A Book-Mad Green Snake

Chapter 41: A Book-Mad Green Snake

Zi Bofeng brought the Green Snake inside. Xitui was instantly on high alert. Compared with the fox, the snake seemed more like an enemy. Xitui had once been bitten by a venomous snake and had nearly lost a leg.

"Don't worry, don't worry..." Zi Bofeng soothed it aloud, though he was nervous himself.

The Green Snake coiled on his shoulder for a little while, then stretched out its head and rubbed it against his cheek.

Zi Bofeng reached out and gently rested a hand on its head. Bamboo Green Snake let him stroke it a few times, behaving very docilely.

Zi Bofeng let out a quiet breath and finally relaxed. But the Green Snake wouldn't stay on his shoulder any longer. It sprang down onto the desk, raised its golden, slit-pupil eyes to scan the shelves, then spotted the copy of Legend of the White Snake. It reared up and tried to pull the book down. But it had no limbs, and it was afraid its fangs would damage the pages, so it could only fret and thrash about.

"So that's why you keep borrowing Legend of the White Snake. It's for your friend." Zi Bofeng chuckled and reached over to pat the White Fox on the head.

The White Fox stretched, struck a cute pose, then swished its tail and trotted off. Zi Bofeng looked around, but couldn't figure out how the fox had gotten into the yard.

Behind him, the Green Snake was already frantically whipping its tail against the table. Zi Bofeng could only laugh helplessly. He'd actually met an impatient Green Snake. Clearly, it too had benefited from the lectures he'd given back then, and it had grown tired of borrowing Legend of the White Snake one volume at a time. It had come here in a hurry to read the whole story.

Zi Bofeng took the book down and lit the oil lamp. The Green Snake extended the tip of its tail and deftly opened the cover, then lay across the book to hold it open, its head raised over the center line.

To respect the reading habits of this world, Zi Bofeng had written Legend of the White Snake in vertical columns, read from right to left. The snake's eyes were set on either side of its head, so its method of reading was simple: it tilted its head a little and read the right side with one eye. When it finished, it tilted its head the other way and used its other eye to read the left side. After a while, perhaps tired of holding its head up, it lay down and rested its head on the book's center line, looking like a lazy reader sprawled over the table with its head cocked. There was another advantage, too: it didn't even have to turn its head. Zi Bofeng only wondered whether snakes could get nearsighted.

Zi Bofeng watched for a while. The Green Snake was every inch a diligent scholar, studying by lamplight with more dedication than many of his human students. It read slowly, sometimes flipping back and forth to compare passages. Before long, Zi Bofeng grew impatient. He put the next few volumes of Legend of the White Snake on the table, yawned, and said, "Read as much as you like. I'm going to bed..."

Lying in bed, Zi Bofeng saw the Green Snake's shadow cast on the wall and felt a pang of emotion. During his usual lectures, he had never paid attention to this Bamboo Green Snake. It must have hidden in a tree somewhere, unlike the White Fox, which drew everyone's notice as soon as it appeared.

And at the same time, who knew how many other plants, insects, and birds had benefited from his Monster Raising Art? But if one of them came into his room to read like this and his father saw it, who knew what his father would think?

He tossed and turned all night, plagued by nightmares. Whenever he opened his eyes, the Green Snake was still turning pages and reading. Xitui had been on high alert at first, but eventually it couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep.

The next morning, the sun was already high in the sky before Zi Bofeng finally dragged himself out of bed. He glanced to the side and saw that the Green Snake had disappeared. He looked around, then peered beneath the bed, where he found it curled up in a corner, catching up on sleep.

His father was roasting timber in the yard to make wheels for the donkey cart. The flatbed cart they had before was for hauling lumber. Though he had complained about his son buying a donkey, he cared deeply about him all the same, and had risen early to build a new cart.

Zi Bofeng stretched a few times, walked over to Tauxue, rubbed its neck, and used the Monster Raising Art to nourish it. That was when he noticed a saddle hanging nearby.

"Huh? Dad, whose is that?" Zi Bofeng asked, taken aback.

"Your Uncle Zhuzi brought it over," Zi Jian said with a smile. Zhuzi had quietly dropped off the saddle and left without saying much. Zi Jian knew he was still a little embarrassed. After all, he had beaten Zi Bofeng several times before, but in the end, his mother's illness had been cured thanks to Zi Bofeng.

Zhuzi was a taciturn man who didn't know how to express his gratitude, so he had worked through the night to make a donkey saddle.

"Uncle Zhuzi brought it..." Zi Bofeng felt rather moved. The Zhuzi who had always been hostile toward him was finally starting to like him, at least a little.

He focused his mind, pressed a hand to his brow, and let his spiritual power flow. Once more, an aerial view of Lower Yan Village unfolded before him. Zhuzi and the others had already gone into the mountains. Zi Bofeng had marked everyone with their names, so he found the black dot representing Zhuzi and looked closely. That dot was no longer faint and transparent as before. It had become as dark as ink. Zhuzi didn't merely like him now—his affection had practically burst through the roof. It seemed Zhuzi's Mother held an especially important place in Uncle Zhuzi's heart, and that affection had spilled over onto Zi Bofeng.

A quick glance showed that more than half the people in Lower Yan Village had overflowing affection for Zi Bofeng. He had done a fine job as Village Chief, and that meant he had an even greater responsibility to protect them.

But apart from Zhuzi, many others were still colored somewhere in between, which showed they still had doubts about him.

What surprised Zi Bofeng most, though, wasn't those black dots, but the specks of light. He knew those were the monsters nourished by his Monster Raising Art. Monsters could become monsters without being nourished, but it was far harder and slower. Those that had been nourished had not only been set on an easy path; they had also formed a special connection with Zi Bofeng. As long as they were within his territory, he could see everything they did if he wished.

At that moment, centered around Blue Stone—the biggest and brightest point, shining like a full moon—specks of light were scattered across the whole area under Lower Yan Village's jurisdiction. There were so many that he couldn't even count them.

And beside those specks, the oppressive deathly air hanging over the land was gradually being driven away. It was like someone skimming filth from the water with a small net. One scoop, one net at a time, and still the deathly air kept fading.

As long as the deathly air continued to lessen, there would always be hope.

For some reason, the sight swept away all of Zi Bofeng's gloom and filled him with renewed fighting spirit.

"Dad, I'm going to Meng City again," Zi Bofeng said. He thought that Zhuzi had shown up just when he needed him. Zi Bofeng had been worrying about how to ride the donkey, and now he led Tauxue out and set the saddle on its back.

"To Meng City? What for?"

"The academy exam results should be out soon. I'm going to visit my teacher. And I need to discuss the Jade Tax with someone, too," Zi Bofeng said. He didn't dare mention that he planned to investigate Feijianzi. To win every battle, you had to know both yourself and your enemy.

Zi Jian was worried and wanted to talk him out of it, but what came out was, "Have breakfast before you go."

"No need. I've got Tauxue. I can buy something to eat once I get to the city," Zi Bofeng said. Zi Jian wanted to persuade him again, but in the end, he only shook his head and came over to help Zi Bofeng get the saddle and stirrups ready. He tightened the saddle around the donkey's belly and fastened the bridle.

Zi Bofeng went back to his room and packed all his things into a book chest. Seeing the Green Snake still asleep, he hesitated. He was afraid it might hurt someone while he was away, so he packed it in too. Worried it would wake and fuss along the way, he also tossed in two copies of Legend of the White Snake. The book chest was woven from rattan, after all, so there were gaps that let in light and air.

Zi Jian helped Zi Bofeng hang the book chest on the donkey's back. Watching him wobble his way onto it, he said with concern, "Why don't I hitch up the cart and come with you?"

"I'll be staying in Meng City for a day or two. You'd better keep an eye on the house, Dad." Zi Bofeng really didn't want to bring his father along. It would make things difficult.

Zi Jian handed Zi Bofeng a little riding crop, then led the donkey through the wooden gate. Zi Bofeng had never ridden a donkey or a horse before, and he wobbled atop it for a while before finally figuring out how to sit.

Outside, Little Stone was playing beneath a big tree, holding two little puppies. When he saw Zi Bofeng riding a donkey, he immediately cried, "I want a ride too! I want a ride!"

After much persuasion, they finally talked Little Stone out of it. Zi Bofeng said goodbye to Zi Jian and his aunt, then rode the little donkey out of the village amid their worried gazes.

"Ah, my poor back..."

When he spotted the gates of Meng City in the distance, Zi Bofeng hurriedly got off the donkey. His legs were as limp as noodles, and he could barely walk. He clutched his back and shuffled along for a while before feeling a little better.

Walking to Meng City was too exhausting and slow. Last time he had ridden in a carriage and a donkey cart, the jolting had nearly shaken him to pieces. Now, after riding a donkey, his back and waist ached. At that moment, Zi Bofeng missed the comfortable little car he'd had in his previous life more than ever.

He wondered where Feijianzi had gotten that Cloud Carriage. It looked so comfortable.

Zi Bofeng couldn't help thinking about killing Feijianzi and stealing it.

Tauxue snorted several times in displeasure. The donkey doing all the running hadn't said a word, so what right did the fellow on its back have to complain?

Just after they left the village, the Green Snake started making a fuss inside the book chest. Expecting the little Green Snake to sit quietly and read in there had been a fantasy. Zi Bofeng had no choice but to let it out. He had planned to let it leave on its own, but it refused to go, so he could only soothe it by telling stories.

The first technique of the Monster Raising Art, "Unity Transformation," wasn't very effective on highly intelligent creatures like these. But using the Monster Raising Art had another benefit: it let him communicate with animals. Even Tauxue, the donkey he had only bought recently, could understand Zi Bofeng's stories. It made the journey much faster and smoother; otherwise, Zi Bofeng would have suffered even more. By the time they arrived, he had used up quite a bit of spiritual energy, and Tauxue could almost completely understand human speech. Zi Bofeng praised it again and again for being a clever donkey.

Record of Raising Monsters