they are not suitable for living with ordinary people. Over time, in the depths of the mountain, near the place where the snake king lives, an isolated village.

Because the woman's surname is Zhou, her offspring will follow her surname, so this village is also called Zhoujia Village.

And Tianqiu is one of the bloodlines left by the Snake King before he fell in love with a human woman. Speaking of which, he also has a blood relationship with the people in this village.

Shi Xiaochuan couldn't believe this kind of story that seemed to be talked about at night, he looked at Tianqiu with incredible eyes, "You mean, people and snakes can really have children?"

"It's possible, but the price to pay is also very high." Tianqiu said lightly, "If it wasn't for giving birth to a human being, the Snake King wouldn't have died."

Although Tianqiu is the blood of the Snake King, he is like a snake, and has no feelings for his parents, let alone those humans who only have some blood connections.

"The Snake King asked me to take care of them, on the condition that the 'Snake Classic' be passed on to me, and I agreed." Tianqiu said, "If it wasn't like this, I wouldn't have met Zhou Ziming either. Zhou Ziming lived here back then. "

Things in the world are often like this, one ring is one ring, the ring is intertwined, and the cause and effect are connected.