iv

Lan stayed on the ground, unmoving for a long time. If it wasn't a dream, then what was it ? A curse ? Was it casted by the book ?

Amidst the mess in his brain, Lan couldn't think accurately, nor was he able to consider different possibilities. He was stuck at the first that crossed his mind.

He couldn't dwell on it for too long though, as he heard the bushes rustle and twigs break —someone was making their way toward here ! Oh wait, not someone, there was more than one person. He quickly slithered away, hiding behind a tree trunk.

"I will ask you again, please leave me alone ! I am not interested." a feminine voice said.

She sounded very annoyed. Lan peeped from behind the trunk. The people had came into view. It was a young girl, followed by a man, who looked about ten years older than her, if not more.

"Can't you consider it ? We're both unmarried, what will people think of you ? If you don't marry soon, no one will want you anymore !"

Lan rolled his eyes. What was he going on about ? She was still so young ! Also, was the idea that women should marry very young still valid ? After all, they could marry when they felt like it. Lan understood why the girl sounded so annoyed, as he himself started to be.

"I don't care about you dumb people wanting me or not. I don't want any of you, especially not you. Now piss off, I'm busy."

The man frowned. "You don't have any manner ! How could a lady speak like this ? Don't you have parents to teach and educate you ?"

"First of all, I can speak however I want to ! Second of all, wether I have parents or not is none of your business, and it won't keep me from cursing you if you don't leave me alone ! You say people won't want me anymore if I grow older ? Then who told you I'd want a wreck of a man ? So old, I wonder how many years you have left to live."

The man was speechless. Although in his mind, they were the only two people here, he felt humiliated. He obviously was convinced of his superiority as a man, and couldn't accept how a girl could dare say such things to him.

"Are you perhaps forgetting your place, lady ?" he emphasized on the 'lady'.

It clearly carried a hint of disdain. It was as if pronouncing it would dirty his mouth, and he was reminding her that this was how low she was and should feel.

Lan wondered, If he hates women so much, why pester her to marry him ? Does he need someone to act tough with, so he could feel better as a man ? Truly ridiculous !

"Do you have anything better to say ? Why, should I feel hurt because you called me 'lady' ? I'm in fact flattered." she fake-smiled.

The man couldn't hide his anger. He must have felt proud, thinking his authority was showing, but in the end, this girl wasn't impressed. For such a person, it was truly angering and agitating.

"Do you think you're so smart ? Ladies like you are a nuisance ! Since when did you start to feel so confident that you allowed yourselves to talk back to a man ?"

Lan was truly shocked by these words. In all his life, although he had met sexist men, he never heard them say anything so straightforward and crude.

However, the girl didn't bother to answer anymore. Her fake smile had disappeared, being replaced by a lazy expression. She uninterestedly hummed at what he said, before turning around, and continuing her way in the forest.

The man's face grew red with anger. He was at a loss of arguments, so he left, stomping his bare feet.

That's it, go away you fool ! I hope you'll step on something sharp and bleed to death through your dirty foot !

Lan wished he could yell that at him. He had been very pissed off by this narrow-minded individual. How could anyone think like that ? It was too dumb, for him to be able to comprehend.

When he looked back from the retreating figure of the man, he found that the girl wasn't there anymore. He was startled by how fast she had disappeared. When he heard her soft hums, he understood that she in fact didn't go far, but was simply hidden by some trees.

He crawled as quietly as he could, trying to avoid every kind of foils or plants that would make noise, and alert her. He stopped behind another tree trunk, where he had a view of her back.

She had long, curly, light brown hair. They were tied in a half ponytail, on the top of her head with a red ribbon, and they cascaded on her back. As the sun shone on them, there seemed to be golden shades.

She was wearing a simple black dress, with a red belt around her waist, and simple black shoes. When she turned around, Lan noticed that her ears were pierced a lot, and she was wearing a few bracelets and a necklace. Her appearance looked simple, but was complimented by a lot of jewelry. Like a decorated Christmas tree.

Once he thought of that, he mentally apologized to the girl for comparing her to a plain Christmas tree.

As for her facial features, he thought that they were more cute than beautiful. She was pretty, but her face still carried a sense of youth, as if she was still a teenager. Her lips weren't thin, but they weren't too plump either. She had a small nose, and big round eyes, surrounded by long eyelashes.

She seemed to be looking for something on the ground, and her eyes were wide open. It accentuated Lan's statement that her face looked childish, as it added an air of innocence.

"I bought this earring just a while ago, how come I already lost it ?" she mumbled to herself. "Am I beating my own record ?"

So that was what she was looking for. Lan's eyes fell on the ground as well. He was much closer to it, so he could naturally see better. After examining the surrounding for a small while, a glint suddenly caught his eyes. He turned his head to the left, and saw a very small sparkle. There was a dead leaf beside it. It must have been blown by the light wind, and revealed the jewel hiding under.

Lan looked at the girl, thinking she had seen it too. But at the same time, she turned around, looking in another direction. He mentally sighed. A glint, even if it was very small, would still catch one's eyes.

Lan felt bad for her, but he couldn't show himself. She would probably be scared, and run away. What if she alerted the village and they came to kill him ? Wasn't that what happened in the book he just read ? After the black snake bit someone, he managed to spread the word before dying, and all the men of the village went on a hunt to find it. In the end, they stabbed it and threw it in a pond.

No, Lan would definitely not come out, at any costs, no matter what ! He would stay hidden in some hole, until he found a way to return to his normal appearance.

The girl was tired of looking around, and crouched down under a tree. She fanned herself with her hand, the action causing a thin lock of hair to flutter. Another lock was stuck to her forehead, due to the sweat.

Lan felt even more bad. He looked around himself, trying to find something he could throw. Maybe if he managed to throw in the right direction, her attention would be caught, and she would see the glimmer of light caused by this lost earring of her.

Then his eyes fell on a small pebble. He was about to extend his arm to grab it, but at the lack of movement and sensation, he was reminded of his current form.

Is that something to forget, Huang Lan ?, he scolded himself.

Can snake grab things with their tails ? What do I know about snakes and their capacities anyways ? I'll just try !

And so, he tested his luck. So much time passed that he wondered if he had taken ten years of age already. He felt that he had struggled a lot, and used too much energy for nothing. What a waste.

He turned his head to look at the girl. She had stopped fanning herself, and was simply sitting with her head leaning on the trunk.

Eh ? Young lady, you already gave up ? Why am I the one trying the hardest for you to find your earring ? Come on, get up already !

Lan was out of idea to help her. He had thought of a single one, but he was still out of them. He mentally shrugged, and strode away. Wether he felt bad or not, after all the girl wasn't aware of his presence, and naturally didn't know that someone had given up on helping her. This thought helped him ease his conscious a bit.

Before disappearing behind a bush, he looked back. The girl hadn't moved a single muscle. He turned back around, and left. He wasn't the self-centered type, but he still estimated that he was in a much more critical situation than her.

Wait, but that's right ? I can't possibly be so worried about a lost earring, when I turned into a fucking snake ! Huang Lan, when did you lose your sense of priorities ?

Lan shook his small head, and hissed. This had become his only way to express himself. He wanted to sigh, to yell, to scoff. But all he could do was hiss. At least, he could still exhale some air from his nostrils, and consider it as a sigh.

He crawled for a long time in this forest. He couldn't get used to the feeling of dragging his whole body in the dirt. He kept cringing, but pushed it to the back of his head. If he wanted to go forward, he didn't have any other choice.

The sun was lower in the sky, and shone less brightly, when he finally found a place to stay. There was a tree near a lake. The tree trunk had a hollow in its center, which was empty. He happily crawled up the trunk, and curled up on himself. Like this, he had a view of the lake.

It was clear, and a few maple leaves floated peacefully on top. There was a weeping willow in the middle, casting a shade on one area of the water. The sunlight reflected on it, giving it a glimmering effect.

Combined with the sound of nature, Lan thought that he never felt so peaceful before. Finding this place was really the highlight of this curse. As he waited to reverse it, he decided that he would settle in here.