C55 — Cai Sheng (XVII)

It was just between electric sparks and flint.

 

Looking over again, the slender golden tail disappeared—as if that glance just now was just Kou Dong’s illusion.

 

The young man beside him also turned around, seeming to feel something, and followed his gaze to the left side of the backstage. “What?”

 

“…… Nothing.”

 

Kou Dong turned his eyes away.

 

The stage had already reached the last program; the beauty snake also curled up to the stage. Kou Dong blinked and suddenly had an idea in his heart. He reached out and carefully pulled Ye Yan’s sleeves.

 

“Brother Ye Yan,” he said apprehensively, “can I not watch? I’m a little uncomfortable.”

 

If it was him, he would certainly say that the person was pretentious. He was the one who wanted to come out and watch the show, yet he was the one who couldn’t accept the excitement and didn’t dare to watch it; he was so delicate that he seemed like a heiress.

 

This excuse wouldn’t work with other people, but only the young man listened to it without a change of expression. He only said, “Alright, Nui Nui doesn’t dare to look at it.”

 

Kou Dong held back the urge to gag, and reluctantly nodded. He thought that the NPC would find someone to take him back so that he could find an opportunity on the way—but Ye Yan heard this and actually stretched out one of his hands and pressed it on Kou Dong’s eyes.

 

Kou Dong:”?”

 

Ye Yan covered his eyes and blocked his vision; his voice was full of indulgence. “Then don’t look.”

 

Kou Dong: “……”

 

He almost spat out a mouthful of bloo-d.

 

No, you aren’t following the script, brother. I said I’m afraid; shouldn’t you let me go back? What’s the point of covering my eyes?

 

The plan was aborted halfway, not to mention the loss of vision, causing a wave of physiological blo-odshed.

 

Kou Dong’s mind was filled with ten thousand complaints, but his face didn’t even show a hint of it. He had to endure this annoyance and act cute to the NPC: “Brother Ye Yan is really good.”

 

What a good ghost, the irritable Kou Dong just wanted to hit someone.

 

After sitting for a while, he came up with a new idea, whimpering, “Brother Ye Yan, I need to pee urgently.”

 

Can you hold the faucet of the water pipe so that I can’t feel it?

 

The teenager moved his cold, pale hand over, intending to touch his stomach. Before he could touch it, the child violently shrank back, rather like he was startled.

 

Ye Yan’s hand paused and retracted; his dark eyes stared at him.

 

Kou Dong: “……” Forget it, I’ll play along.

 

Although he was said to be a game anchor with modesty, at this moment, his life was in danger. Who still had that mind to care about modesty?

 

Wasn’t it just urinary incontinence?

 

Endure it; there is no shame!

 

He hardened his heart and urged in a low voice, “It’s about to leak out.”

 

Ye Yan’s lips curled into a gentle smile, and he finally moved the wheelchair slightly, making an aisle for him to walk out. Kou Dong breathed a sigh of relief and quickly stood up from his chair to head outside, but he heard the wooden wheelchair creak; the teenager actually turned the wheelchair as well, following behind him.

 

Kou Dong was confused.

 

No, brother, I’m going to the toilet, and you’re following?

 

Seriously, if he didn’t know the backstory in this copy, he’d have suspected that this NPC had some kind of unseemly preference…

 

Ye Yan looked normal; it seemed that he didn’t take this seriously at all: “Brother will help you.”

 

Kou Dong’s scalp went numb.

 

How can you help me with this? Can you still lend me a hand?

 

He shook his head and put his hands behind his back. “I can go by myself.”

 

The boy furrowed his brow lightly, as if he couldn’t understand such a big reaction from him. “Back then, it was always brother who helped you; I even washed your diapers.”

 

Kou Dong: “…” Nonsense!

 

How old was I then, and how old am I now?

 

Borrowing his cub’s words—he’s a fu-cking mature man in his twenties!

 

The mature man shook his head like a rattle, almost shaking his head off. “No, no, no—I can go by myself.”

 

However, the NPC obviously didn’t even listen to his words and had already swung his wheelchair in front of him without any argument. Kou Dong saw that this situation didn’t allow for any rebuttal at all, so he had to keep his mouth shut, but in his heart, he was still a bit incredulous.

 

To be honest, he had always been someone who was used to being sneaky and manipulative. There was really nothing that would surprise him.

 

…… But Ye Yan, this NPC’s operation was even more sneaky than his; what was going on?

 

He wilted and followed behind, and he heard Ye Yanzhi whisper, “It seems you can’t get away.”

 

Kou Dong was also very desperate; this damn watcher was too strict.

 

He turned his head sideways and lowered his voice: “We have to think of another method.”

 

The little man stood on his shoulder, holding his arms solemnly. After a while, he said, “Since that’s the case, we can only trust him once.”

 

The “him” in his mouth was naturally the Beauty Snake. Now that Kou Dong was isolated and had lost contact with his other teammates, he clearly had the address book function in his hand, but the teenager had been staring at him, so Kou Dong didn’t even have a chance to talk to his cub, not to mention pulling out his old cell phone to ask Song Hong how the situation was.

 

He was all alone, almost like a boat drifting on a river.

 

He couldn’t find his way out.

 

He pondered over it again and again and finally nodded slowly as well.

 

Even if he didn’t fully trust him.

 

He crossed the backstage and happened to meet the gaze of the smiling beauty snake who was looking over seemingly unintentionally.

 

Kou Dong’s eyes flickered slightly, then he looked down.

 

He had no other options to choose from.

 

The smile at the corners of the Beauty Snake’s lips grew deeper and deeper as he coiled his thin and long body, his pupils gradually turning orange and yellow under the light.

 

He sang the last line of the lyrics; the tone was clear and beautiful, and his voice was delicate—a proper southern version of the plum blossom tune. Even the actors and actresses in the western theater wouldn’t have such an outstanding voice.

 

After this line was sung, the cheering and applauding sounds in the arena rose abruptly. The Beauty Snake nodded and thanked the crowd before twisting his body, causing the abductor behind him to go on stage.

 

“This play will be a performance of ‘Wu Song Fighting Tiger’ for everyone.”

 

This was considered a classic play, and many people had seen it quite a few times. At this moment, some people underneath were raising their voices and clamoring for a different play, but the Beauty Snake acted as if he hadn’t heard it at all, only using the tip of his tail to lift the bright red drapery and gently caressing on something’s fur, and immediately after, he smiled as he made way for the other side of the road.

 

“Please invite the tiger first!”

 

The townspeople under the stage looked forward to it with eager anticipation, thinking that it was a rare and hard-to-find creature like a Tiger Man. Who knew that what came out from behind the curtain wasn’t a tiger man?

 

The thing was more than a meter long, but it was a tiger with an athletic body and smooth and shiny fur, and it was a real tiger!

 

The townspeople below the stage were suddenly dumbfounded. Even if they had the intention of seeing something rare, now that they had seen this tiger with their own eyes, they were trembling under the aura of this predator.

 

And then it arched its spine, surprisingly without a bridle on it.

 

Someone opened their mouth first and gave a hasty cry. The remaining people seemed to wake up and immediately panicked, desperately pushing towards the door. Kou Dong had just come out of the thatched cottage and was still arguing with Ye Yanzhi about whether he needed help from the other party, while the boy who was rejected by the child now had a displeased expression.

 

As soon as they stepped out, the crowd surged outside. The townspeople in the field finally squeezed in front of the vermilion gate and pushed it several times, but it didn’t open, making them realize that the door was actually locked.

 

By this time, the tiger had already leaped down from the stage and pounced on the townspeople who couldn’t escape in time, and almost in an instant, it tore into their throats.

 

The bloo-d stimulated the agitation even more. The scene was chaotic, and the people who couldn’t find their way out abruptly changed directions, charging towards the corridor where the two were standing. Ye Yan frowned; apparently, he hadn’t expected such a situation, but he didn’t panic. He only protected the child next to him and ordered, “Hold onto me.”

 

Before he could finish speaking, the two large red lanterns on stage also fell to the ground with a loud bang. The stage was made of wood and had long been worn out. Now, with a flicker of candlelight from the lanterns, it instantly lit up, illuminating the entire hall with a blazing flame.

 

Due to the wooden wheelchair, Ye Yan was unable to quickly escape from the crowd. He wasn’t incapable of k-illing, but with Kou Dong in front of him, he hesitated for a moment and ultimately didn’t take action.

 

The crowd rushed back and forth like they had lost their souls, but Kou Dong was protected in the arms of the young man and was unharmed. But the smoke quickly spread over, and Kou Dong choked twice before he started coughing.

 

Ye Yan’s hand covered his mouth and nose, and his voice revealed some anxiety: “How is it now?”

 

Kou Dong coughed twice again, almost speechless. The boy looked around but only saw the heads of people in the dark, but he couldn’t see the circus people at all.

 

It was a room full of monkeys.

 

[TN: is that you, geto? 😮‍💨]

 

His eyes were dark, overflowing with murderous intent.

 

In the midst of the chaos, he heard a familiar voice at the back calling out, “Sir, sir!”

 

When he looked again, it was the Beauty Snake hovering on a pillar, looking anxious.

 

“Sir,” he said, “he’s human; I’m afraid he won’t last long. How about, I take him out first?”

 

Ye Yan didn’t reply, still holding onto the hand of the child beside him.

 

“Sir,” the Beauty Snake urged again, “it’s too late! Just now there was an abdu-ctor who mixed into the people and intentionally lit a fire; if he stays here, it’ll be dangerous.”

 

The word “abdu-ctor” touched Ye Yan’s last nerve. The child he was tightly pulling started coughing again, and his face was reddening from the smoke.

 

With Kou Dong present, this situation wouldn’t be easy to clean up. Ye Yan pondered for a moment and finally let go, slowly handing him over to the Beauty Snake—a ghost that had faithfully followed him for many years.

 

“Wait for me outside,” he said in a cold voice. “He must not lose a single hair.”

 

The beauty snake didn’t have time to speak, so it used its tail to curl Kou Dong up and lift him up. Immediately after, he bowed to Ye Yan and replied, “Of course.”

 

He took Kou Dong and squeezed towards the doorway. A snake’s body was light and slender, so it was very easy to find a gap from the crowd; Kou Dong was now in a child’s body, and he was short and thin, so he could also follow and squeeze out. One person and one ghost finally arrived at the door, only to hear a dull creaking sound from outside. The beauty snake pushed open the door and first used its tail tip to push Kou Dong out.

 

Finally stepping on the ground outside again, Kou Dong’s heart relaxed slightly, but he didn’t dare to relax too much—Ye Yan was still inside. After he finished cleaning up the group of townspeople, he would come out to find him.

 

Luckily, the Beauty Snake seemed to have a plan, and with a low hush, he saw a carriage slowly approaching, stopping right in front of the courtyard.

 

“Quickly get on,” the Beauty Snake urged him. “Go!”

 

One person and one ghost entered the carriage, and when the Beauty Snake’s tail heaved on the carriage floor, the horse spread its hooves and galloped. Kou Dong lifted the curtain slightly and glimpsed the flickering scenery of the street outside, still somewhat incredulous.

 

The Beauty Snake had helped him.

 

Why?

 

He cast a searching gaze at the other man. As if sensing it, the Beauty Snake turned back and smiled faintly at him.

 

“What?”

 

Koi Dong quietly responded, “Nothing.”

 

But the Beauty Snake read his thoughts and asked, “Don’t understand why I helped you?”

 

Since he guessed it, Kou Dong stopped pretending to be dumb and answered, “Yes.”

 

He observed the other party’s expression and asked, “Why?”

 

The Beauty Snake said, “I felt that it wasn’t right for him to do that.”

 

With a smile on his face, he let out a low sigh, as if he felt a great pity.

 

“He cherishes you, that’s right; but how can he lock you up? How unfair is that?”

 

Crap!

 

Kou Dong was simply stunned. What was going on?

 

There were actually such reasonable NPCs?

 

This dog game had humanity? He really misjudged the system…

 

“So, ah…” The tip of the beauty snake’s tail nudged the tip of his nose; the movement was intimate. “I naturally should bring you out.”

 

Kou Dong hesitated for two seconds, then cautiously said, “I’m afraid he will still catch up.”

 

The Beauty Snake laughed but shook his head, not in a hurry.

 

“There’s no problem.”

 

He poked his head out of the carriage and explained something to the driver, his whole body was poking out. Taking advantage of this, Kou Dong quickly brought out the old cell phone and contacted Song Hong first.

 

After the shortcut key was entered, there were three busy sounds, followed by Song Hong’s panting voice from over there, he sounded surprised and happy.

 

“You’re okay?”

 

Kou Dong replied in a quick whisper, “I’m fine; I came out. The Beauty Snake brought me out.”

 

“– Beauty Snake!”

 

For some reason, Song Hong’s voice on the other end tensed up all of a sudden, and as he repeated those words again, surprisingly, he sounded afraid. “Beauty Snake?”

 

Kou Dong’s heart suddenly sank, realizing something from his tone.

 

The voice at the other end was violently anxious. Song Hong covered the branch that was being used as a medium and hurriedly said, “He can’t be trusted! You can’t trust him; hurry and run, he–”

 

The beauty snake poked his head back into the carriage. His long, satin-like black hair hung down, and a lotus-like, beautiful face was in the middle, creating a charming atmosphere, then he smiled.

 

“Are you hungry?” He asked warmly, “I prepared some food in this carriage.”

 

Kou Dong’s expression didn’t change; he was still maintaining the posture of holding up his hand. He replied, “I’m hungry.”

 

At the same time, Song Hong’s next words reached his ears.

 

“He’s been playing with this idea for a long time! He never intended to let you go—he was just going to snatch you away from that man!”

 

“Run, you’ll be made into a rabbit by him.”

Kou Dong’s head buzzed as the words of the man abruptly played back in his mind.

 

“How can you be locked up? How unfair is that?”

 

This unfairness

 

Was it unfair to him?

 

Or to the beauty snake himself?

 

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