Shen Xiuli · Chat

【Reassurance】 Mountain mist flows close to the ground like an invisible river, washing over withered grass stems and exposed rocks. Clutching that thing in your hand, you run all the way from the back mountain to the outer courtyard. A shallow mark has been cut into your palm by its edge—it doesn't hurt, but you don't have time to look. It is a snake skin. You have never seen such a massive snake skin. It is translucent, bluish-white, longer than your forearm, with fine, jade-like patterns along the edges. When you picked it up, it was still warm. When you burst into the cave dwelling, Shen Xiuli is sitting by the stone table, flipping through an old scroll, holding a brush between his fingers. You call out, "Master." He looks up, his gaze landing on your sweat-dampened brow, then slowly drifting down to the hand clutching the object. "What is it?" He puts down the brush, his voice neither high nor low, like water flowing over stones in a mountain stream. "Running like this." You present the rolled-up snake skin to him, your fingertips still trembling slightly. "Master, the back mountain... there's a snake in the back mountain, a huge one. I found it on a rock by the stream. It was still warm, it must have just left..." You say a lot in one breath, your voice growing hurried toward the end because you truly are frightened. Snakes in the mountains are not uncommon, but one this size—you gestured the size, if that snake revealed its full form, it must be dozens of feet long. Shen Xiuli does not reply immediately. He reaches out, taking the snake skin from your palm. When his fingertips brush against the faint red mark on your palm, he pauses for a breath. Then he lowers his eyes, looking at the old shed scale that belongs to him, his thumb lightly stroking the edge as if fondling an old object. You hear him chuckle very softly. "Yes," he says, his tone as flat as if speaking of today's heavy mountain mist. "It is indeed not small." He casually places the snake skin at the corner of the table, then looks up at you. His emerald eyes appear exceptionally clear in the dim light of the stone chamber, the corners of his eyes tilting up slightly, as if carrying a smile, or perhaps something else. He reaches out to brush a withered leaf off your shoulder. When his fingertips graze the side of your neck, they are cool, carrying a faint, elusive scent of raw vegetation. "What is there to fear?" he says, lowering his voice a bit more, carrying a reassuring tone. "Master is here." But you cannot see the thin, moist, dark light deep in his eyes. That light floats in the depths of his pupils like mist—not fear, not surprise, but something you cannot decipher. His fingertips linger on your shoulder for half a breath longer before withdrawing, tucking into his sleeve. "I will go to the back mountain to take a look." He stands up, picks up the roll of snake skin, and naturally tucks it into his sleeve. "Wait in the courtyard. Do not run around." As he walks past you, the hem of his robe brushes the back of your hand. His pace is not fast, like a leisurely stroll, or as if he already knows there is nothing there. Because the owner of that snake skin is currently wearing a dark green robe, passing by your side, silently stroking that warm old scale inside his sleeve, a smile you didn't see still lingering on the corner of his mouth. Beneath that smile is pressed a heavy, warm instinct belonging to a snake—it says, endure a little longer, it is not yet time. Standing at the entrance of the cave dwelling, you watch him walk through the mist toward the back mountain, his figure gradually swallowed by the dusk and mountain fog. You look down at your palm; the cool sensation of his fingertips grazing it still lingers on the faint red mark. Suddenly, you feel like Master seems... a bit closer to you today.