Chapter 59 Kidnapping the Kid (Leave comments here for side story requests)

Chapter 59: Snatching the Cub (Leave a comment for a side story prompt)

Eating and drinking well in a foreign country, being a snake that adapts easily, Xiang Wei was completely unaffected by the change of scenery. He slept soundly that night, woke up refreshed the next morning, and followed his aunt to check out the wedding venue.

He had never attended anyone else's wedding before and didn't know what weddings were supposed to look like, but looking at the banquet hall that matched his aesthetic perfectly, he felt there wasn't a single flaw to be found!

He couldn't stop praising his aunt, saying the decorations suited his taste perfectly, that nothing needed to be changed, that it was even more perfect than he had imagined—buttering her up until she was giggling nonstop.

Since not many people were invited—just a dozen or so of Shen Jiyue's closer relatives in country Y—and the old man's old friends and business partners would get their own separate banquet later, the guest list stayed small.

After spending two days with the family elders, Auntie told the young ones to go have fun, asking Shen Jiyue to show Xiang Wei around country Y and only return in time for the wedding day.

So that very day, the two of them decided to get together with friends from both sides for some food and fun.

Since several of Shen Jiyue's friends had lived in country Y for years, it was basically like having local tour guides. They were taken to try local specialty dishes and visited several unique, beautiful spots that were off the beaten path.

Along the way, they also heard many local legends and gossip from their school days, which left Xiang Wei—a snake with little worldly experience—and Fu Yunyan—a grade-schooler from back home—exclaiming in amazement.

"That's actually a thing?" Xiang Wei's eyes went wide.

"Yes. Jiyue even used local superstitions to scare off teenagers who came to cause trouble." Mu Lingchuan, seeing his interest, smiled and told him about Shen Jiyue's sneaky teenage antics.

Chang Hu also chimed in, not even glancing at Shen Jiyue's unimpressed face, and said cheerfully with a big laugh: "Right, right, it was hilarious."

"There's a local saying that if you sing while eating, you'll summon demons to your table. So when those arrogant guys invited us to a party planning to mess with us, right as they took their first bite of food, Jiyue started singing. Those stuck-up jerks were so scared they screamed and ran out."

He told it so well that Xiang Wei and the others, picturing the scene, all cracked up. Only Shen Jiyue stayed stone-faced about his own youthful pranks, just quirking the corner of his mouth as he watched Xiang Wei laugh.

Everyone there could take a joke, was genuinely warm, and got along great. Mu Lingchuan even exchanged contact info with the gossip-loving Shen Lang, since both had been living abroad for years and could grab a meal together when free.

When the topic came around to Xiang Wei and Shen Jiyue already having gotten their marriage license and the upcoming wedding, everyone looked shocked.

Especially Mu Lingchuan and Fu Yunyan. Mu had only found out they were dating recently, and Fu had literally told Xiang Wei not to rush into marriage—only to hear not long after that they'd already gotten the license. It totally blindsided them.

"I thought you'd be the last of us three to get married," Mu Lingchuan remarked. Shen Jiyue wasn't the heartless, loveless guy rumors made him out to be, but picturing him head-over-heels was still a stretch.

"Ha, tell me about it." Chang Hu, who had watched these two go from misunderstandings to a twisted, roundabout path to happiness, had even more complicated feelings about it.

Shen Lang and Fu Yunyan, being Xiang Wei's friends, didn't get the melancholy at all—wasn't it obvious that Shen Jiyue liked Xiang Wei? Anyone with eyes could see that!

Xiang Wei didn't get their moping either. He cheerfully raised his glass, and as everyone clinked theirs together, the somber mood evaporated. They toasted the couple with wishes for a long and happy marriage and started egging them on to drink—until Shen Jiyue put a stop to it.

Fu Yunyan was still a kid, after all. And besides, with Xiang Wei's half-glass tolerance, Shen Jiyue wouldn't dare let him drink. If he wanted to drink, he could get plastered at the wedding.

After a few days of hanging out, Mu Lingchuan—who'd taken time off work—had to head back, and Fu Yunyan needed to check in with his mom. That left Xiang Wei, Shen Lang, and Chang Hu—all adults with nowhere to be—to go catch a movie.

Shen Jiyue didn't join them. He went alone to visit the renowned master of metaphysics.

Metaphysics really lived up to its name, and the master lived up to the hype. He opened with a bunch of cryptic, mystical mumbo-jumbo that left Shen Jiyue totally lost. After a barrage of technical jargon that left his guest dazed and confused, the master finally switched to plain English.

"The soul separates from the physical body dozens or even hundreds of times, being reborn over and over, gradually perfecting its character—this is the necessary path of soul evolution. But most people who don't cultivate in their current life never awaken memories of past lives. Mr. Shen's ability to dream of fragments from past lives is due to your excellent natural talent. You have an affinity with my teachings!"

The master looked at Shen Jiyue with admiration, as if wondering why such a promising disciple had only shown up now.

Shen Jiyue didn't want that connection. He politely declined and asked, "How can I dream more? Can I talk to my past-life self in dreams?"

Though the master regretted his refusal, he was old and took things in stride, so he didn't push him to not waste his talent.

He told him about soul resonance—to think more about past-life memories in daily life, to revisit places he'd dreamed of, and that when the time was right, more dreams would come on their own. He told him not to rush it. He also gave him a sachet to put under his pillow when he slept.

"You've already touched the sealed memories of your soul, which means the veil is thinning. Your waking, rational mind blocks what you seek. This herbal sachet will help calm your mind, clear away distractions, and let the soul break free from the body's shackles, awakening forgotten past-life memories."

The master muttered a few more things, then waved his hand to send him off.

Shen Jiyue squeezed the unremarkable-looking sachet in his hand. Figuring it couldn't hurt, he placed it under their pillow when he got home.

The little snake coiled around his wrist leaned in to sniff it, then shied away. Weird smell. No thanks.

Shen Jiyue stroked it and took it to get some food. Watching the carefree little snake, he thought of Xiang Wei's serpent form and sighed.

An albino rattlesnake was certainly beautiful, but in the wild, it was a liability. It was easy to imagine how much Xiang Wei must have suffered before awakening his inherited memories and taking human form.

He was now certain that the person in Xiang Wei's inherited memories who looked like him was definitely him. Originally, he'd planned to ask the metaphysical master different questions, but the dreams of the past few days had changed his approach. He too had dreamed of the inherited memories Xiang Wei had mentioned.

But in his dreams, Xiang Wei only appeared in serpent form in one scene—the rest were all human form. And unlike Xiang Wei, he didn't know he was dreaming. He only realized it upon waking the next day.

So he wanted to maintain awareness in his dreams, to be able to converse with the people there. Otherwise, with how scattered these dreams were, who knew how long it would take to piece together the key information.

At least now both of them could dream of past-life events. That was better than only one of them dreaming—it would take less time to piece things together.

But then another problem arose: ever since Xiang Wei obtained the transformation technique from the long-haired Shen Jiyue, he hadn't dreamed of him again. The subsequent dreams were one after another.

There was the Republican era scene he'd dreamed of long ago, and a Shen Jiyue dressed as a scholar that he'd never dreamed of before—scattered and fragmented, but at least he could recognize the person now. However, in these dreams he was in serpent form and couldn't transform back, so communication was still impossible.

So the priority was figuring out how to make Xiang Wei dream of the long-haired Shen Jiyue in a communicable form, and how to make Shen Jiyue clearly aware he was dreaming so he could converse with the people in his dreams.

Thoughtfully stroking the snakelet's head, Shen Jiyue pondered the connection between past and present lives. He guessed that in some life, they had met in human form—perhaps, as in TV dramas, they'd had a romance, and after an accidental death, their lingering attachment brought them together again in this life.

But then why did Xiang Wei dream of so many scenes from different eras? What mistake had they made that required so many lifetimes to repay, only meeting and falling in love now?

Shen Jiyue felt that unless it was a world-ending catastrophe, nothing could justify that!

Having rarely read fantasy novels, watched xianxia dramas, or seen cultivation movies—and having been a staunch materialist before learning Xiang Wei was a little demon—Shen Jiyue, even after cramming on the subject, still found all of this utterly baffling.

The snakelet didn't know what Daddy was thinking about. It played with his fingers, then suddenly caught a scent, hissed, and turned toward the door.

"I'm back!" The next second, Xiang Wei pounced at Shen Jiyue, following country Y's etiquette by pressing cheek to cheek on the left, then cheek to cheek on the right. He then scooped up the little snake that was reaching toward him and gave it a left cheek press and a right cheek press too.

The snake sat next to Shen Jiyue, squeezed against him, and happily asked if he was free tomorrow—Chang Hu had invited them to explore the small woods next to the university!

Shen Jiyue: ?

Was he talking about that small woods next to the university—the one with no surveillance, in an area sketchy enough that regular students avoided it, where people had lost things before, where pranksters went to mess around, and which had become increasingly legendary with all sorts of supernatural rumors?

He thought a small patch of woods was nothing special—wasn't there one everywhere? But seeing Xiang Wei's expectant expression, he nodded and said he was free tomorrow and they could go.

They set the little snake down and asked if it wanted to come. Getting an affirmative hiss from the snakelet, they decided to bring it along.

After washing up in the bedroom, before they even got into bed, Xiang Wei sniffed the air, leaned toward the bed, examined it for a moment, then lifted the pillow to find a sachet that had suddenly appeared.

When Shen Jiyue came out of the shower, he saw Xiang Wei holding the sachet, sniffing at it like he was puzzled about where it came from.

Getting into bed and pulling the man into his arms, Shen Jiyue naturally explained that he'd visited a master today who had given him the sachet to help with the inherited memories.

Hearing this, Xiang Wei nodded in understanding. They'd been worrying about this for a long time—the dreams had been uncontrollable. Last time, Shen Jiyue had asked him to relay a question to the long-haired Shen Jiyue, but he still hadn't found the chance!

They pulled up the covers and just talked, sharing a goodnight kiss before sleep. Xiang Wei cheered himself and Shen Jiyue on—with this sachet, tonight they would definitely dream!

He went to sleep holding onto that wish, and in his dream it seemed to come true yet not quite. The next morning, the snake blinked awake, all dazed, and realized that today he couldn't even remember the dream clearly—how strange.

But saying it didn't come true wasn't entirely accurate either. Even though the dream was hazy, he felt certain he had asked the question!

Forget it—time to get up, brush his teeth, eat breakfast, and get ready to head out.

He wasn't sure if the people around here were afraid of snakes, so Xiang Wei brought a handbag and would tuck the little snake inside if they ran into strangers.

Standing at the edge of the little woods, Xiang Wei was full of anticipation. The further he walked with Shen Jiyue, the fewer people they passed, and eventually he finally took the snakelet out so it could see too.

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary—no dramatic sinking feeling like in TV dramas when you approach a creepy place—Xiang Wei looked at Chang Hu, who was tense, and asked, confused, "Is this really the place?"

Chang Hu, though, was totally in character, nodding vigorously: "Yeah! When I studied here, I heard that rumor and always wanted to go, but I asked Jiyue and Lingchuan, and they weren't interested. I couldn't trust anyone else, and I didn't dare go alone, so it just got shelved."

He even shot a glance at Shen Jiyue, who was walking behind Xiang Wei, like, "Not interested, huh? Hah!"

Xiang Wei hadn't felt scared at all at first, but with Chang Hu hyping it up, his heart started racing, and it felt a bit thrilling. He quietly slipped the snakelet into the bag, telling it to stay hidden if it was scared, or sneak a peek if it wasn't.

The little snake was a good boy, coiling up tight inside.

Once they were ready, they finally stepped into the woods. It was dead quiet—just the wind and their footsteps. Chang Hu even lowered his voice, setting the perfect creepy vibe.

"And then? And then?" Xiang Wei held his breath, listening intently to the horror story, not even noticing he'd stopped walking.

Chang Hu talked himself into a cold sweat—a total scaredy-cat who loved it anyway. Working in the entertainment industry, he'd heard tons of scary stories, and retelling them in this setting instantly brought to mind the opening scenes of a dozen horror movies!

Like a bunch of cannon fodder going "let's explore, it'll be fun," only to stupidly head to a place known for weird stuff, then wake up a monster/ghost and get wiped out! Giving the early-game boss a power-up, which leads to all the chaos later.

He pulled out a tissue to wipe his sweat, took a deep breath, and told himself to stop scaring himself. Seeing Xiang Wei staring at him intently, he continued, "Don't be afraid, it's fine. Reality isn't a movie—there aren't that many weird things..."

"Ah—!!!" Xiang Wei let out a startled scream.

"Ahhhh! What's wrong? What's wrong? What's wrong?" Chang Hu, hearing him scream, started screaming too without knowing why.

"A thief!" The bag was snatched from his hand, and Xiang Wei chased after it immediately. "Give the snakelet back!"

He'd been too focused on listening and hadn't noticed his surroundings, and now the little one had been stolen—the snake was furious! Catch you and break your legs, you bastard!

==========Author's Note:==========

Snake: You egg-stealing thief, you're done for!

Zoned-out Shen Jiyue: ?

Screaming Chang Hu: Gah?

—

One more plot point and the main story will be wrapping up, probably in two or three chapters. I feel like it's been written quite satisfactorily.

Any side stories you guys want to see? You can leave a comment on this chapter, and I'll pick two or three to write.

If not, I'll just write whatever I think of when the time comes.