Chapter 109

Yin Xiaoxiao was poked awake from a sound sleep by Hua Xiaohua.

Still tired, Yin Xiaoxiao opened two confused and dazed eyes. He stared ahead at Yin Xiaoxiao and, in a plaintive voice, asked, “Pops, why are you poking me? I’m not awake yet.”

After saying this, Yin Xiaoxiao’s head tilted as he began to go back to sleep.

However, before Yin Xiaoxiao sunk back into sleep, Hua Xiaohua once more hit Yin Xiaoxiao with his tail.

Angry, Yin Xiaoxiao got up to complain at Hua Xiaohua but, before he could even open his mouth, Hua Xiaohua said, “Xiaoxiao, where are the eggs?”

Huh? Yin Xiaoxiao was confused but soon realized that Hua Xiaohua was asking about the eggs in his stomach. “They’re in my stomach, where else?” Then, unconsciously, he bowed his head to look at his stomach.

Eh? Why was his stomach flat? After staring blankly for several seconds, Yin Xiaoxiao realized – the eggs were gone! No wonder his body felt light and limber when he stood up just now!

“Where are the eggs?” Hua Xiaohua patiently asked again.

“….I don’t know,” Yin Xiaoxiao gently and cautiously answered. “Well, maybe the baby snakes left together to look for something to eat?”

Mo Laoda & Yin Dabai: “….”

Hua Xiaohua smacked Yin Xiaoxiao’s head with his tail.

Yin Xiaoxiao used his tail to rub his head, his eyes brimming with tears. “It really hurts.”

Hua Xiaohua didn’t care whether Yin Xiaoxiao hurt or not. He neared Yin Xiaoxiao and, with a voice brimming with menace, said, “You think it over carefully for me. It’s impossible to lay eggs without feeling a thing!”

Yin Xiaoxiao immediately began to rack his memory. Hm, yesterday evening when he went to bed the eggs were still in his stomach, but they weren’t there in the morning. In other words, the balls were there yesterday evening when he went to bed and went missing sometime between now and then – could it be that the baby snakes really left together to find food?

“There’s nothing unusual. I just went to sleep, and they were gone when I woke up,” Yin Xiaoxiao innocently answered.

Suddenly, Yin Dabai opened his mouth and asked, “Last night, you went to the bathroom, right?” After Yin Dabai asked this, Mo Laoda’s expression changed to one of sudden realization and…disbelief. .

Yin Xiaoxiao once again racked his memory. Yes, hm, yesterday he suddenly needed to use the bathroom, and Mo Laoda accompanied him. He spent a very long time in the bathroom. Even now, thinking back to how he’d almost felt a little constipated ¹ ….

Now way! A little constipated?! Over and over (来来回回？)? God! Yin XIaoxiao felt that he was on the verge of understanding something. In a trembling voice, he asked, “Don’t tell me, last night, when using the toilet….”

The conversation having come to this point, Hua Xiaohua was once more the slowest to understand what was going on. Although he didn’t understand the details, that didn’t stop Hua Xiaohua from coming to the right conclusion. “Xiaoxiao! Did you give birth while using the bathroom?” His voice was thin and shrill, as though he’d seen or heard something that he couldn’t accept.

Yin Xiaoxiao shivered. “It-it seems like it.”

“Like what?!” Hua Xiaohua swung his tail and continued to bellow, “Where did you use the bathroom last night? Go and look right now!”

“I know,” Mo Laoda dropped this sentence and then left, the first to slither outside. Hua Xiaohua and Yin Dabai also hurried after him. For a moment, Yin Xiaoxiao stood there, staring blankly, before he also slithered outside.

“Finally, this is it.” Mo Laoda stopped in front of the dense patch of underbrush where Yin Xiaoxiao had used the toilet last night.

“Okay, I’ll go in!” Although he was the last to arrive, Yin Xiaoxiao was the first to speak as he slithered past Yin Dabai, Hua Xiaohua and Mo Laoda. Before he entered the underbrush he anxiously turned around and said, “You ² can’t come in!”

Cough cough, what was produced from using the bathroom…he absolutely didn’t want other snakes to see.

Slithering through the underbrush, following last night’s vague memories, he found where he’d used the bathroom. Yin Xiaoxiao looked and saw, well, he saw white, shining eggs. Eh? Then yesterday it wasn’t that he’d needed to use the bathroom but he’d needed to lay eggs. Good, good. Yin Xiaoxiao let out a sigh of relief. If they had been, ahem, dirty….he absolutely wouldn’t touch them!

Hey! Now wasn’t the time to be concerned over that!

Relieved, Yin Xiaoxiao looked carefully. Then, he hesitated. The number of eggs…weren’t there too many?!

“Xiaoxiao? Have you found them?” Hua Xiaohua’s anxious voice came from outside.

“Ah.” Yin Xiaoxiao returned to his senses, looked at the white eggs and then went back.

Emerging from the underbrush, Yin Xiaoxiao stood in front of Mo Laoda, Yin Dabai and Hua Xiaohua. Yin Xiaoxiao opened his mouth, “I found them.”

Hua Xiaohua and Yin Dabai sighed in relief. Fortunately they were found.

“They…” Yin Xiaoxiao thought for a bit but still opened his mouth to ask, “How many snake eggs did you ³ say that I’d have?”

No one still felt worried after the eggs were found. Hearing Yin Xiaoxiao ask this, they all unconsciously thought back.

Hua Xiaohua: “Four?”

Yin Dabai: “Three?”

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Mo Laoda: “Two?”

Yin Xiaoxiao raised his head and looked at the sky. Silently, he counted again then weakly said, “The number of eggs is…what the three of you said, added together.”

Yin Dabai, Hua Xiaohua and Mo Laoda were stunned. Added together? But four plus three plus two equaled…nine.

Nine??!!

Hua Xiaohua’s eyes widened. “Didn’t you just count wrong ⁴ ?!”

Yin Xiaoxiao heard Hua Xiaohua say that he couldn’t count to ten, and he became angry. “Please! There are nine eggs! How can I miscount?”

Yin Dabai interrupted. “Could it be that the eggs from other creatures got mixed in?”

Huh? Was that even possible? Yin Xiaoxiao spoke while thinking, “But those nine eggs all look alike.”

Finally, it was Mo Laoda who said, “Let’s first go in and take a look.”

Everyone listened and agreed to first go in and find out what was true, and then to take the eggs and place them in the sunshine in the open area in front of the cave.

The three snakes followed Yin Xiaoxiao, and four snakes arrived in front of the eggs.

The four snakes gathered around the eggs and were silent for quite a while.

Hua Xiaohua was the first to speak, stammering, “True, it’s true. Nine-nine eggs! I-I’m not-dreaming!”

Yin Dabai carefully examined them. Yes, these were all snake eggs.

Mo Laoda stared at the nine white, shining, plump eggs in front of him, his head aching. How could there be so many?

Yin Xiaoxiao stared at this one then that one. Yes, very good. It seemed that these nine eggs….were all his.

“Didn’t you say that there’d only be three or four? Why did I have so many?” Yin Xiaoxiao spoke in a thick, low voice. Could it be that he’d been pregnant for nine months because he’d had nine eggs?

This question of Yin Xiaoxiao’s was one that no snake could answer because no snake knew how this had transpired.

Cough, cough. Actually the reason was quite simple. Yin Xiaoxiao didn’t have the inherited memories. His lifespan was as long as a viper’s, but his strength, speed and venom potency were all weaker than a Yin snake’s. This was because Yin Xiaoxiao’s genetics were similar to those of a normal viper’s from outside the boundary and, as such, the number of eggs were also similar to the number laid by normal vipers. But these nine eggs, it was only because of Mo Laoda’s powerful genetics that there were as few as nine!

“More eggs is good!” Hua Xiaohua suddenly said. “Think about it: nine eggs means nine baby snakes. Even I only had six snakes! It’s good to have more babies, more cute and more lively!” While speaking, he nodded his head in affirmation.

Yin Dabai looked, silently, at Hua Xiaohua.

Mo Laoda’s head hurt even more. He sincerely felt that three of four would have been sufficient. Weren’t nine a little too many? No, far too many?

Yin Dabai: “Stop talking. Let’s first move the snake eggs.”

All snakes present approved of Yin Dabai’s idea.

Yin Xiaoxiao put forward a suggestion. “Heitan, I remember eating roast bird eggs last night. That bird’s nest still hasn’t been thrown away. Grab the bird’s best and bring it back, then place the eggs inside the bird’s nest. Otherwise, we’ll have to use our tails to carry them, and even if we make two trips, there will still be one left!”

Mo Laoda agreed and left to get the bird’s nest.

Actually, Mo Laoda could carry two snake eggs, but these were, after all, his unborn sons. If he wasn’t careful and dropped one…and Yin Xiaoxiao was muddle headed, so he feared having him carrying one would be too much…so using the bird’s nest was better.

Mo Laoda returned, dragging the bird’s nest. He placed snake eggs into the bird’s nest. So far so good. Altogether, he put in four. Yin Dabai carried one. Yin Xiaoxiao and Hua Xiaohua…forget it, Mo Laoda would make another trip.

Mo Laoda and the other snakes dragged the snake eggs into the open area in front of the cave, rolling them one by one onto the ground. On the next trip, Mo Laoda and Yin Dabai left while Yin Xiaoxiao and Hua Xiaohua stayed.

Yin Xiaoxiao stood in place, staring blankly at the five white, shining, plump eggs. Oh, these were his children. Yin Xiaoxiao sighed with great emotion. Suddenly, unexpectedly, Yin Xiaoxiao’s mouth began to drool….Oh, he was hungry. He’d wait until Heitan returned and then Heitan would go and find bird eggs for him. He suddenly wanted to eat bird eggs.

It didn’t take very long for Yin Dabai and Mo Laoda to return with the remaining snake eggs.

Mo Laoda carefully placed the snake eggs together, then coiled around the snake eggs. Yin Xiaoxiao saw Mo Laoda’s actions and said, “Isn’t it better for Heitan to incubate the eggs from now on? No need for me, right?”

Hua Xiaohua glared at Yin Xiaoxiao, hating iron for not becoming steel ⁵ , and unhappily said, “Yes, yes, Mo Laoda will incubate, so you have to go and get food. You’re responsible for feeding yourself and Mo Laoda!”

“Huh?” Yin Xiaoxiao wailed. He couldn’t!

Mo Laoda smiled. “I’ll incubate and I’ll also be responsible for getting food, okay? When I go get food, Xiaoxiao, you can incubate in my stead.”

Yin Xiaoxiao heard this and immediately nodded his head repeatedly. This was good.

Hua Xiaohua sighed heavily. This Xiaoxiao was really too much….!

Mo Laoda actually rejoiced that Yin Xiaoxiao didn’t fight him over wanting to incubate. If Yin XIaoxiao incubated surely he would very quickly fall asleep. Mo Laoda thought about Yin Xiaoxiao sleeping with his belly up, about Yin Xiaoxiao’s tendency to twist around…Yes, it was better that he incubated the eggs.

Since the eggs were laid, Yin Dabai and Hua Xiaohua left. They’d already stayed here for a very long time but, now that the eggs were laid, they were no longer worried. And so, the next day, Yin Dabai and Hua Xiaohua, soon after dawn broke, said goodbye to Mo Laoda, who was in the open area in front of the cave incubating the eggs, and left. As for Yin Xiaoxiao….oh, that guy was still sleeping.

Incubating the eggs became Mo Laoda’s duty. Looking for food was also Mo Laoda’s duty. Yin Xiaoxiao’s duty was to, whenever the mood struck him, poke the eggs and, when bored, sleep belly up next to Mo Laoda.

The period for incubation was three months. Fortunately, this time wasn’t like the nine months that the eggs spent in Yin Xiaoxiao’s stomach. Instead, after three months, the shells broke as expected.

T/N: Happy Holidays!

Footnotes

<ol>不干净: literally means unclear; but can be used as an idiom to refer that that feeling when having a bowel movement when nothing’s coming out but it still feels like there’s…more up there plural plural 数错了吧: can also be read as “aren’t you just bad at counting 恨铁不成钢: an idiom meaning to be unhappy that someone hasn’t improved</ol>