ログインOur village used to be called Snake Village.The hills behind the village were full of snakes, and every family made a living by catching them. But snakes were believed to have spirits, so many villagers were swarmed and bitten to death while hunting them. To avoid retribution, the villagers built a shrine to honor the Snake Goddess.Later, an occult specialist named Walter Maxwell came to the village. He claimed that the accumulated rage and spiritual energy of every snake the village had ever killed had gathered at the Snake Goddess shrine and taken the form of a golden snake.The golden snake carried two golden cores inside it. Whoever consumed them would gain immortality and tremendous power. For this reason, Mr. Maxwell set his sights on them.He went to Mr. Franklin and proposed that they work together to take the golden snake's cores.That very day, the golden snake was giving birth and was at her weakest. Mr. Maxwell took advantage of the situation and stole one of its cor
Mr. Maxwell pulled a bell from his pocket and shook it frantically. It let out a sharp, clear sound. The moment the golden snake heard it, its body thrashed violently. But no matter how hard it struggled, it couldn't break free of the rope.A howling cold wind poured into the shrine. Several of the girls had already fainted from fright. I kept my eyes fixed on the golden snake as the glow across its body slowly dimmed.Just then, a familiar fragrance drifted from behind me. I turned around to see Philip—no, it was Julia in his body—walking in.Mr. Maxwell glanced at Julia without stopping his hand from jingling the bell. He let out a mocking laugh. "You really are cunning. You slipped right through my trap and even hid yourself inside someone else. I suppose you agreed to be his wife just to wait for a moment like this."Julia gave a cold laugh. "It was the village men who couldn't help themselves. They even let me drain their energy on the night of the vigil, greatly boosting my p
I nodded. No one in the village had hunted snakes for years, so the Snake Goddess shrine was probably in ruin.Just as Philip was about to continue, Faye walked toward us with her swollen belly. "Philip, Kate, you need to go home right now. Your mom is dead!"I froze in shock, but Philip's expression remained unchanged. There was even a hint of coldness in his gaze.By the time we reached home, a crowd had already gathered around the house. Mr. Franklin and Mr. Maxwell were there too.Mom lay on the bed. She had died the same way as Felix, with tiny snakes crawling out of her stomach and mouth.When the pregnant women in the village saw this, they began to vomit, though it was unclear whether it was from shock or their condition. As they threw up, their stomachs suddenly began to ache. They collapsed to the ground one by one, crying out in pain.Mr. Maxwell's face fell when he saw that I was still alive. He muttered that something had gone wrong, then took out a stack of charms f
Before I even got home, Lara pulled me aside. She looked at me with a troubled expression. "Kate, I only figured out last night that you've been set up. That so-called specialist is out to harm you.""What? Mr. Maxwell wants to harm me?""That's right. He used your blood to seal away Julia so she would only remember you. A snake demon's resentment doesn't fade that easily. He's planning to sacrifice you to save the rest of the village."Kate, remember—if Julia comes looking for you tonight, you must not answer her. If you don't respond, she won't be able to find you."I drifted home in a daze after hearing what Lara said. For some reason, Mom and Philip had both gone to bed unusually early.I buried myself under the covers, too afraid to close my eyes, on edge at the slightest sound. As I drifted in and out of sleep, I felt a cold draft against my neck.When I opened my eyes, I saw a figure lingering by my bed, a long tail trailing behind it like a snake's."Kate, it's me, Julia
Mr. Franklin said that Julia was an evil creature and couldn't be given a proper burial. He told us to leave her in the cave for wild animals to devour her body.Philip was excited, though there was a flicker of disappointment on his face. I knew it was because Julia was no longer there for him to toy with.Everyone assumed life would go back to normal after that, but over the following days, strange things kept happening throughout the village.A massive swarm of venomous snakes suddenly gathered at the village entrance, packed so tightly that it was terrifying to look at.Although everyone in our village had experience catching snakes, a few reckless men were still bitten and killed while trying to catch them.Overnight, all the women in the village developed swollen bellies as if they were nine months pregnant, yet they didn't seem frightened at all. Only I could see that their bellies were full of snake eggs.Word spread through the village that the snake demon had returned f
Mom glared at me. "Stop talking nonsense. This is my precious grandson. Look at how soft and fair he is. He's so handsome."Mom must have lost her mind. She was actually treating an egg laid by a snake demon as her grandchild.The egg hadn't hatched yet, but once it did, our whole family would be doomed.Mom shoved the egg into my arms and told me to find Julia and have her nurse it. The egg was warm. I could almost feel the little snake moving against my skin.I had to get rid of it. Without another thought, I bolted out the front door and ran toward the hills out back. If Julia had come from those hills, then that must be where she belonged.As I ran, I bumped into Philip and his crew.Philip kicked me to the ground, and the egg rolled over to him. "You useless trash, what are you doing running around at this hour?"Felix spotted the egg and picked it up. "Hey, what's this?""Looks like a snake egg," one of the others said."Don't mention eggs at night. You're making me hung