Chapter Nine: The Snake Slips Through Clothes

"Do you know my father? What proof do you have?" the person behind the door asked.

"You have a black birthmark on your waist, and you were beaten by your father for peeing into a water vat when you were a child," Mo Li replied calmly.

"Alright, alright, say no more. I believe you knew my father. Please, come in." With that, the door was pulled open with a clatter.

Zhang Wenyuan was not particularly tall and possessed the simple, honest temperament typical of a villager. Inside the gate, the courtyard was not very large, and white mourning cloth hung in many places.

"What did my father tell you? Why have you come to see me?" Zhang Wenyuan asked.

"We can discuss that later. I want to ask you: after your father’s burial, did you see him again? What did he look like? Did it have anything to do with a snake?" Mo Li asked directly.

"How did you know? We did see my father again, and others in the village have seen him too; the rumors are terrifying. But my father’s appearance had changed—he had a human body, a snake’s head, and a snake’s tail. I wanted to rush over to check on him, but he would run away as soon as he saw us. We couldn't catch him, and he wouldn't respond when we called out," Zhang Wenyuan replied, astonished. After all, no outsiders knew what his father had become, yet this young woman had mentioned the snake connection immediately.

"Believe it or not, we are here at your father’s request to help you. What you saw was not your father. It was merely a fully-grown snake spirit that possessed his body," Mo Li said.

"What are you saying? You mean the Great Immortal Liu possessed my father? Aren't the household guardian spirits supposed to be benevolent?" Zhang Wenyuan asked, unable to believe it. It all sounded too mystical; had he not seen his late father running around, he likely wouldn't have believed it either.

The "Great Immortal Liu" refers to the Snake Immortal. Legend has it that in the Northeast, there are five great guardian spirits: the Fox Immortal (Fox), the Yellow Immortal (Weasel), the White Immortal (Hedgehog), the Gray Immortal (Rat), and the Willow Immortal (Snake). Among them, the Yellow and Fox Immortals are the most famous. Many have likely heard of the Third Grandfather Hu and the Third Grandmother Huang, the highest leaders of the Fox and Weasel clans. There is much to know about the "Chuma Xian" (shamanic spirit mediums), which will be explained in detail later.

"That is no guardian spirit. At most, it is a snake spirit that has gained some power, but it certainly isn't an immortal. True guardian spirits would never randomly occupy someone's body," Mo Li replied.

"Then what should we do? How can we catch the snake spirit occupying my father's body?" Zhang Wenyuan asked anxiously.

"Call your brother and the others. Find a few strong, brave farmhands. We need to open your father's grave first," Mo Li said after a moment of silence.

"Fine, I'll go call them," Zhang Wenyuan said, gritting his teeth. Digging up a grave was no small matter, especially his own father’s, and finding people to do it in the middle of the night wouldn't be easy. He left to gather men, while Mo Li found a spot to rummage through her small bag.

"Sigh, Brother Dog, do you really think we need to dig up a grave in the middle of the night? What if that big snake spirit is still in the coffin?" Liu Jun, bored, poked the large black dog, Heiyu, next to him.

"Are you stupid? I hope that little snake is in there; it would save us the trouble of hunting it down. Look at how scared you are," the black dog said, casting a look of disdain at Liu Jun.

*I’m speechless,* Liu Jun thought. *I wonder which one of us is really acting like a dog.* Truly capable people are confident, and apparently, capable dogs are too. Look at how he referred to a snake spirit capable of possessing a human body as a "little snake"! No comparison.

About half an hour later, Zhang Wenyuan returned with several strong men carrying shovels and spades.

"Brother, do we really have to dig up our father's grave?" a stout, dark-skinned man beside Zhang Wenyuan asked naively. If Liu Jun guessed correctly, this was the old man's second son, Zhang Wenyao. Liu Jun watched the man with "wise" eyes.

"Listen to this master. Dig! We cannot let that snake continue to desecrate our father's corpse," Zhang Wenyuan said through gritted teeth.

*Listen to that, 'Master,'* Liu Jun noted.

"Master, shall we go?" Zhang Wenyuan asked Mo Li.

Mo Li didn't say a word but stood up and led them toward the graveyard. They didn't drive; it wasn't far, and you couldn't exactly drive while making them run alongside the car.

The journey was silent, save for the occasional muttering between Zhang Wenyao and the farmhands. Liu Jun wanted to speak, as the atmosphere was stifling, but Mo Li seemed deep in thought, and he didn't want to disturb her. He didn't know the villagers well enough to chat, and he had to maintain his "master" persona—if he talked too much, he might reveal that he didn't know a thing. Talking to Brother Dog was too frustrating, and he couldn't beat him in a fight. As for the old ghost, he was afraid of scaring the villagers or being frightened by the old man's grin.

The group walked in silence to the grave. Don't ask why it was so quiet—it was the middle of the night; did you expect them to play drums and gongs while digging up a grave?

"Start digging," Mo Li said after checking a compass.

Nobody dared to step forward first. Digging a grave, even with the family's permission, is an eerie business. Zhang Wenyuan gritted his teeth, picked up a shovel, and began. Seeing this, Zhang Wenyao and the others hesitated before joining in. Before long, they unearthed the coffin. Just as they were about to open it, Mo Li intervened.

"Don't open the coffin. Move it to the side, and all of you, step back. Don't touch the snakeskin underneath," Mo Li commanded.

"Understood," Zhang Wenyuan replied. With a collective effort, they moved the coffin aside. Sure enough, there was a large piece of snakeskin underneath. *What a huge piece,* Liu Jun thought. *Think of how much medicine that could make for treating childhood convulsions.*

*This young woman is truly a master,* the villagers thought. *She knew there was snakeskin underneath.*

Mo Li walked to the grave pit and gingerly picked up a piece of the skin to examine it.

"It is indeed a case of a snake 'shedding its clothes.' It isn't very powerful—just a snake spirit that has recently gained sentience. Its cultivation is insufficient, and it hasn't reached the stage of taking human form. It must have sensed Old Man Zhang’s near-death state and possessed him," Mo Li explained.

*My Mo Li is beautiful,* Liu Jun thought, *even holding a snake skin, she doesn't look scary at all. Beauty truly changes everything.* Just as he was lost in thought, he felt his right foot get stomped on. He looked down to see the black dog’s paw pressing on his foot. *This fat black dog—how much has he eaten? That hurts!*

"Brother Dog, my apologies, I didn't mean to stand on your foot!" Liu Jun muttered through gritted teeth.

"Idiot! Class is in session, pay attention! Who do you think Mo Li is talking to?" the dog growled at him. Only then did it dawn on him that Mo Li was teaching him.

"Master, Master! There's a monster! Your big black dog can talk!" Liu Jun hadn't even processed this when he heard Zhang Wenyuan and the others trembling. He looked up to see the men huddled together in fear. *Cowards,* he thought. *Indeed, there aren't many people with courage like mine.*

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. This is a domesticated monster; he's very well-behaved and doesn't harm people. That big snake is wild, which is why it's prone to hurting people," Liu Jun said with a warm smile, ignoring the dog as he stomped on his foot again, causing his face to contort in pain.