By the time Yin Xiaoxiao arrived home, Yin Xiaosi and the others had arrived home ahead of him, and Hua Xiaohua and Yin Dabai were already blocking the entrance to the mountain cave. It looked as though Yin Xiaosi had already informed Hua Xiaohua and Yin Dabai of Yin Xiaoxiaoâs âcrimeâ.
Yin Xiaoxiao dragged his grown-several-times-too-large body. With only a glance, Yin Dabai immediately found him.
âXiaoxiao, have you been eating bird eggs?â Yin Dabai asked. Could it be that Yin Xiaoxiao had spent the day getting bird eggs?
âI did eat,â truthfully answered Yin Xiaoxiao, who easily smiled an honest smile. A smile whose sole purpose was to mitigate his crime. âNot only did I eat, but I stuffed myself! Now the bird eggs you brought back for me today can be eaten tomorrow, Dad! And now, Dad, you donât have to go out and get bird eggs for me!â
ââŠSo it looks like you wonât need to eat bird eggs tomorrow, right?â Yin Xiaoyi muttered, off to the side in a cranny.
âŠThe crowd of snakes ignored him. Now was not the time to answer the question of whether or not Yin Xiaoxiao would eat bird eggs tomorrow, okay?!
âYou got the bird eggs yourself?â Hua Xiaohua lightly asked Yin Xiaoxiao. This was said in what was undoubtedly a very gentle and soft manner, yet it frightened Yin Xiaoxiao. His body broke out in a cold sweat.
âNo, I didnât.â Yin Xiaoxiao immediately shrank back. âHa, haha. How could I have gone myself to get bird eggs? You misunderstood, Pop!â
âOh? Then from where did those bird eggs of yours come?â
âSomeone else gave them to me. You see, I met another of our neighbors today.â Yin Xiaoxiao proudly raised his head. Hadnât Yin Xiaosi and Yin Xiaoyi met Lan Yiyi? So he also made a new friendâŠalthough it couldnât be said that there was a young snake in his new friendsâ home.
âA new neighbor?â Hua Xiaohua felt a little shocked. How had he not known that they had another neighbor? Or could it be someone who had moved here recently?
âThatâs right. Another neighbor.â Yin Xiaoxiao was enthusiastic. âTheyâre not that far from Lan Yiyiâs familyâs home. Go a little downstream following the brook and theyâre right there.â
âGo downstream following the brook,â Hua Xiaohua repeated once, then immediately, unconsciously looked at Yin Dabai. The two snakesâ gazes collided and each saw the alarmed shock in the otherâs eyes.
Yin Dabai opened his mouth, âWere they Hei Aban and Lu Xiaohuang?â Although he asked this, it was more a statement than a question.
Yin Xiaoxiao nodded. From the way Yin Dabai and Hua Xiaohuaâs faces darkened even further, Yin Xiaoxiao had a bad feeling.
Yin Dabai opened his mouth again, âXiaoxiao, from now on youâre not to have any more contact with them, understand?â Yin Dabai deserved to be called the head of the family. Although his tone of voice was quite mild, no one could ignore its authority.
ââŠWhy?â Yin Xiaoxiao really didnât understand. Why couldnât he contact Uncle Lu and Uncle Hei? They had been very kind to him.
Hua XIaohua wanted to use his position as Pop to force Yin Xiaoxiao, but he was stopped by Yin Dabai. âXiaohua, itâs better to explain.â At these words, he cast a significant look at Hua XIaohua, who quietly thought it over and restrained himself <sup>1</sup> .
âFine. Today Xiaoxiaoâs statement made me realize that I need to tell all of you this properly, right now.â Yin Dabai motioned for all the young snakes to gather around, then he spoke, âWhat Iâm going to tell you isnât in the inherited memories, but itâs already known by all the viper clans.â
At this point Yin Dabai paused, then glanced at Yin Xiaoxiao before continuing. âIâm talking about the Mo <sup>2</sup> snakes. Mo snakesâ venom is the strongest of the viper clans. Even the venom of the weakest Mo snake is many times stronger than that of the most venomous Hong <sup>3</sup> snake. The viper clansâ hierarchy is based on strength, and from this point of view the Mo snake clans well-deserve to be considered our royalty. Now, in theory, the Mo clan should be well-respected and well-liked. In reality, the other viper clans have many grievances with the Mo clan. The Mo snakes are arrogant and willful, rude and unreasonable. Theyâre even brutally fond of fighting. Every year without fail non-Mo snakes are bitten and killed by Mo snakes. Mo snakes view their toxicity as a source of superiority and look down on the other snake clans, which has caused a lot of resentment and outrage against the Mo clan by other snake clans. If thereâs a Mo snake, everyone will avoid them and absolutely will not go and make friends <sup>4</sup> with a Mo snake. And more, the Mo clan lineage is based on blood so they wonât copulate with other snake clans to keep their lineage pure.â
âBut, Hei Aban isnât a Mo snake.â Yin Xiaoxiao said, hesitantly.
âThatâs what Iâm going to talk about next. Even though the Mo snakes forbid intermarrying with other snake clans to maintain the purity of their lineage, occasionally there will be born a Mo snake with an impure lineage. The body of this kind of Mo snake is black with different colored spots. The more spots there are, the more impure the lineage. And this kind of Mo snake is not recognized as a Mo snake but as a Hei <sup>5</sup> clan snake. They are less toxic than a Mo snake, but still more toxic than a Hong snake. Although Hei snakes are rare, everyone still treats them as they would a Mo snake. Hei Aban is a Hei clan snake.â
Hearing this, Yin Xiaoxiao suddenly realized that, to speak plainly, the Mo snakes were the imperial family and the other snakes were the commoners. Wasnât this just class warfare? The imperial family disdains the commoners, and the common people stay far away from the imperial family. As for Hei Aban, these Hei snakes were like the illegitimate children of the imperial family. While theyâre not acknowledged by the imperial family, theyâre also rejected by the common people. But Hei Aban was an innocent in all of this.
The picture that immediately formed in Yin Xiaoxiaoâs head was of Hei Aban suffering and ostracized, from childhood through adulthood, until he met his one true love. But society rejected their union, and the two snakes only had each other for warmth. Yin Xiaoxiao felt immediate sympathy for Hei Aban and Lu Xiaohuang. He hated that he couldnât immediately rush over to Lu Xiaohuang, hug him and comfort him.
Good going, Yin Dabai. Apparently your earnest intentions were wasted. You thought you could keep Yin XIaoxiao away from Hei Abanâs family, but you actually made Yin Xiaoxiao more resolute in befriending Hei Abanâs family.
âWe other snake clans have never been close to, and have even loathed, the Mo snakes and the Hei snakes. And this is what I wanted to tell all of you about today,â Yin Dabai summarized. âXiaoxiao, I wonât oppose who you make friends with, but you also have to make sure that whoever youâre befriending is worthy, do you understand?â
âButâŠbut Uncle HeiâŠHei Aban and Lu Xiaohuang were very kind to me. Why canât I be friends with them? Hei Aban got bird eggs for me to eat. Lu Xiaohuang ate bird eggs with me and napped with me. I donât think theyâre the type of people you talked about, Dad.â Yin Xiaoxiao tried his best to explain, wanting the other snakes to understand his point of view.
âLu Xiaohuang isnât the problem, heâs from the Lu <sup>6</sup> snake clan. The main issue is that his lover is a Hei snake. Where a Hei snake or a Mo snake appears is a place where we shouldnât go. Do you understand this, Xiaoxiao?â Yin Dabai continued to explain to Yin Xiaoxiao, âPerhaps this is unfair to Lu Xiaohuang, but Lu also chose this for himself. This is the path he chose, and itâs one that he can only continue down.â
âThis isnât fair to Lu Xiaohuang, and it isnât fair to Hei Aban, either!â Yin Xiaoxiao couldnât help but argue. âHei Aban is also a nice snake! Heâs quiet, but he has a very pleasant voice and heâs deeply in love with Lu Xiaohuang. Donât tell me that just because Hei Aban is a Hei snake that he should be rejected?!â
âYin Xiaoxiao!â Hua Xiaohua finally couldnât help but interrupt. âThis is a lesson passed down the generations! Neither a Mo snake nor a Hei snake should be approached unless absolutely necessary! Since you are a Yin <sup>7</sup> snake, you must abide by this rule! Well, this topic is closed. Youâre not allowed to leave the cave tomorrow!â
Yin Xiaoxiao was angry. He was really angry. He turned his head so he couldnât see Yin Dabai and Hua Xiaohua and silently slithered into the depths of the cave. He entered that small hole, the one that he had found after he had just been born, head-first. Within that small hole, Yin Xiaoxiaoâs eyes turned red.
After this quarrel, Yin Dabaiâs entire family sunk into silence. This was the first time that the usually merry family had an argument. The remaining five young snakes didnât so much as dare to breathe.
Hua Xiaohua bit his lips and said, âItâs because Yin Xiaoxiao doesnât have his inherited memories that heâs not listening. What I shouldâŠâ
âEnough, Xiaohua!â Yin Dabai sternly interrupted Hua Xiaohua. âRemember, Yin Xiaoxiao is your child and my child. No matter what, heâs our child. I donât want to hear you say anything like this again. Letâs just shelve his matter for the day, alright? Donât talk about it in front of Xiaoxiao in the future. Weâll address it in private.â
The expression on Hua Xiaohuaâs face was a little ugly, but he finally said, âOkay.â
That night, Yin Xiaoxiao cried himself to sleep in that small hole, the remaining five young snakes didnât twist into the mĂĄ huÄ, and Hua Xiaohua and Yin Dabai remained next to the five young snakes.
T/N: Thank god chapter 25 is still up. Crossed fingers that this one stays.