Chapter 2 Shaman

Who would want to be an animal’s wife? Even an idiot would know what to pick! There were so many handsome guys out there. Why would I choose to be married to a snake?

I immediately picked the first option, and said to the snake-possessed Yinggu, “Then I’ll choose to be your shaman and help you cultivate as long as you stop harming my family.”

It was as if he was reading my mind because Yinggu’s eyes narrowed and he snorted, “Don’t you look down on me. If you marry me you’d be able to live a comfortable life. But since you chose to be my disciple… Don’t regret it.”

“No regrets. No regrets!” I quickly kowtowed in front of Yinggu in gratitude. However, she had stopped talking to me. Her whole body fell forward to the ground and her eyes rolled back. She flopped on the floor like a fish a few times and then slowly recovered.

I helped Yinggu off the ground. She massaged her waist and—still with that neutral tone from earlier—told me, “There are so many things that you could’ve been. Why did you choose to be a shaman.”

“Why wouldn’t I be one? It’s definitely better than being married to a snake.”

“Why wouldn’t you be one? Because my man was killed by me. That thing just now definitely doesn’t have any good intentions and you’ll suffer in the future.”

I initially thought choosing to be the snake’s shaman was a smart move. However, after listening to what Yinggu had to say, I was a little worried. “Then what should I have picked? Can I still take it back?”

“Of course you can’t take it back. These things are stubborn. Once you give your word, you have to see it through. Well whatever... What happens after this is up to your own fortune,” Yinggu said. She then retrieved a red paper, a brush, and ink from the neighboring house. After inking the brush, she wrote ‘Master Sage Liu’ in large characters on the red paper.

She then placed the paper on my hands before the ink was even dry, and said, ”His real name is Liu Longting, and he used to cultivate at Mount Changbai. He was the third child out of five siblings. Take this home and stick it somewhere in your house. After burning some incense, he will become your animal spirit and you, his disciple. From today onwards you need to be noble, upright, and always kind-hearted. Do not be swayed by evil or greedy thoughts, or you guys will not meet a good end.”

If it meant that the snake would let me live, I was willing to do anything. I immediately promised Yinggu that we would be good people from now on, and will not ask for anything in return.

It was already night when we arrived back at Grandmother’s home. I immediately cleared out the only guestroom at home and, following Yinggu’s instructions. I stuck the paper with the words ‘Master Sage Liu’ on the wall and placed offerings. In all honesty, I was feeling rather nervous. After all, just the thought that I would have to deal with the snake every day from now on was enough to make me panic.

I placed the incense inside the incense burner and kowtowed three times. Suddenly, a layer of thin mist appeared in the room. I could vaguely make out a large white python that was thicker than my thighs slithering out of the altar onto the ground. The skin on the snake’s head started to peel off to reveal the head of a man followed by the body, then the tail. It took about five or six minutes until all that was left was a man wearing a white shirt on the ground. He looked no older than thirty and had a long and slender body; he looked quite handsome too.

Seeing his good looks, the disgust I felt at the indignity I suffered from the snake was greatly lessened. I then asked him, “Are you Liu Longting?”

Liu Longting glanced at me sideways, as if too lazy to answer. Instead, he told me, “From today onwards, our relationship is set. Should I finish my cultivation, our grievances will be wiped clean.”

Wanting to seize the opportunity, I quickly tried to curry favor with Liu Longting by saying, “That’s for sure. In the future, you’ll definitely shake the world and stand above everyone. However, when will you be free to help me take the babies in my tummy out, great sage?”

I thought since I had agreed with Liu Longting’s conditions, he would naturally help me remove the fetuses in my belly. Unexpectedly, he suddenly turned around upon hearing that and a sinister smile formed on his lips. “What’s inside your stomach are my future generations. Once the gestation period is complete, they’ll naturally come out.”

Hold on! I was starting to get pissed off. Yinggu had said that once the gestation period was complete, the snakes in my stomach would eat their way out. In the end, this b*stard snake was still not willing to let me off.

“But great sage, didn’t you say that if I was willing to serve you, you would let me off?!”

Liu Longting coldly snorted. “If I didn’t let you off, you’d already have been eaten away by my children. Anyway, someone will come to look for you soon because supernatural events are occuring in his house. That’ll be our first business. If you dare hatch any schemes, I’ll stop being so nice to you.”

“But…” Before I managed to finish my words, Liu Longting narrowed his eyes at me. The look on his face told me I was seeking death if I had any thoughts of defiance. One look at his face had me cowering in fear. Knowing that my life was still in his hands, I had no choice but to swallow the anger I felt within.

The next morning, Grandmother left to visit a neighbor after breakfast. I stayed at home, lying on the sofa clad in my pajamas. I was wondering how I would live with Liu Longting in the future, and at that moment the doorbell rang so I went to answer it. Unexpectedly, the person who came was my high school class representative, Wang Hong.

Why was he here?!

Seeing Wang Hong, I could not help but be a bit moved. During our high school days, Wang Hong was the most popular guy in the school. With the physique of a basketball player, he had many girls falling for him—including me. Although Liu Longting had said someone would be looking for me, I never thought that it would be him. Even though he was a bit chubbier than his high school days, he was still quite good looking.

After all, good looking people looked good regardless whether they were skinny or fat, and ugly people would still be ugly no matter how skinny they were.

I hurriedly invited Wang Hong inside to sit, thinking that this was a good chance to get to know him because I never had the chance to get close to him; maybe I could ignite an old spark or something. I would definitely need to look my best for that!

My mood greatly improved looking at this handsome guy and last night’s unhappiness was quickly forgotten. I treated Wang Hong courteously, shyly serving him tea after hurriedly changing my clothes and putting on makeup.

After exchanging some pleasantries, Wang Hong went straight to business. “Bai Jing, actually I’m here today because I have a favor to ask of you.”

Remembering what Liu Longting told me last night, I understood and thus smiled and said, “What’s a favor between two old friends? Whatever it is, just say it.”

“It’s a problem with my wife.”

Damn... I was so shocked my jaw almost fell off. “You have a wife? That’s fast!”

“Yes, we got married at the end of last year. My wife will be giving birth in two months.”

This was like pouring cold water on burning charcoal and I suddenly lost all passion. “Oh.” I proceeded to ask him what was wrong with his wife.

“A few months ago, I bought a house for my mother-in-law. It was very cheap, costing only about two hundred thousand. However, the moment she moved in, her health started deteriorating. I went to visit her with my wife a few days ago and stayed the night there. During the night, my wife claimed that she saw a small-footed woman wearing clothes from the Qing dynasty on the wall floating away with a child.”

“She floated?” I was in disbelief so I asked dismissively, “Are you sure? Surely your wife was seeing things, or maybe she was dreaming and confused it with reality?”

Seeing that I did not believe him, Wang Hong started becoming anxious. “It’s definitely true! Ever since my wife saw that thing, she started to speak nonsense all day. She’s refusing to eat or drink. One moment she claims to be the wife of an official, and the other she says she’s a beggar. She refuses to leave that house no matter what. It’s almost new years now. How are we supposed to celebrate with her acting like this!”

“Why don’t you just celebrate at your mother-in-law’s house?” I tell Wang Hong nonchalantly. After all, it was not my family.

“That’s definitely impossible. My wife’s going to give birth soon so surely we can’t stay at my mother-in-law’s house forever! Bai Jing, you’re a good person. On account of us being classmates for three years, help me out!”

He even brought up our three years together as classmates. He had never even spoken a word to me in those three years, yet there he was asking me for help!

I feigned ignorance and told him that it was not that I did not want to help, but because I did not know how to. I told him I could not help him and asked him to go home.

Unexpectedly, the moment I said that, Wang Hong started to get angry. “Impossible! Don’t lie to me Bai Jing. You definitely have a way. Yesterday night I dreamt of a white snake and he told me if I wanted my wife to return to normal, I had to find you. I had to ask a few old classmates before I managed to find you. Bai Jing, we’ve been old classmates for so many years, it would be too cruel if you didn’t help me with such a small matter!”