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墨書 Inktalez
What a strange snake this is! Its body is a vivid green, long and slender, about twenty centimeters in length, with a crown on its head and red eyes that resemble those of a Brazilian Turtle. Even more bizarre, it has four legs—actual legs—that immediately reminded me of a four-legged lizard. However, unlike the bulging belly of a four-legged lizard, this snake has a more uniform shape, with only its head and tail being slightly thinner. I couldn't help but laugh, "Old Man, you have some real treasures in this tank!"
"Indeed, Buddy, but nothing in this tank is for sale," the old man replied with a slight smile.
"Not for sale? Then how did you sell it to us?"
"Fate brought you here!" The old man's grin was rather peculiar.
"Have you made your choice yet?"
"What do you mean by fate? What connection do I have with you?" I muttered as I took another look around. Personally, I didn't mind keeping unusual pets, but there wasn't much worth having in this tank. A few even uglier centipedes and scorpions were lurking inside, which only dampened my interest further.
"Then I'll take this snake!" I turned to my cousin and said, "Look at this snake; it's quite unique and has character. Let's get this one for you to play with; it won't be lonely with the lizard."
"I don't want it," Guoguo pouted. "This snake looks so ugly! You can take it home yourself."
I hesitated for a moment; after all, I had to return to the army! How long could I keep it? Just then, the old man suddenly said, "Buddy, make up your mind quickly; I'm about to close up."
"Close up? Why are you closing so early?" I instinctively replied. "Heh heh, I only do business with those fated to have it." More talk of fate? I glanced back at the snake and was surprised to see it looking up at me. The red glow in its eyes made me involuntarily recall the pair of red lanterns from the deep hole in the river not long ago.
"Alright then, I'll take this fellow!" I made my decision in an instant.
"Buddy has good taste; you've chosen the Azure Dragon Snake." Azure Dragon Snake? If I heard correctly, that's a type of dragon! My eyes nearly popped out; that imposing name did not match this snake at all.
"Old man, at least throw in a tank! By the way, what should I pay attention to while raising this fellow?"
"Heh heh, I'm not giving you a tank; it would be useless anyway. Just carry it like that; you can even put it in your pocket. When you get home, just use a big basin filled with water for it—the bigger, the better. It eats anything, but soon you won't need to feed it anymore." The old man's voice grew quieter until his last sentence was barely audible. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time and only later understood what he meant.
Guoguo was pulling me along, and as I stood there pondering where to grab the snake, the old man suddenly grabbed my hand and thrust it into the tank. I was startled and about to pull back when I noticed the snake swiftly slither onto my arm!
I didn’t dare to move because I wasn’t sure if this creature would bite or if it was venomous. I heard the old man say, “It’s fine, it won’t bite you. Azure Dragon Snake, good luck!”
What does that mean? While I was puzzled, Guoguo suddenly pointed at my shoulder and said, “Bro, this snake is quite interesting.” I looked over and indeed, this Azure Dragon Snake had somehow coiled itself around my shoulder! Unlike other snakes I had seen, it didn’t seem to flick its tongue much; it merely nodded slightly at the old man.
Is it intelligent? I tried to turn and take a few steps. Thankfully, it was coiled securely and showed no signs of falling off. I glanced around and saw that no one seemed to be paying attention to me, which relieved me. Once I sorted out Guoguo's matter, I could enjoy wandering through the dog market without worry. I pulled Guoguo along and continued walking, but for some reason, the dogs at the market today seemed unusually lethargic. In the past, they would bark wildly at passersby, but most of them were just lying on the ground whimpering as we walked by, which dampened my enthusiasm for browsing. Slowly, we made our way out of the animal market.
Once outside, I wondered if I should let the snake continue coiling on my shoulder. After thinking it over, I ultimately decided against returning home in such a conspicuous manner. Instead, I placed Qing (I decided to call it that for a more low-key approach) in my jacket pocket and took a taxi to send Guoguo home.
My parents are quite traditional; they have always opposed my desire to keep a dog. So I was really unsure how they would react to me having a snake. On the way home, I kept thinking about what excuse I could come up with. When we finally got home and closed the door, I reached into my pocket and gasped—oh no! Qing was gone! In this heat and with so few clothes on, I couldn’t find it anywhere. I figured it must have either fallen out on the way or was one of those strange pets that the old man sold only to return home again.
Well, whatever. I'll just pretend this never happened. Talking to myself, I walked into the bathroom to wash my hands but was startled by the sound of splashing water coming from our large wooden basin used for preventing flooding during heavy rains. Curious, I leaned in to take a look. Oh? How did this little guy end up here? It was swimming around happily inside, flailing its limbs as if enjoying itself—truly amazing! After watching for a moment, anxiety set in again; my parents would be home from work soon—how would I explain this? Hopefully they wouldn’t scold me too harshly.
Just then, I heard some noise at the door lock; one of my parents must have returned. Quickly, I went out to greet them and prepared for a confession.
To my surprise, my dad came in carrying a large burlap sack. Upon seeing me he said, “Come help! Someone gave us some live fish; I brought them back in this sack. Hurry up and put them in the wooden basin.” Eagerly, I took the sack from him and opened it—wow! There were five or six big Grass Carp still flopping around inside! This worked out well; if they were kept together with Qing, my parents wouldn’t pay too much attention.
Thinking this way kept me moving quickly; I poured the fish into the large wooden basin. This basin had been used for bathing before we installed a shower—it’s over a meter in diameter—and now served as an emergency water container. After scooping some water out so that there was enough space for the fish to swim around comfortably, I noticed that with these new fish added in, Qing became even more active, darting around among them.
The old man eats anything; so from the fridge, I grabbed some leftover rice from last night and tossed it in along with some vegetables. Surely both fish and snake could eat that? After observing for a while longer and finding Qing somewhat ugly yet oddly cute as well, I turned around when I heard my mom come back through the door.
I casually mentioned Guoguo's pet shopping trip while lightly bringing up Qing's situation as well. Hearing that it would be kept in the basin with the fish didn’t seem to bother them much; they only said something like “You brought it home; you’re responsible for getting rid of it later.” Knowing that their biggest concern had been alleviated felt like a relief.
That evening followed our usual routine: after dinner and chatting with my parents for a while while watching the news, I retreated to my room to play games online—everything felt normal again. The only thing that stood out was the constant splashing sound from the bathroom basin that no one paid any mind to. During dinner, Mom and Dad remarked on how lively these fish from our rural home were; they planned to keep them until one died before cooking it for dinner.
In between bathroom breaks throughout the evening, I'd check on Qing again and found him even more active than before—bumping into things and rolling around joyfully among the fish school with all four limbs flailing about energetically despite its small size—it looked quite impressive nonetheless. “Go ahead and have your fun; aren’t you an Azure Dragon Snake? Just consider these your subordinates,” I muttered under my breath while taking precautions by blocking off the bathroom drain with a mop just in case.
As usual, I played games until one in the early morning before finally going to sleep. The sound of splashing water lingered in my ears, but it seemed to fade away as the night progressed. Once a biological clock is established in the military, it’s hard to change. At six-thirty, I woke up on time, planning to wash up briefly before heading to the rooftop for some exercise. Still feeling a bit drowsy, I walked into the bathroom and started brushing my teeth, but something felt off, though I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It wasn't until cold water splashed on my face that I realized what was wrong—there was no sound of water splashing anymore.
I quickly wiped my face and stepped into the bathroom. Looking into the large wooden basin, I saw that only the Azure Dragon Snake remained. Where had the fish I put in yesterday gone?
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