Invincible Snake Emperor

Tu Xiao’an was suddenly struck by how fortunate he was. To have died once and still be able to live in this world.

Even though he was a snake, he had now taken human form, even if this fabricated body wasn’t real.

He felt fortunate, incredibly so.

Chen Gao Yang lived in this vast four-sided courtyard, but he had never opened his eyes to see it.

Tu Xiao’an tried to see Chen Gao Yang’s current thoughts, but he couldn’t extract any images.

Just as Tu Xiao’an’s Consciousness Power was about to withdraw from Chen Gao Yang’s mind, a voice suddenly rang out—sweet as honey, soothing, and utterly refreshing.

”Brother Gaoyang, why are you looking for things by yourself again? Didn’t I tell you? If you want anything, just tell me, and I’ll find it for you.”

The voice was soft and melodious, unforgettable once heard.

Chen Gao Yang’s voice replied, ”I’m not looking for anything in particular. It’s just that after you tidied up, everything is in a different place. I don’t know where anything is anymore. I want to feel my way around so I can memorize it all.”

The soft voice returned, with what seemed like a hint of displeasure. ”Brother Gaoyang, for the rest of our lives, I will be your eyes, your hands, and your feet. You don’t need to memorize anything.”

”Haitang, I was born blind. Are you really willing to spend the rest of your life with me?”

She murmured in reply, ”Like phoenix trees aging together, like mandarin ducks dying as one... as long as you’ll have me, Brother Gaoyang, that’s all that matters.”

’Reject her?’

Upon hearing this, Chen Gao Yang shook his head back and forth like a pellet drum.

The heavens had taken his eyes, but they had sent him an angel in return.

Tu Xiao’an couldn’t see any images, only the sound of a man and a woman talking—snippets of daily life, moments of sweetness.

”Brother Gaoyang, I want to ask you a question.”

”Ask away.”

”If you had to choose between me and your eyesight, which would you pick?”

It was like the classic dilemma: ”If your mother and I both fell into the water, who would you save first?”

Chen Gao Yang replied without hesitation, ”My eyesight, of course. If my eyes were better, I’d be able to see you. And if I could see you, I could take care of you, instead of you always taking care of me.”

”Brother Gaoyang, please don’t choose your eyesight, okay? I’m afraid that if you saw me, you wouldn’t want me anymore.”

”Silly girl, how could I ever not want you?”

”If one day you can see again, then that will be the day Haitang disappears.”

Standing in the four-sided courtyard, Chen Gao Yang recalled her words. He trembled, murmuring to himself, ”Haitang, my sight hasn’t returned... so why did you disappear?”

Tu Xiao’an withdrew his Consciousness Power and opened his eyes. Looking at Chen Gao Yang, he said, ”Thinking about your girlfriend again, huh?”

He nodded with a bitter smile. ”Yeah.”

Tu Xiao’an glanced around the courtyard and asked casually, ”This place has so many rooms. Did you and your girlfriend sleep in the same one, or separately?”

Chen Gao Yang’s body stiffened. Beneath his sunglasses, his face flushed slightly. He hadn’t expected Tu Xiao’an to ask such a personal question out of the blue.

He stammered, ”W-we were boyfriend and girlfriend, but we weren’t married... so of course we slept separately.”

”So, which room was hers?”

Chen Gao Yang asked, ”Why are you asking?”

Tu Xiao’an smiled. ”Seeing how devoted you are to your girlfriend... I was moved. I want to help you look for clues.”

”She… Her room should be that one,” Chen Gao Yang said, raising his cane and pointing toward a room.

”Can I go in and take a look?”

Chen Gao Yang nodded eagerly. He was, of course, happy to have someone willing to help him.

For a blind man, finding anything was difficult, let alone finding a person who had vanished into thin air.

Tu Xiao’an walked over and pushed the door open. In an instant, his brow furrowed. ”Such a strong aura of an Awakened Creature,” he said in surprise.

It was like a Daoist in the movies shouting: ”Such powerful Demon Qi!”

”What did you say?”

Chen Gao Yang asked, not having heard him clearly.

”Oh, nothing.”

Tu Xiao’an carefully looked and searched around the room. Starting to get an idea, he asked, ”Are you sure this was your girlfriend’s room?”

”Of course. I may be blind, but I wouldn’t get that wrong.”

”Then why can’t I find a single article of women’s clothing, or even any toiletries, in here?”

Chen Gao Yang was taken aback. ”There isn’t? Nothing at all?”

Suddenly, Chen Gao Yang swayed as if he might fall. A terrible possibility dawned on him, and he said in a pained voice, ”It seems she didn’t have an accident... She must have gotten tired of a blind man like me, so she packed her things and left quietly.”

Leaving without a word.

It was the only possibility. Otherwise, how could Haitang’s room be completely empty?

Chen Gao Yang had been deceiving himself. After Haitang disappeared, he had worried that she’d had an accident, that she’d run into bad people.

But there was another, more realistic possibility that he had been unwilling to consider.

Now, with the truth before him, he had no choice but to confront it.

’After all, what woman would be willing to spend her entire life taking care of a helpless blind man?’

’Her voice was so captivating; she must have been incredibly beautiful, too.’

’Why would she want to spend the rest of her life with a blind man like him?’

”Well, it’s not completely empty.”

At that moment, Tu Xiao’an was pinching a strand of animal fur in his hand.

”What is it?” Chen Gao Yang asked, suddenly tense.

Tu Xiao’an considered for a moment. ”Just a strand of a girl’s hair, that’s all.”

He was disappointed.

”Haitang... even if you wanted to leave, why do it without a word? We could have parted amicably. I wouldn’t have stood in the way of your happiness.”

At this, Chen Gao Yang was overcome with grief. He lowered his head, his shoulders trembling. Though his sunglasses hid his eyes, a hot tear was seen streaming down his face.

”Don’t get ahead of yourself. Maybe she had her reasons.”

Tu Xiao’an patted his shoulder. Comforting people wasn’t exactly his strong suit.

Especially another man.

Chen Gao Yang was heartbroken, convinced that his girlfriend had simply packed her things and left without a word.

Ten minutes later, when Chen Gao Yang had calmed down a bit, Tu Xiao’an asked, ”Have you ever kept any pets here in this courtyard?”

”Pets?” Still lost in his grief, Chen Gao Yang answered absently, ”No. What would a blind man like me do with a pet?”

”Although, back when my grandmother was alive, there was a cat in the courtyard.”

”A cat?” Tu Xiao’an’s eyes lit up. ”What did it look like?”

The words were barely out of his mouth before Tu Xiao’an wanted to slap himself. Asking a man who was born blind what something looked like was a completely pointless exercise.

”What happened to the cat afterward? Did it die, or something else?”

Chen Gao Yang didn’t quite understand why he was suddenly being asked this, but he answered anyway. ”Five years ago, my grandmother passed away. The cat was never seen again after that.”

”And when did you meet your girlfriend?”

Tu Xiao’an already had a theory in mind. Now, all he had to do was slowly confirm whether it was true.