What? Only a few years left to live!

Chapter 14: What? Only a Few Years to Live!

"Woof woof woof!"

On the greenbelt, a brown shadow came racing over, followed by its owner's shout, "Lele, slow down!"

That was a giant Teddy. Perhaps in human eyes it was considered relatively small, but to Ye Qin, it was truly enormous.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and climbed up a nearby tree.

By the time the Teddy's owner ran over, all they saw was their dog barking incessantly and circling around the tree.

"Lele, if you keep this up, I'll have to put a leash on you. Why are you suddenly so interested in this tree?"

"Huh, why is there a map here? Who's littering? So inconsiderate."

As the voices gradually faded and the Teddy was reluctantly led away, Ye Qin finally climbed down from the tree and continued on his way.

He was accidentally spotted by passersby a few times along the way, but none of it was a big problem.

His size was small, posing no real threat. At most, he'd hear a startled exclamation from someone, and occasionally some bold ones would throw stones at him.

But Ye Qin dodged quickly, slipping into the nearby greenbelt or other cover, leaving no trace behind.

And so, with a series of close calls, he finally arrived at the location of the library.

Fog City's library was quite distinctive, built in a Chinese architectural style. The antique courtyard covered a vast area, with carved corridors, flying eaves, green tiles, and vermilion eaves, giving one the illusion of traveling through time.

The library had a long history, having weathered countless storms. The color of the red outer walls had faded somewhat.

When Ye Qin arrived, it was near sunset. The sun had just set, and a touch of evening glow enveloped the ancient building, coating it in a faint orange light, making it look even more antique.

"Going in now is still too early. Running into people would be bad."

Watching the people coming and going from the library, he decided to stake it out outside, waiting until late at night when everyone was gone before entering—that would be the safest.

As the last light sank beyond the western mountains, night began to unfold. The people inside the library had mostly left, leaving only two security guards on the night shift.

The librarian confirmed no one was inside, then locked the main gate and left.

No one noticed that shortly after he left, a black shadow followed closely behind.

Ye Qin looked around and finally found a loophole. One window wasn't tightly shut, with a gap remaining. He pushed it open with effort, then slipped through the widened crack.

In the vast library, he was now the only snake present.

The air carried a peculiar scent, a mix of ink and paper.

Ye Qin shuttled back and forth between the bookshelves. The library was huge, housing what must be millions of books, stretching out densely before his eyes.

It took him a long time to find the section on snakes.

There were over 3,000 species of snakes in the world. Ye Qin searched tirelessly, comparing images, and discovered that he was likely a "Green Brocade Snake."

The Green Brocade Snake is a non-venomous snake that lives in mountainous areas, with a body entirely emerald green. It grows to about 1 meter in length, with larger ones reaching up to 3 meters. Its head is long, slightly wide and flat, with a blunt, rounded snout.

Ye Qin's features matched perfectly. He looked at the book, at the vivid, lifelike little emerald snake depicted there, quite adorable.

If he hadn't been scorched black by lightning, he should have looked like this too.

Ye Qin continued reading, and suddenly his pupils sharply contracted at something he saw.

"How can this be!"

A line of small text came into view, stirring a storm in Ye Qin's heart.

"The lifespan of small snakes is about 2 to 5 years. I haven't even reached adulthood yet, which means I have at most 2 or 3 years left? At the least, maybe just one year? Damn it all!"

Learning this news hit Ye Qin like a thunderbolt. He was so angry he wanted to curse, but as a snake, he couldn't yet speak human language.

He had never imagined he only had a few years of life left.

So great was the shock that his bright red forked tongue froze mid-air, only trembling after a long pause.

A powerful sense of crisis surged up.

"No, I have to stay calm."

The more critical the moment, the less he could panic.

Ye Qin took a deep breath, casting aside those emotions in his mind. He had already cheated death twice—was he still afraid of dying?

"Even if it's only a few years, so what? I'll definitely find a way to deal with it."

Back then, he was gravely wounded with a zero percent chance of survival, yet he still lived.

Heaven never seals off all paths for a snake. Solutions always come from thinking.

Since cultivation could heal him, it must also have the effect of prolonging life. Otherwise, why would the ancients have been so obsessed with seeking immortals and the Dao to achieve immortality? Though none of them succeeded, the underlying idea was correct.

Thinking this, Ye Qin had a thread of clarity. As long as he continued cultivating and reached a higher realm, he could absolutely defy fate and extend his lifespan.

After all, the essence of cultivation was to change one's life level and genetic sequence. If he persevered, who knew if a miracle might happen!

With such a heavy weight pressing on his heart, Ye Qin became even more devoted to cultivation.

"I wonder if the library has any relevant books. Maybe I can find some inspiration."

Ye Qin's gaze fell on the depths of the library. It also housed many ancient texts—not the originals, of course, but all newly transcribed copies.

After searching around, he finally found it.

Probably because no one was interested in these kinds of ancient texts, no one had borrowed them. They were tucked away in the most remote corner, and moreover, they were practically covered in dust.

Come to think of it, that made sense. With technology so advanced now and e-books dominating, many paper books could no longer survive.

These days, there were far fewer people coming to the library than before, let alone those who would be interested in these mysterious, esoteric, and rambling books.

In this era of fast information, everyone pursued one thing: "speed." Even if they borrowed these books, they wouldn't calm their minds and immerse themselves in grasping the meaning within them.

These dust-covered books were opened once again, and their borrower turned out to be a snake.

Ye Qin read very seriously. After all, it concerned his life; he had to search for enough useful information.

But as he continued reading, he ultimately discovered that there was no trace of a cultivator like himself in any records. From ancient times to the present, only a few legends remained, but those legends were unverifiable and lacked factual basis—most were likely fabricated by later generations.

Yet, strangely enough, while there were no cultivators, there were many great ideological works on the subject. For example, the first one Ye Qin encountered was the Yellow Emperor's Classic of the Inner Elixir.

And now he was seeing the Yi Jin Jing, the Shang Qing Jing, the Ling Bao Jing, the Taishang Ganying Jing, the Lotus Sutra, and so on.

These books more or less touched upon cultivation. The content within them wasn't entirely castles in the air or illusory; rather, it was built upon a certain ideological foundation.

If one savored them carefully, they would discover the principles within, which could be quite enlightening.

"Why could the ancients leave behind such works, yet they themselves could not step into cultivation?"

(End of this chapter)