Seeing those people staring at me all the time, Bai Qi grabbed my hand and hurried me away.
"Maybe you're just too beautiful. I heard that Kua Ye was also very beautiful, but she brought disaster to the village. So they think all pretty girls should be called snake girls. Kids say whatever comes to mind. Don't take it to heart."
"Kids may say whatever they want, but even the adults look scared of me."
"Maybe after staying with Gu Yuan for so long, you've somehow picked up some of his aura."
Even though Gu Yuan was a flying snake, he didn't look anything like a snake. It's true that I'm his wife, but being called a snake girl still gives me the creeps.
As we were talking, Bai Qi led me to the village head's house. It was a low, thatched cottage surrounded by a wooden fence.
This might be a local specialty. All the houses here were more or less the same in terms of structure and size.
I knocked on the wooden gate and shouted, "Is the village head at home?"
After waiting for about two minutes, a limping middle - aged woman in her fifties walked out of the thatched cottage. She had dark skin, her hair wrapped in a turban, and her clothes had a strong ethnic minority flavor.
"Who are you looking for?" She spoke haltingly in Mandarin as she limped towards the gate.
"I'm here to see the village head. My friend talked to him about Kua Ye before."
"Looking for Kua Haifu? He's not at home. Come back tomorrow."
"Auntie, we're from out of town. It's quite far back to the city."
The limping woman thought for a moment and said, "Well, you can come in and wait for him then."
She opened the gate and stepped aside to let me in.
I nodded to the woman and helped her into the thatched cottage. The living room was not very big, but it had a unique ethnic minority rural charm.
She invited me to sit in the living room and made me a cup of tea. Since she was just an ordinary person and couldn't see Bai Qi, she only poured one cup.
I was really thirsty, so I didn't stand on ceremony and took a couple of sips.
"Auntie, when will the village head be back?" I asked.
"I don't know. He left early this morning without saying a word. But don't worry, if he doesn't come back today, he'll be back tomorrow."
I nodded, put down the teacup, and asked, "Auntie, where's Kua Ye? I'd like to go and see her."
At the mention of Kua Ye's name, the woman's eyes welled up with tears, which started to roll down her cheeks.
"My poor girl! Why did this have to happen to her? Waaaa..."
Seeing her cry, I felt guilty for my rashness. I quickly took out a tissue from my backpack and handed it to her.
She took the tissue and kept wiping her tears, crying her heart out.
Then, with a "thud", she knelt on the ground.
"Thank you, girl, for being willing to save her. She's had such a hard life."
I couldn't bear this. I quickly helped her up and asked with concern, "How did she incur the wrath of the Witchcraft God? What's the whole story?"
"Our girl is very well - behaved. She rarely goes out. One day..."
Kua Ye was a gentle and demure girl who rarely left home. She usually just stayed at home embroidering.
Five years ago, it was time for the village to worship the Witchcraft God. Only men were allowed to participate in this ritual, and each family had to send one male.
But on that day, the village head and his son accidentally fell and were seriously injured while setting up the altar. They were unconscious.
There was no other way, so Kua Ye dressed up as a man and tried to sneak into the crowd.
But unexpectedly, Kua Ye was so beautiful that she stood out immediately and caught the eye of the Witchcraft God. That night, the Witchcraft God came to the village head's house and forced himself on Kua Ye.
After that, the Witchcraft God came to be with Kua Ye every day. Since it was such a shameful thing, Kua Ye didn't tell anyone. It wasn't until her belly got bigger and bigger that the village head realized the seriousness of the problem.
Having a child out of wedlock was unforgivable in their village. The woman would be drowned in a pig cage.
But when they asked Kua Ye, she couldn't tell them who the father was. On the day she gave birth, the village was hit by a once - in - a - century flood. There was no way to send her to the hospital, so she had to give birth at home.
When the midwife pulled out the baby, it turned out to be a black snake. The midwife fainted on the spot.
The village head rushed in, saw the black snake, and immediately took out a sickle and cut it in two.
At that moment, a cloud of black smoke filled the room, and the Witchcraft God brought disaster.
Every time Kua Ye gave birth, there would be a devastating flood, and many villagers were displaced. But the village head found that as long as the black snake was killed, the flood would recede immediately.
For the safety of the villagers, the village head had to order the brave midwife to kill the black snake as soon as its head emerged.
This way, the village had five years of peace. But recently, something was wrong. Kua Ye's body started to change. Snake scales began to grow all over her body.
Because of this, the village head had been busy looking for a safe place for the villagers to take shelter.
After he solved this problem, he would bring the villagers back. It seemed that Kua Haifu was really a responsible village head.
After listening to the woman's story, I gently patted her on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry. Everything will be okay."
The woman had been crying so sadly before, but after pouring out her heart, she looked much better now.
She looked at me tenderly and asked with concern, "Girl, what's your name? How old are you?"
"Auntie, my name is Lan Chiyu. I'm twenty - two."
"You're so beautiful, just like my daughter. Looking at you, I feel like I'm seeing my daughter." A kind smile appeared on her face.
"Auntie, Kua Ye will definitely get better."
"Isn't Kua Ye at home? Where is she now?"
"With the way she looks now, how could we let her stay in the village? My husband has settled her in a thatched shed on the back mountain. It's getting late today. I'll take you to see her tomorrow."
It was true. I had arrived at the airport at around 2 p.m. Then I took a few - hour bus ride.
This place was quite backward. The bus didn't go straight here, and I had to walk a long way on a mountain path to reach the village.
It was already after 6 p.m. I really wanted to have a good rest.
"Xiaolan, don't mind. Our village conditions are poor, not like in the city. This used to be Kua Ye's room. It's very clean, and the bedding is newly changed. You'll have to make do for one night here."
I looked around the room. Although it was small, it was very tidy. It was obviously a girl's room.
"I don't mind. I've been on the road all day. I wouldn't even mind sleeping in a thatched shed."
The woman smiled and said, "How could we let you sleep in a thatched shed? You rest here for a while. I'll go and cook. Have dinner first and then go to sleep."
I replied, thinking that this aunt was really kind.
After dinner, I simply washed up and then collapsed onto the bed.
I wanted to call He Bi to let him know I was safe, but I found there was no signal in the village.
There was nothing I could do but turn off the light and go to bed early. Lying in bed, listening to the chirping of insects outside, I soon fell into a deep sleep.
Just when I was dreaming, I felt my body swaying, as if I were on a boat.
I was a bit grumpy from being woken up. When I opened my eyes, I was completely stunned.
"Where am I?"