Invincible Snake Emperor

The old man was badly frightened, as if his very soul was trembling.

His fear wasn’t the kind a normal person would feel upon seeing a snake. It was the terror of having a secret in his heart laid bare.

Utterly exposed, with nowhere to hide.

Elder Zhao had been a famous Snake Catcher in his youth. How could he be afraid of a mere snake? But the one before him now truly terrified him, filling him with dread.

A snake staring at a person—it was enough to make his scalp tingle with fear.

Tu Xiao’an just watched Elder Zhao prostrate on the ground. This respected and venerable old man now seemed so detestable and pathetic in his eyes.

’A beast in human clothing—this must be it.’

”What was her surname?”

The Gold and Silver Snake gazed at the floating Hongxin Wood and spoke in a haunting, human voice.

Elder Zhao, still prostrate, trembled all over. He didn’t dare refuse to answer. ”Her surname was Zhao. She was called Zhao Xinlan.”

”She would have become an outstanding teacher, wouldn’t she? Yet in the end, she died a miserable death at the hands of your Zhao Family.”

Hearing this, Elder Zhao’s old eyes bulged. ’The high and mighty Snake King truly sees everything.’ This past event, sealed away for fifty years, was known by almost no one else in the world. Even the butler who had been with the Zhao Family for decades knew nothing of it.

The secret had been well and truly exposed. He no longer held any hope of getting away with it.

”I am guilty! I am guilty!”

Terrified, Elder Zhao began to kowtow again, his head hitting the floor with resounding THUDS. He was a pitiful sight.

On any other day, Tu Xiao’an might not have been able to bear the sight of an eighty-something-year-old man acting like this. But was he truly pitiful? The truly pitiful one was that woman. One body, two lives, and she wasn’t even left with a whole corpse afterward. Her bones were carved into a piece of Hongxin Wood to guard the Zhao Family and accumulate fortune for them.

It was an injustice that could make it snow in June.

And that was to say nothing of the loyal and righteous Crowned Snake. Tu Xiao’an felt he owed it a debt.

”Since you know you are guilty, you should know what to do.”

Tu Xiao’an stared at Elder Zhao, his expression impassive, his Snake Gaze utterly frigid.

”I... I know.”

Elder Zhao trembled all over. ’Tonight, there is no escaping death.’

With the Snake King before him, he couldn’t even think of resisting. The dagger from before reappeared, and Elder Zhao slowly pressed it against his own neck.

The hand holding the dagger trembled violently. A suffocating tension filled the air.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Terror filled Elder Zhao’s wide eyes. Every tick of the clock felt like a lead hammer striking his heart.

Tu Xiao’an watched with cold eyes, waiting for the old man to end his own life. This would also fulfill the Crowned Snake’s final wish.

But... Elder Zhao still didn’t make a move. His wrinkled old face was a mask of utter terror.

He was scared. He feared death.

”You don’t want to die, do you?” the Gold and Silver Snake, holding its head high, said suddenly. ”Perhaps I can give you a chance to atone for your crimes.”

Elder Zhao had been on the verge of despair. Hearing this, joy instantly lit up his features. He quietly lowered the dagger. ”Please, enlighten me, Lord Snake King!”

Seeing this expression, Tu Xiao’an was filled with disappointment. ’It seems everyone is afraid of death. Who would choose to die if they could live?’

And the older they get, the more they fear it.

For many elderly people, the word ”death” and anything related to it seems to become their greatest taboo. And it seems that as time goes on, the older they get, the more they fear it.

Earlier in the courtyard, when Elder Zhao had begged the Crowned Snake to spare the Zhao Family and decided to take his own life, Tu Xiao’an had felt a flicker of admiration for him.

But now, although he was filled with guilt for Zhao Xinlan, when it came time to actually atone with his life, he began clinging to it and fearing death.

He had none of the dignity of a respected elder.

”Write down everything you did to Zhao Xinlan, in full detail, on this piece of paper. Then, you will read it aloud in front of all the villagers of Zhao Village.”

That teacher didn’t deserve to die without a sound. To die so miserably, only to have her bones carved into Hongxin Wood to guard the Zhao Family and accumulate fortune for fifty years.

Tu Xiao’an had originally intended to give Elder Zhao the most dignified death possible. Unfortunately, his repentance was not sincere.

Otherwise, that Hongxin Wood would not have hung high on the Zhao Family’s rafters for fifty long years. How could Zhao Xinlan ever rest in peace?

This practice of turning a corpse’s bones into Hongxin Wood was a dark and sinister art. The ghost would be unable to reincarnate, instead transforming into a House Snake.

It was the same idea as when Tu Xiao’an had wanted to become a House Snake to protect his family after he died.

The difference was that he had done it willingly and had the System’s help to complete his rebirth as a House Snake. But Zhao Xinlan’s death was a terrible injustice. Not only was it one body and two lives, but she was also denied reincarnation after death, trapped within the Zhao Family estate.

Hearing this, Elder Zhao didn’t dare utter a single word of protest. Compared to not having to die, what was this?

’Besides, I wasn’t the one who killed Zhao Xinlan. My first wife did. What does it have to do with me? At worst, I’ll just lose all face.’

And so, a piece of white paper was densely filled with the story of a past sealed away for fifty years, recording the life and tragedy of a young female teacher.

In front of the Zhao Family residence, all the villagers of Zhao Village had gathered.

Earlier that night, the entire village had been plunged into panic. But then they saw the auspicious sign of the Snake King’s manifestation, and in the deep, dark night, they went from door to door, discussing it excitedly.

Now, a Zhao Family member had gone out and gathered all the villagers at the Zhao residence’s entrance, saying that Elder Zhao had a major announcement to make.

The Zhao Family’s House Snake had committed murder, causing a huge sensation. In the middle of the night, the Snake King had appeared to vanquish the demon. Now that Elder Zhao was gathering everyone, he must have something truly important to say.

The Snake King manifesting in Zhao Village was an earth-shattering event. Once daylight came and word spread to Bai Town, it would bring immense prestige to the entire village.

The villagers were incredibly excited, just waiting for Elder Zhao to come out and speak.

Elder Zhao, seated in a wheelchair, was pushed out by his butler. Not a single person knew what he was actually about to say.

Elder Zhao looked out at the hundred or so villagers, a dense sea of heads. His hands, as rough as old pine bark and cracked with fissures, tightly gripped a piece of paper covered in writing.

After today, he might be allowed to live, but his reputation would be in tatters.

The Snake King forcing him to expose his own scars was only slightly better than death.

And ”better” was only from his perspective.

”Everyone, I, Zhao Changmin, have gathered you all here in the dead of night because I have something to tell you.”

A villager said excitedly, ”Village Chief, did the Lord Snake King leave a message for you to pass on to us?”

”For the Snake King to appear in our Zhao Village, this must be a blessing we’ve accumulated over hundreds of years!”

The villagers who believed in the legend of the Snake King were ecstatic, as if they had just won a five-million-dollar lottery.

This wasn’t hard to understand. For instance, if you saw a majestic Divine Dragon appear near your own home, wouldn’t you be thrilled?

Elder Zhao clutched the paper tightly. He opened his mouth, but he couldn’t bring himself to read it.

Reading it aloud would be like slapping his own face. The Zhao Family would be all but finished.

But if he didn’t read it, he could feel a Formless Snake Gaze fixed on him, following him like a shadow.

If the Snake King wanted to kill him, it would be as easy as flipping a hand.