Chapter Text
The flowing stream will never obey,
To the force of neither stone nor wood.
The towering mountains does not bow down,
Even to the strongest gusts of wind.
The lush land resists the horrid heat of the sun,
And remains alive in the most devastating summers.
As each wield the will to remain flourish and growing
Until the end, determination drives the motive of living.
If the creation of the Heavenly Divine may resist treacherous obstacles,
Is there a chance to continue moving forward?
As a creation born with the purpose to protect,
Or do the weakest forms of creations fall and wither in failure and regret.
I could only hope in desperation.
But that hope continues to fade day by day.
Carefully, I placed down my brush onto the rim of the ink pot, without staining the paper, and allowing the ink to effortlessly slide against the smooth surface of the ink pot. A small portion of ink returned into the black puddle, and I neatly lifted the sheet of paper from the stone table, feeling proud for completing the writing and perfecting the variety of thickness on each stroke in my poem.
Without smearing the ink off, or onto my sleeve, I delicately laid the paper back on the table. As I rose from my spot, my lower half of my body slithered out of the room. I am not a human, for I was cursed to be trapped in the body of a serpent demoness, possessing the upper half of a human woman, and the lower half of a serpent. Without wielding the skills to easily blend amongst humans, I will forever remain trapped in this form. Countless times, I have attempted to shapeshift, but despite my efforts, I could never succeed.
As no human will never want to see me and accept me and seen as a target in the eyes of the rash and violent demons, I can no longer wander outside the cave which I have claimed to be my home and remain enclosed from the world. My life was destroyed the day I became one of the most feared creations known to walk on the Earth.
Despite all of this, I have tried to look into the brighter side of my life and want to remind myself everyday what I should forever be grateful for. For instance, the cave I managed to find and build a makeshift home.
As I exited my house, I was greeted with the calming trickle of water from the streams lurking all over the cave. It settled my nerves, allowing my muscles to loosen as I closed my eyes and carefully listened to the sounds of birds chirping in the distances, echoing around the cave.
Sensing the warm sun illuminate its light upon the cave and sending a relaxing sensation through my delicate skin and scales, I slowly let out my tongue to sense the refreshing scent of moss clinging on the rough and moist surfaces and riverbanks of the cave. Until my sensitive tongue traced a particular scent; slightly sweet yet sharp to the touch, the odor reminded me of something…someone.
The nostalgia emitting from the scent drove my body to follow the source. As I moved, I opened my eyes to guide myself across the labyrinth-like routes of my home, one of the cave’s best features, which helped me hide from intruders. It took several attempts and hours of finding myself getting lost to memories the correct route, but I still managed to recall which direction to turn after not daring to try after such a long time.
When approached the exit, my heart pounding against my chest as I finally arrived. I covered my eyes with my sleeve for a brief moment as they adjusted to the bright light. I was not use to it, since the only source of sun in the cave was a hole on the ceiling, which was mostly covered by thick clouds.
“It cannot be…” Those words keep pondering inside my head, as my tongue could only smell a faint trace of the scent, slightly worrying me. I stared at the lane of sunlight opposite to the shade of my cave, as I hesitated to cross the line, but, determined, I slowly slithered out of the darkness and met the full embrace of the sun.
I do not know how long it had been since I felt the heat radiating from the sky, because the cave was mostly damp, and it was hard to stay warm, especially as a cold blood. I looked around and saw how the trees had grown taller since I last remembered, and my hand felt the trunk of the nearest tree I could find; gently sliding my palm against the bark, and somehow, I felt its age. Then my eyes averted upwards and then, I saw it.
A majestic city.
Far from my home and standing tall and proud. Like a mountain.
That was where the scent was coming from.
Despite watching in awe and admiring its peculiar beauty; from the colorful lights dotted all over, to the pure white material used to build such extraordinary architecture, my head began to spin again. A sickening sensation coursed through my stomach, as I realized that I had hidden away for so long, the world had changed without me, leaving me stuck in the past.
My breathing quickened, the peaceful melody of nature became numb to my ears, and before I tried to regain my composure, my tongue smelt the scent again. A small gust of wind felt so sharp, I thought I had a cut on my tongue, and winced in pain before looking back at the towering city.
I knew that was a sign. So, I gathered all my remaining courage and began slithering.
Knowing humans too well, if I wandered around the city in my demon form, people would cower in fear or shoo me away back into the forest, and without a human form, I knew travelling would be a difficult task. So, I resorted to my only option: Take the form of a serpent. Moving would be slower since there were several people walking around, and massive buildings I had to tackle, but it was the most efficient strategy without causing attention.
As I progressed into my journey, I could smell the scent getting stronger, so much so, I slipped out my tongue slightly and felt a chilling sensation running up my spine. Unpleasant, but a good sign. However, the closer I slithered my narrow body, the fewer people were around, yet I could hear cheers of people at the tip of the vast kingdom.
I could feel my body aching from slithering such a long distance in a small form. I wanted to stop and rest, but I felt a strong rush of wind brushing against my scales. The source was coming from the inside of the crowd, but since I was too small to peer over the shoulders of the citizens, I was not able to see.
In the corner of my eye, I saw a wooden ladder, reaching up to the roof of a building. I slithered towards it and the restaurant it was leaning against, and carefully wrapped my body around each step as I progressively climbed up onto the roof. When I reached the rooftop, I wriggled myself as fast as I could, before double checking the scent in the air.
She is here.
The moment I looked down at the crowd, my eyes widened in awe. I was gazing at an extravagantly decorated race, alongside several participants either sitting or fiddling, probably mending, a strange machine that seemed to be for transportation. Goodness, I have not kept up with time at all. Suddenly, my chest began to spread a wave of pain, sending me to clutch against my snake body, before shutting my eyes tightly.
As the pain faded, I opened one of my eyes. I noticed a young girl with hair buns and green tips at the end of her black hair. Her vehicle was shaped differently from the others, somewhat resembling a horse, but with the face of a dragon. Then, out of nowhere, another participant drove up next to her, however, his contraption seemed less suitable for this race.
At first, the girl and the boy began talking casually, before leading to an argument which I could not hear, due to being on a rooftop with the sounds of a crowd washing over their conversation. However, another participant appeared on the road, riding a vehicle adorned in black, red and purple, alongside violent features in its design. His hair was fiery red and possessing a loud and prideful sense of speech.
I sense his aura.
He was not human.
Before I could come to a conclusion, someone else had entered the race. Their vehicle let out a disturbing and thunderous growl. My slender body clutched the sides of my head to block out the sounds, while hearing the fearful cries of other humans who were running away. I watched in fear, intimidated by the size and design of the contraption - it did not seem to be created for the purpose of racing.
“Oh, it looks like we got last minute scratches, as DBK and Iron Fan join the race,” announced one of the commentators. I recognized that woman; the scent had led me to the person I was looking for this whole time. Gongzhu. Slowly, I tried to slither down the ladder, but ended up receiving a splinter in between my scales.
I winced in pain, feeling a stinging sensation spreading across the area of the injury, and before I knew it, I was falling. My heart nearly jumped out of my mouth from the fright and began pounding once I came closer to the floor. Miraculously, I noticed a fabric shade above the entrance of the building, and felt relieved that it would be able to soften my landing.
But no.
As soon as I landed on top of the fabric, I was immediately launched into the air again, and landed on a hard surface. The pain increased significantly, becoming more unbearable by the second, until I heard both of the commentators counting backwards, before granting the permission for all the participants to start in a sing-song tone.
“Sorry darling, we’ll meet you at the finish line,” Gongzhu commented to someone, but I couldn’t tell who. I was so small; I fell into a small gap within the vehicle. That is when I felt a violent rumbling underneath my body, and yet again, the sound of the roaring rumble of the contraption blasted into my ears. In an instant, the vehicle travelled a great distance in a matter of seconds, moving faster than any horse I knew.
I continuously crashed against the walls each time the vehicle took a sharp turn. I tried to avoid hitting them, especially on my side, since the splinter was still stuck in between my scales, and I couldn’t take it out without interruptions. Then, I heard the sound of another contraption approaching next to the one I was currently hiding in, but its roar sounded sharper and more high-pitched.
“My victory is assured. You’re never going to make this turn.” I could not see, due to my size, but I recognized that voice. The redhead from earlier remarked cockily, before zipping away to reach the finish line.
“I turn for no one!” An annoyed and raspy voice could be heard shouting, before making adjustments to make the vehicle moving faster. Suddenly, the vehicle was able to produce enough force to crash into a mountain. I then roughly bumped onto the back of a chair, before falling onto the ground, avoiding getting noticed by the two of them.
But I wanted to get the attention of Gongzhu. However, I did not want the demon next to her involved in our conversation. As my ears were filled with the jarring sounds of the mountain breaking and becoming pebbles, hitting the contraption like harsh rain, I began to wonder.
Why was this demon here…?
The Gongzhu I know would never be with a demon.
What relation could he possibly have, to earn Gongzhu’s trust?
“This mountain will crumble before our will!” The demon spoke in great confidence.
“Oh baby. You have had such bad experiences with mountains,” Gongzhu sweetly cooed to the demon, and I began to become more curious about their relationship status. I did not understand why she referred to him as an infant. This modern society has developed an interesting form of vocabulary from what I have heard exploring this new city.
An enraged roar ripped out of his throat, leaving me feeling the beating of my frightened little heart, before eventually escaping from the core of the mountain, out the other side. The demon began to get out of the contraption, while Gongzhu followed him from behind. I checked that they could not see me, and slowly slithered out of my hiding spot.
I could see her comforting him, slowly rubbing his back and speaking words of comfort. The demon on the other hand, did not showcase signs of sadness, but broke his intimidating image to show a little bit of vulnerability.
Unfortunately, when the demon faced Gongzhu, he caught a glimpse of me from the corner of his eye. I knew at that moment I looked too suspicious. A snake watching and listening to their conversation already implied that I was no ordinary animal. Then, I lowered my body and acted like a wild snake, slithering slowly and hissing out my tongue, but he was not fooled.
“What is this?” He muttered softly, before approaching me slowly. I froze in place as his massive hand picked me up and cradled me in the middle of his palm, observing instantly. Again, I acted like how a wild snake would behave in this situation and I tried hissing and got into a defensive position, but he was not bothered.
“Strange. Why is this water snake not in a river, let alone a mountain?" Said Gongzhu suspiciously, while I remained silence, in hopes the demon did not realize that I was a shapeshifter. However, my eyes seemed too human, too full of fear to be dismissed. As his eyes pierced through my own, and could blatantly see that my serpent form was a disguise.
“This is no ordinary snake.” Then, his hand tightened around my body, so that I could not escape. Only leaving my head peeking out of his fist, then he allowed a sharp claw from his other hand and observed my Huadian carefully. From the moment his eyebrows crooked, and growled lowly, I knew that he knew.
“Are you a spy for the Monkey King?”
I was not.
But I did not answer.
His fist was too strong for my small body, his thumb pressing against my throat, making me unable to speak back.
“Answer me.”
Still remained silent. I strained for air, gasping quietly and feeling my face turning blue.
“Very well. If you won’t talk, I guess I’ll make you,” He bellowed, before gesturing Gongzhu a command. As I look back at her, she gave him a small nod and suddenly, a rush of wind began to surround us. I was so confused. Why was she listening to a demon out of all people? But the demon still kept me trapped in his hand, pressing even harder. I could not protest any further, before my vision blurred and became black.