Dusk had fallen outside the window, and the sky was growing dark. I was just about to light a lamp when Xiao Chan's voice suddenly rang out from outside:
"Zhishui! The im... immortal master is here!"
My eyes lit up. I hurried out of the house, took Xiao Chan by the hand, and ran toward the village gate.
Before long, I arrived at the gate with Xiao Chan. One clansman after another carried baskets full of snakes over and set them before an old woman standing at the entrance.
The old woman stood bent at the waist, her figure hunched, dressed in a black robe embroidered with snake patterns. Her eyes were half closed as she regarded the baskets on the ground with indifference.
As village chief, my father stood a short distance from her, urging the clansmen to bring over the large quantities of snakes.
Holding Xiao Chan's hand, I walked behind my father and cautiously studied the old woman in black, unable to help feeling curious.
Had they sent a different immortal master to collect the snakes this time?
The immortal master who used to collect snakes from our village was a man in purple robes, though the patterns embroidered on his robes were the same as those on this old woman's.
After a while, my father said, "Immortal master, all the snakes our village caught this month are here."
"This is all?" The old woman's voice was hoarse. She swept her gaze over the baskets on the ground and frowned slightly. "Did my martial nephew Qian always collect so few?"
My father hastily replied, "Immortal master, Master Qian used to collect fewer snakes than this. These are all we managed to gather over an entire month."
"Never mind. This will do."
The old woman could not be