As the Great White Snake was dragged into the heavens by the White Dragon, it remained relentless, biting and coiling around its captor. Finally, it opened its bloody maw and clamped down on the Ugly Little Snake’s forehead. His vision obscured and flying at high speeds, the dragon couldn't see what lay ahead. With a deafening crash, he slammed headfirst into a celestial mountain, shattering the massive peak into dust.
Shaking his head, nearly dazed by the impact, the White Dragon realized the White Snake had shifted from a state of mindless rampage to one of deathly obsession. It glared at him with blood-red eyes, refusing to let go of his body.
The White Dragon matched its fierce gaze. "Get off me!"
"No! My children are all dead! I’m going to bite you to death!" the Great White Snake shrieked, its mind a chaotic mess of absolute hatred.
The Ugly Little Snake had no choice but to say, "I lied to you. You never had any children. The thing they dug up was just a fake prop."
"I don't believe you! You're all liars! I know who you are! You're Leng Jing!" The White Snake sank its teeth into the White Dragon’s neck, hissing through clenched jaws, "You lied to me! You lied to me! You lied to me! I hate you! I hate you! You’re clearly a monster, yet you had to turn me into one too! I hate you! I hate you!"
"You were always a monster," Leng Jing replied flatly.
"I am not a monster! I am Bai Shaoqing! I am the Prime Minister! I had a perfectly good life until you showed up! You came, and everything was ruined! I hate you!" The White Snake wept even as it bit down.
The Ugly Little Snake fell silent. After a long pause, he said, "With your level of cultivation, you could bite for ten thousand years and never leave a mark on me."
"Then I’ll bite you and coil around you for ten thousand years! I hate you!" Even though the snake’s teeth kept slipping against the scales on Leng Jing’s back, it continued to strike again and again. At this rate, its teeth would be ground down to nothing by the dragon scales long before it did any damage.
The White Dragon let out a sigh and offered a claw to the snake’s mouth. "The scales are thinner here. It’s easier to bite. Bite this instead."
"Fine!" Without thinking, the Great White Snake turned and clamped down. Finding the back of the dragon claw much easier to pierce than the scales, it began to bite with all its might.
The White Dragon simply let it bite. After a while, the snake tasted the metallic tang of blood welling up in its mouth, causing it to choke and reflexively let go. Looking closely, it saw several deep puncture marks on the back of the dragon’s claw, from which blood was steadily seeping.
"Pah! *Cough, cough!*" The snake coughed, choked by the blood.
The Ugly Little Snake said to it, "The Heavenly Lake is just below. Why don't you let go, rinse your mouth, and then you can come back and pester me later."
The White Snake’s mind was still clouded by the strong wine it had consumed. It nodded dizzily and finally uncoiled its body.
The White Dragon immediately dropped it into the Heavenly Lake.
***
Submerged in the icy waters, the Great White Snake eventually drifted on the surface and fell asleep. Leng Jing breathed a sigh of relief and reverted to his human form. His right arm was covered in blood from the snake’s bites, but he didn't seem to care. He simply washed the blood away with lake water and lay down in the grass by the shore, hands tucked behind his head. He watched the drifting white clouds and the blue sky, waiting for the snake to sober up.
In the chaos of their flight, he wasn't sure which corner of the Celestial Realm they had crashed into. However, this place lacked the faint, hypocritical opulence of the Central Heavenly Court. Instead, it was quiet and vast, with air so clean it refreshed the soul.
Leng Jing drifted into a comfortable nap. Suddenly, he found himself missing his past life—the time when he and Leng Qingqing lived carefree in the mountains, far from these tangled webs of grievances and debts, passing the days with a bunch of country-bumpkin demons.
Back then, whenever Leng Qingqing pressed an extra jar of wild fruit juice to make pies for the young Ugly Little Snake, the little snake would be overjoyed, waiting in eager anticipation. Then, Leng Qingqing would share the pies with the simple-minded demons of the valley. Everyone would eat happily, lighting a bonfire by the small lake, bringing snacks from their own homes, and celebrating makeshift holidays with gossip and self-made entertainment.
Sometimes, an ignorant little demon would point at the Ugly Little Snake’s tiny dragon horns and shout, "Ugly snake-ling! Ugly snake-ling!" Then, a furious Leng Qingqing would chase them down with a rolling pin to teach them a lesson.
Remembering those days in his sleep, Leng Jing suddenly sighed. That valley was long gone.
Even Leng Qingqing no longer recognized him. He felt profoundly lonely.
The Ugly Little Snake sniffed and wiped his face with his arm.
Perhaps it was time for him to leave his father and live on his own.
He was already powerful—so powerful he no longer needed to follow behind Leng Qingqing calling for "Daddy," so powerful he didn't need Leng Qingqing to wash his clothes, so powerful he didn't have to wait expectantly for Leng Qingqing to cook for him. He was so powerful that he no longer needed a home.
*Just like this, let’s part ways with Leng Qingqing.*
*And so, the story of the Ugly Little Snake ends here.*
*Everyone is ultimately alone.*
"Are you crying? Did I bite you that hard?" The Great White Snake poked its head out of the water sneakily, looking at Leng Jing on the shore with wide, expectant eyes. It had sobered up, though it still had vague memories of what happened during its drunken stupor. It had been furious about becoming a monster, but seeing Leng Jing looking so dejected, its rage inexplicably vanished.
Seeing Leng Jing unhappy made the White Snake feel as though its own heart was stuffed with heavy cotton.
It slowly slithered toward him. As it reached the shore, it unconsciously transformed into human form—taking on the appearance of Leng Qingqing, the face the Ugly Little Snake knew better than any other.
He walked over and crouched beside Leng Jing, his gaze falling on the wounded arm—his "masterpiece" from while he was drunk.
"Get lost. I don't need you anymore," the Ugly Little Snake said coldly, turning his back to him.
"You! Hmph, you’re the one who brought me here! What right do you have to tell me to get lost? You have to take me back!" Leng Qingqing said, poking him in the back.
"Don't annoy me." Leng Jing didn't want to deal with him at all.
Leng Qingqing, however, was relentless, pushing him repeatedly. "Take me home! Take me home! Take me home!"
"Idiot! You don't have a home. Your family was all fake," Leng Jing said.
"But they were still my family!" Leng Qingqing scratched his head. He suddenly realized he wasn't wearing any clothes, while Leng Jing was wearing a robe he had conjured.
"Conjure some clothes for me too!" He shoved Leng Jing.
Leng Jing ignored him completely. After pushing for a while with no response, Leng Qingqing looked around and noticed a plant with broad leaves. He ran over, tore a few large leaves, and fashioned a temporary "outfit" to cover himself.
Just as he finished putting on his leafy attire, the sky turned gloomy, and a light drizzle began to fall.
Leng Qingqing looked at the listless Leng Jing on the shore.
And so—
Fifteen minutes later, Leng Qingqing was forced to use a large tree leaf as a makeshift sled to drag the brooding, sulking Leng Jing into the depths of the nearby forest. They ducked into the hollow of a massive tree to escape the rain.
Strangely, the hollow was quite spacious, about the size of a large room. It was even furnished with a table and cabinets, fully equipped like a small cottage.
Seeing no one else in the tree-house, Leng Qingqing kicked Leng Jing lightly. "Hey, get up. Look, where are we?"
Leng Jing remained motionless, still sulking. He didn't even acknowledge him.
Leng Qingqing tilted his head, thinking for a moment, before a sudden spark of inspiration hit him. "Ah! I’ve got it! Since I met you, you’ve always been in a wheelchair. You don't know how to walk in human form, do you? Fine! When the rain stops, I’ll go chop some wood and make a wheelchair for you. Then you’ll take me home, okay?"
"Tch." Leng Jing turned his head, gave him a look of pure disdain, and went back to his wallowing.
"...What's with that attitude..." Leng Qingqing sighed. He began rummaging through the tree-house for food. Soon, he found some fruit preserves, chestnuts, and salted fish. Not being picky, he started feasting.
However, despite eating happily, he felt bad seeing the "unable to walk" Leng Jing still lying there. He opened a jar of fruit preserves and placed it by the Ugly Little Snake’s mouth.
"Let's eat together," Leng Qingqing said, munching on chestnuts and fish.
"Hmph..." The stubborn Leng Jing finally sat up, took the preserves, and began eating with a wooden spoon.
Once full, Leng Qingqing patted his stomach. Noticing a few sets of clothes by the bed, he shed his leaves and changed into them. The clothes were clearly too small, making him look quite ridiculous.
But Leng Qingqing didn't care much about fashion; he was satisfied just to have clothes. After eating and drinking his fill, he crouched beside Leng Jing and asked, "Are you a dragon demon?"
"Hmph." Leng Jing crossed his arms and glared at him fiercely.
"You turned me into a monster, you have to compensate me! And you lied about being pregnant! You big liar!" Leng Qingqing was still angry when he thought about the previous events.
"Hmph, it's your own fault for being stupid," Leng Jing said, lying back down to rest his eyes.
"You lazy monster!" Leng Qingqing kicked him twice. Seeing no reaction, he crouched down out of boredom, found a small twig from somewhere, and began tickling the soles of Leng Jing’s bare feet.
Leng Jing didn't react for a long time, too lazy to even acknowledge him.
"There's definitely something wrong with your hind paws. You don't even feel ticklish. No wonder you can't stand," Leng Qingqing diagnosed like a physician. "Have you ever seen a doctor among the demons?"
"......" Leng Jing kept his head pillowed on his arms, remaining silent.
"I know a very good doctor. I'll take you to see him, but you have to take me home in exchange." Leng Qingqing came up with another deal.
"Let me punch you once, and I'll take you back," the Ugly Little Snake sneered.
"Fine, punch away then," Leng Qingqing said with selfless, awe-inspiring bravery.
Leng Jing reached out. Leng Qingqing quickly squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the blow. Instead, Leng Jing simply grabbed his cheeks and pinched them. He pinched, and pinched, and pinched.
"Don't pinch me..." Leng Qingqing said, his face contorted like a bitter melon.
"I'll pinch you to death, you absolute nuisance!" Leng Jing retaliated.
Just as Leng Jing was pinching with gusto, a shrill scream echoed from the woods outside the tree-house. This was followed by the sound of barking dogs near the door. Amidst the chaotic footsteps, someone shouted, "There are people inside! Go in and search!"
Leng Qingqing stared blankly as the door was burst open by a group of people in black robes. They appeared to be mountain spirits and tree monsters in human form, with strange and grotesque features. They rushed in and surrounded the two of them.
"Who are you?" a sharp-featured commander asked, pointing a whip at them.
"We're just passing through," Leng Qingqing answered.
"By order of the Wrathful King, everyone, regardless of who they are, must gather at the forest square. Disobey and be executed! Move!" the commander threatened.
"Understood..." Leng Qingqing stood up. Looking at Leng Jing sitting on the floor, he hoisted him onto his back. Under the guard of these men, they walked out of the tree-house.
Leng Jing leaned against Leng Qingqing’s back. Despite his resolve to distance himself, being this close to him still filled him with a sense of lingering attachment. He wondered if there was still a chance he could wake Leng Qingqing up.
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The Ugly Little Snake: My Dragon Son | Chapter 93 | Bites and Bitter Memories | Novela.app | Novela.app
