Chapter 28

“Little Idiot, you’re so small, and your family still dared to let you out on your own? Tsk tsk. Even a slightly larger rat could bully you.” Mo Laoda shook his head mockingly at Yin Xiaoxiao.

Yin Xiaoxiao’s lips curled. This Mo Laoda actually kept calling him Little Idiot. Why hadn’t he asked for his name?

Yin Xiaoxiao abruptly interjected with two words, “…Black charcoal (黑炭:pronounced hēi tàn; means coal or charcoal; can also mean darkly colored).”

“What?” Mo Laoda really hadn’t heard clearly.

“I said you are a black coal of a person! Or rather like a long thin piece of charcoal.” The corner of Yi Xiaoxiao’s mouth rose into a sly smile. He looked carefully. Even without looking carefully, this thing’s ¹ black coloration shone. This had to be, as Dad said, a Mo snake with a very pure lineage.

What is ‘hēi tàn’ ² ?” Never before had Mo Laoda ever heard these words. But, just from looking at the expression on this little idiot’s face, he knew it wasn’t something good.

Yin Xiaoxiao shook his head, mockingly imitating the same gesture Mo Laoda had done before. “No culture. How dreadful.”

“…” Mo Laoda understood these words.

“Oh! It’s almost dark. I have to return home.” Yin Xiaoxiao had only just realized that the sun was half-set. If he didn’t return home before dark, Pop would surely nag him about it.

Mo Laoda stopped Yin Xiaoxiao, who had been about to run off without another word. “Hey, hey, you’re really just going to run off like this, huh.”

“And so. It’s not like I can stay with you, you know.” Yin Xiaoxiao sent Mo Laoda a supercilious look.

“Then, can you come tomorrow?” Mo Laoda suddenly asked this question, almost scaring Yin Xiaoxiao into toppling over. ‘Why did he want me to return? Was it so you could call me Little Idiot? Was it so you could continue to bully me?’

“Why? I’m not sure.”

“Will you come or not?!” Mo Laoda suddenly grew angry. That black face suddenly turned vicious again. But because his face was very black…the blush on Mo Laoda’s face couldn’t be seen. “I’m only going to stopping over for another day anyway!”

“Oh.” Yin Xiaoxiao nodded without thinking ³ . Stopping over. Only stopping over. What was the fuss about, huh? “I’ll come.”

Mo Laoda gritted his teeth as he watched Yin Xiaoxiao’s hips wriggle as he disappeared from his sight (Hey, hey, do snakes even have hips…). Such a little idiot! No, a big idiot!!

Yin Xiaoxiao hurried to return home before dark.

“Xiaoxiao, did you run into anything interesting?” Hua Xiaohua advanced a pace and asked, concerned.

“I didn’t. Just slithered around near home. Really boring.” Yin Xiaoxiao wore a smile but in his heart he felt guilty. He absolutely could not at all let slip about Heitan’s existence or else today would be the day he died.

“Ah, very good. Very good.” Hua Xioahua muttered, feeling suddenly apprehensive. Then, with a smile, he said, “Xiaoxiao, aren’t you hungry? Today you still haven’t eaten bird eggs.”

“I’m not hungry. Leave it. I’ll eat tomorrow.” It seemed that Yin Xiaoxiao really ate too much yesterday.

Yin Dabai’s heart rejoiced as he listened to what was said. This was very good, wasn’t it! Tomorrow he wouldn’t have to go get bird eggs. Oh! And tomorrow he and Xiaohua could go out on a date! Then, they could find a suitable area and hehe . While Yin Dabai was fantasizing ⁴ , Hua Xiaohua, who was speaking with Yin Xiaoxiao, seemed to anticipate something. He turned around and quickly shot a fierce look at Yin Dabai.

“…Then, I’m a little tired. I’m going to go to bed early.” Yin Xiaoxiao hurriedly found an excuse and then immediately rushed off to go to bed. These goods ⁵ made him feel completely uneasy and guilty, and Hua Xiaohua had proven to have the mind of a snake. Without doubt, there was something not right with Yin Xiaoxiao’s actions. Unexpectedly, Yin Xiaosi had, the entire time, stayed silent off to the side. He was suspicious and, in general, felt that Yin Xiaoxiao was concealing something.

Yin Xiaoxiao actually was really tired. Last night he had spent most of the night crying. He had woken up today at noon and had wasted a lot of time staring blankly, lost in his own mind. In the afternoon, he had chased Heitan within an inch of his life. Then, after that, he became so angry at Heitan. So after a day like that, of course he was tired! And so, Yin Xiaoxiao tried to find an area of the cave which was not occupied by snakes so that he could lay down and sleep this evening!

“Xiaoxiao I’m coming!!!” It need not be said that this was Hua Xiaowu. The moment that Yin Xiaoxiao lay down, he saw an opportunity and immediately, wildly rushed over to Yin Xiaoxiao. Then the snake bodily flung itself on top of Yin Xiaoxiao, winding and twisting himself around Yin Xiaoxiao’s body until Hua Xiaowu was perfectly satisfied.

Yin Xiaoxiao: “…”

“Xiaosan and I-”

“-Are also coming!”

Yin Xiaoxiao: “…”

Hua Xiaoer and Hua Xiaosan rushed over. Yin Xiaoyi and Yin Xiaosi, already bored, moved forward as well, their eyes slanted with concentration as they dashed over to Yin Xiaoxiao.

Yin Xiaoxiao: “…”

Ah well, of course this series of events would end with a má huā. Now the má huā shape was already clearly appearing.

“Huff huff huff, yesterday, after we had coiled together and laid down, none of us slept well because Yin Xiaoxiao wasn’t there.” This was from Yin Xiaoyi to Hua Xiaowu, but all five of the young snakes were of the same opinion.

And so Yin Xiaoxiao complained ‘I didn’t want to be in the má huā, didn’t want to be in the má huā, didn’t want to be in the má huā’ as he entered the land of dreams — ultimately Yin Xiaoxiao didn’t have any say in the creation of the má huā.

The next day was also bright and beautiful.

“Children play nice at home. Your Dad and I are going on a trip.” Hua Xiaohua was also very eager for a world with two people ⁶ with Yin Dabai. Although he was a Pop, that wasn’t enough to stop him from having a love life.

Faced with Hua Xiaohua’s declaration, Yin Xiaosi stared blankly, Yin Xiaoyi stared stunned at Yin Xiaosi, Hua Xiaoer and Hua Xiaosan shared whispers, Hua Xiaowu chased Yin Xiaoxiao in circles…well, in short, no snake was listening to Hua Xiaohua.

And so, Hua Xiaohua wildly roared “you unfilial sons” as Yin Dabai dragged him from the cave.

Yin Xiaoxiao played with Hua Xiaowu for a while, feeling bored. Then he lay on the ground, lost in thought.

‘I don’t know how Heitan’s injury was doing,’ Yin Xiaoxiao thought of Mo Laoda as he lay on his stomach. Yin Xiaoxiao suddenly returned to his senses. ‘Fuck, what am I thinking?! Think about something else, like eating something other than bird eggs all the time. Even if I can’t find something to eat, I can at least eat bird eggs some other way. Even though eating food raw is unlikely to upset my stomach — □□ how can a person be willing to abandon their 108 practices ⁷ ? Heitan is leaving today. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why am I thinking about that?!’

Yin Xiaoxiao gloomily rolled over a few times. Then, rolled over again a few times. And again and again, he rolled over a few times. And again and again and again, he rolled over a few times. Then, crestfallen, Yin Xiaoxiao got up. ‘Forget it. I’ll go and peek in on him briefly. Hmph, I’m only going because his injury was serious and I’m worried that he’ll have dropped dead. It’s not at all because I wanted to go and see him. Yeah, that’s right! Anyway, does it make a difference?’ Regardless of the how, Yin Xiaoxiao had successfully convinced himself to visit Mo Laoda.

Yin Xiaoxiao stealthily took the measure of the surrounding circumstances. Hua Xiaoer and Hua Xiaosan were going deeper into the cave. Very good, they’re not a threat. Yin Xiaosi and Yin Xiaoyi were staring lovingly  at each other…Eh? Forget it, they’re not facing him, so they’re not a threat. Hua Xiaowu was sleeping…Eh? What? Sleeping? Hua Xiaowu, you’re a snake not a pig! You’ve barely just gotten up! You’re worse than a pig! Forget it, lecture him later. Slip away now, talk later.

And so, Yin Xiaoxiao slunk off.

Yin Xiaosi’s body swayed. “Da-ge, go watch Er-ge and San ge to make sure that they don’t fight.”

“Okay.” Yin Xiaoyi nodded blankly and left, concerned about Hua Xiaoer and Hua Xiaosan.

Yin Xiaosi silently followed Yin Xiaoxiao, confident that, with Yin Xiaosi’s skill, Yin Xiaoxiao was unlikely to discover him.

With what Yin Xiaoxiao thought of as his normal speed, but was really a display of super fast speed, he hurried to the place where he had seen Mo Laoda yesterday. But then Yin Xiaoxiao discovered that there was no snake in the area. He’d been deceived. What ‘stop over for another day’? Yin Xiaoxiao lowered his head in complaint. He looked entirely dispirited and downcast.

“Hey, Little Idiot. You really came to see me.” Mo Laoda’s voice suddenly Came from behind Yin Xiaoxiao. Yin Xiaoxiao turned to look. Sure enough, it was Mo Laoda.

“Who said that I came to see this large charcoal ⁸ ? Stop being such an ego-maniac ⁹ ! I’m just passing through! Passing through, understand?” Although he really had come to see Da Heitan, when he saw his “I knew that you would come” expression, Yin Xiaoxiao immediately didn’t want to admit it.

“Okay, okay. Just passing through, just passing through. I got it, okay.” Mo Laoda laughed at the sight of Yin Xiaoxioa’s anger-reddened body. The Little Idiot really was easy to rile. How fun.

“Also, how are your injuries?” Hesitant, Yin Xiaoxiao still asked Mo Laoda about his injuries. Anyway, this was still common courtesy even if they met in passing.

“Well, not bad. Take a look.” Mo Laoda shifted so Yin Xiaoxiao could see the wounded area. “I said that we Mo snakes heal very fast, right? This small injury will be fine in two or three days.”

Yin Xiaoxiao ignored the “We Mo snakes” which came out of Mo Laoda’s mouth. He moved closer to carefully look at Mo Laoda’s wound. Sure enough, the wound was as Mo Laoda said. “But even so, it’s going to leave a scar.”

“Of course it’s going to scar.” Mo Laoda proudly slapped the ground with his tail. “But who am I? I’m a Mo snake! Even better, I’m a powerful Mo snake! Having scars and traces of injuries on my body just highlights my strength!” As the proud Mo Laoda finally looked over, he saw the disapproval on Yin Xiaoxiao’s face, hesitated and then asked, “Don’t tell me you that don’t think that these are symbols of strength?”

“Of course not!” Yin Xiaoxiao denied flatly . “Having so many scars is unsightly! If it were me, I would definitely get rid of any scars on my body with a thousand ways and a hundred plans ¹⁰ .”

…Mo Laoda began to recall where the Huiyan Grass grew which was capable of removing all the scars on a viper’s body.

“Oh, that’s right. I still don’t know how you were injured.” Yin Xiaoxiao asked, interrupting Mo Laoda’s thoughts.

“Nothing much. I had almost beaten a wild boar in battle. Although it injured me, I still managed to successfully bite it to death.” Then Mo Laoda proudly raised his head, waiting for Yin Xiaoxiao to praise his strength.

“Aren’t you stupid, Da Heitan.” Yin Xiaoxiao leveled the type of condescending look that screamed ‘idiot’ at Mo Laoda. “You hunt wild boars which you can’t eat. What, do you have nothing better to do than provoke wild boars?! Is this really all you have to do ¹¹ ?!”

Mo Laoda: “…”

Yin Xiaoxiao watched as Mo Laoda’s facial expression became more and more menacing. Uncertain, he coughed twice. Had he said something wrong?

“Forget about it. I don’t care what you think, Little Idiot.” The dark-faced Mo Laoda suddenly recovered his good mood. “You came today so your family allowed it? No, that can’t be it.”

“…My Dad and Pop went out, so I snuck off.”

Mo Laoda nodded, understanding. With only a quick glance, he could tell that Yin Xiaoxiao hadn’t left any marks on the road he’d travelled.

By this time, noon was already approaching. Yin Xiaoxiao began to feel the heat. “Da Heitan, I have to go. You must take care of yourself properly.”

“…Okay.” Beyond Yin Xiaoxiao’s expectations, Mo Laoda only hesitated before immediately agreeing. “We might not see each other again for a while. Only, Little Idiot, you must remember that we will definitely meet again.”

Yin Xiaoxiao firmly glanced at Mo Laoda. Again he was called ‘Little Idiot’. “Goodbye, Da! Hei! Tan!”

Mo Laoda stared intensely at Yin Xiaoxiao’s retreating figure, then he resolutely began travelling in the opposite direction to Yin Xiaoxiao.

Yin Xiaoxiao slithered back to the mountain cave and breathed a sigh of relief. Not bad, not bad. He’d returned before he felt the worst of the heat.

“Yin Xiaoxiao, what have you been doing?”

From behind came a voice that frightened Yin Xiaoxiao into jumping. He turned around hastily. Behind him was Yin Xiaosi.

“…I went to the toilet.”

“The toilet?” Yin Xiaosi smiled hollowly ¹² . “For all this time? Indeed, I noticed that you’ve been gone for a very long while.”

“After I finished using the bathroom, I wandered around. If I hadn’t, when I returned I would’ve just been lying on my stomach in the cave. How boring.” Yin Xiaoxiao’s face was wooden. “I’m going to go inside, Si-ge. Today it’s getting hotter and hotter.”

Yin Xiaosi watched as Yin Xiaoxiao entered the cave. Several emotions flashed through his eyes, but ultimately settled on helpless and loving indulgence.

T/N:

Footnotes

<ol>这货: a somewhat derogatory way to refer to someone, although it’s not the level of cursing. Between people with a close relationship, it’s used in a teasing manner 黑炭: means coal or charcoal; can also mean darkly colored; I’m putting the pinyin since MLD has no idea what the words actually mean and, as such, is only repeating the sounds. Also, Heitan becomes a nickname 傻呵呵: could mean silly, foolish, confused or straightforward and honest raw had YY ( slang meaning to think perverted thoughts) , but I couldn’t get it to work in the translated sentence 这货: is a slightly derogatory way to refer to a person, but not to the level of cursing. Between those with a close relationship, it has more a teasing tone 二人世界: idioms that refers to spending romantic time with a partner 一百零八种做法: seems to be a way of saying that there are very many ways to cook such and such a food ( 108 ways of cooking tofu ), ( 108 ways of cooking potatoes ), (1 08 ways of eating bamboo rats ), etc 大黑炭: Da Hei tan 自作多情: literally to regard oneself as provoking passion; to fancy oneself as very attractiv e 千方百计: idiom meaning by any means necessary 真是吃饱了撑的: saying which means that someone has too much excess energy which is used in extraneous and/or unnecessary activities 似笑非笑: literally to smile but not smile</ol>