smuggler

Chapter 2
I took a deep breath and said in confusion, "Grandma!"

Grandma stared at Jiang's face, but shook her head, not wanting to say anything.

She tidied up the remaining incense paper money on the river beach, and the empty bowl with pig's head meat, stood up tremblingly, and said to me: "If I can't come in the future, you can come, but you probably don't need to come."

These words have no beginning or end, but I don't know why, when grandma said this, she looked at me with complicated eyes and full of pity.

After that night, grandma fell seriously ill, lying in bed looking very weak, and after two days of staying up, her face was disfigured.

When I entered the door, I opened my eyes slightly and pursed my mouth. Finally, I was weak and asked me to call my aunt back.

A few years ago, my aunt brought back a man. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that the man was kind to my aunt, and he was not a bad person.

But grandma was stubborn, she disagreed with life and death, and refused to let the man in. The two broke up in the end, and the aunt and grandma also had a very stiff fight, and they rarely came back throughout the year.

But this time grandma fell ill very suddenly, so my aunt rushed back and just washed her body and face, but she seldom spoke.

Grandma lay on the bed and asked her aunt if she blamed her, but her aunt didn't speak.

Grandma's eyes rolled around, she stared blankly at the ceiling, and said something strange.

"Last night, I had that weird dream again!"

Grandma dreamed that she went to the market to buy vegetables several years ago, but when she walked to the market, she met the third grandpa in the village.

At that time, the third grandpa was surprised when he saw grandma, and asked why grandma came here, and said that this is not the place she should come, and told her to go back quickly.

People in the surrounding market gathered around grandma to watch, like watching a monkey trick, and several well-meaning people reminded grandma that this is not the place she should come to.

Later, it was the third grandfather who sent grandma out of the intersection and kept urging her to leave quickly.

After grandma woke up, she realized that the third grandpa had been dead for many years.

But last night, my grandma said that she went to that place again. The difference is that this time, no one said she should not come, and everyone asked her for money to buy straw sandals and clothes.

Grandma said with tears in her eyes: "I'm afraid this time the illness will never get better."

"Nonsense!" My aunt scolded.

Although my aunt complained about grandma, she still hated grandma in her heart.

My aunt went to the stove to make medicine, and my grandma was lying on the bed. She has aged a lot in the past few days, but her heart seems to be clear, and some things are clearer than before.

After thinking about it, she said to me without hiding it: "There are some things, and it's time to let you know."

I didn't say anything, and grandma sighed reminiscingly: "The black snake that your grandfather hit the snake is actually a snake fairy who has attained the Tao and is about to shed its skin. An old woman in a black cloth coat with many snakes wrapped around her body came to her door. She didn’t take our lives, but said that any descendants who belong to snakes should be sacrificed to the snake god, otherwise blood relatives must pay for their lives. She left When I was there, I saw with my own eyes that her exposed skin was covered with snake scales."

"Grandma, are these real?"

I was very disturbed, because I was born in the year of the snake in the Ding Si year, and the five elements belong to water.

Grandma's face was extremely calm, and she said, "The snake woman under the snake god gave me a chance to redeem my sins. If there are no descendants of snakes in the family, of course nothing will happen. If there are, then they will be sacrificed to the snake god." , This grievance can continue from generation to generation and will never be eliminated."

Seeing that my face was pale, grandma stroked my head, "Grandma didn't say it before, because she was afraid that you would worry. Now that you know it, don't be afraid. Grandma has already figured out a countermeasure for you."

I pursed my lips and said softly, "Grandma, do you go to the river to worship the snake god every year these years?"

Grandma grabbed my hand and patted it gently, nodded and said: "When I was poor, I burned incense and prayed, and when I was rich, I sacrificed three animals. Every year, I personally go to the riverside to worship the snake god. It has been ups and downs for more than ten years, and it has never stopped. .”

Every time when worshiping by the river, grandma would arrange the sacrifices and then start to chant scriptures. Grandma said that this ceremony was called inviting snakes.

Then there is the snake offering. If the sacrifices in front of you are gone after opening your eyes, it means that the snake god has forgiven grandma's sins again.

Grandma said that if the snake hadn't gone, she wouldn't be able to come back.

I muttered in my heart, and asked grandma about the snake gall with a trembling voice. I thought about it, as long as snakes have snake gall, why did grandpa pay such a high price.

Grandma smiled bitterly and said, "The snake gall your grandfather is looking for is actually the inner alchemy condensed by the snake's life-long essence. Only this can have the effect of bringing people back to life."

"The snake god has been worshiped by me for more than ten years, allowing me to live until now. Now I know that time is short, but I have seen through life and death a long time ago, but the only thing that makes me worry is you!"

For more than ten years, my grandma went to Yuanjiang to sacrifice snakes every year, rain or shine, in exchange for our safety.

The aunt fell in love with a snake, and was separated by the grandmother.

In the long years, she took away many memories of grandma, but did not take away her knots.

Grandma showed a kind smile, stretched out her brown and skinny hands and grabbed me and said, "Grandma died once in the past, and I have seen it through. This year happens to be the Year of the Gengzi Snake. Let Grandma do it for you." Finish it."

"No matter what, you have to live well in the future."

Grandma lay on the bed and talked a lot, she looked melancholy and tireless.

That night, I lay in bed tossing and turning, and for some reason, I always felt that something was going to happen to my grandma.

I don't know why I fell asleep, and I felt a chill on the back of my neck in a daze. The feeling of being peeped was very strong, and I turned my head to look at the dark window glass of the window.

At this glance, I almost cried out in fright.

"grandmother……"

I murmured in fear.

Outside the glass window, grandma stood straight, looking at me through the window.

I stared tremblingly for a while, and saw a black snake wrapped around my grandma's neck.

The snake's head slowly lifted up, its eyes were outside the window, with a faint green light shining, it opened its mouth, spit out the snake letter, and hissed.

Grandma also followed the snake head, opening her mouth and sticking out her tongue, making a hissing sound.

Through the glass, I watched a person and a snake spit out letters, and a voice called out to me, "Bai Yao, Bai Yao..."

I stared and saw the grandma outside the glass grinning, sticking out her forked tongue, hissing strangely at me.

And the snake wrapped around her neck rushed towards me with bared teeth, as if it was about to pierce through the glass and pounce on my face.

I was so frightened that I was so frightened that I suddenly opened my eyes and sat up from the bed.

is a dream.

I took a deep breath, and my back was soaked in cold sweat.

At this moment, the door of the room was suddenly pushed open, and a gust of cool wind hit, biting the bones.

My aunt rushed in with a panicked expression, and said tremblingly, "Yaoyao, get up quickly, something has happened!"

I faintly saw tears in my aunt's eyes, my heart tightened suddenly, and I asked, "What's wrong?"

My aunt said, "Your grandma has thrown herself into the river!"

(End of this chapter)