Demon King's Repayment - chapter 34

Hearing this, the men who clamored about marrying a snake wife shrank their necks.

“Li Sheng and the Snake Wife had been together for a long time and he was long aware of it. He had spent a lot of money to find a number of high-leveled mages, posing as a guest in the group, in fear of that moment. For a while, the mages, with all the golden charms and the treasures, tried to capture that snake demon. Who knew that the Snake Wife was hiding an aggressive side and the mages were killed in the Purple Stone street. Blood flowed and the houses got destroyed. At the end of the street, there was a three-foot-deep stone pit, which was the trace of the snake demon’s tail attack, so it was now called the ‘pit of the snake’. Fortunately, a Taoist passed by. Under his supernatural power, that snake demon surrendered. Otherwise, Lianghe Town may not exist in this world today.”

The storyteller stopped the Qin, sang a tragic song, and then sighed again, “At that time, Snake Wife got restrained by the mage and turned into a shining little snake. She raised her head to look at Li Sheng, but he was ruthless and unrighteous. He only cared about supporting the new wife. How can he care about the old snake demon? Since the mage took the snake demon away, then there was a Snake Wife in the world no more.”

“What happened to that lady?”

“Nobody knows where the Snake Wife is. But Li Sheng in that story is from our town. You must all know about his ending, so there is no need for me to say more. I can only say one sentence. Good and evil both get their due reward or punishment. All he built was a dream of a golden millet (pipe dream). It’s better for us to live our lifetime well and not do any ungrateful things.”

The storyteller sighed, put down the Sanxian, took out a tray, and then went to receive his rewards. “Today’s The Story of Li Sheng Meets the Snake was served here for the guest officials. If you felt it was a little bit interesting, please give me a generous reward or two.”

When Yuan Xiang passed downstairs, she reached out and dropped a few big coins from the railing and asked with a smile, “Sir, I’m from a different place. This story is interesting. I want to ask more about it. How is the character Li Sheng in the story? Is he still alive today?”

The people around burst into laughter, “He’s alive. He is living well— living a good life like a god.”

The storyteller put away the money and said with a smile, “Little lady, don’t listen to these pompous talk. When Li Sheng drove away the Snake Wife and married Miss Gao, he thought he would be able to rely on his father-in-law to get a high official position. Who knew people weren’t as good as the heavens. The man had committed a crime and needed a lot of money to fill the bottomless pit of his lawsuit. That’s why he married his daughter to a rich man. That’s it.”

“Li Sheng used all his wealth but ultimately failed to keep his father-in-law’s official position. The couple, one was a weak scholar and the other was Miss Gao. Both of them were incompetent in general affairs and couldn’t afford their display of wealth. For the sake of face, with some money, they disappeared. After years, the days went from bad to worse, and the husband and wife beat and scolded each other all day, but there was no child. They became beggars on the street. Therefore, the folk saying here is that a snake is a guardian immortal. If you usually see one in the courtyard, you can’t be scared. If it is respected, it can protect the house and bring prosperity and wealth. Li Sheng did not believe it and eventually got his punishment. He can’t blame anyone.”

There was someone who stretched his neck and shouted: “If the little lady wants to see the appearance of Li Sheng now, open the window and look at the one sleeping in the swamp across the street.”

Yuan Xiang opened the window.

It was noon in winter so the sun was a little dazzling.

An old beggar was sitting in the sun in the corner across the street, covered with filth and was tremblingly stretching out his thin fingers to scratch his body of lice. He was like the dead wood that was about to decay in winter. It would eventually rot into the mud as the ice and snow melt then be forgotten by the world.

At this moment, not far from him, across the crowd of people on the street, a woman stood quietly, with a tender lotus face, a red body, with crescent eyebrows, just in time.

“Who is this?”

“Which lady is this? I don’t think I have seen her before.”

“Was there such beauty in our town?”

“Keep your voice down. Be careful or you will offend the lady.”

Passing pedestrians whispered and the young men couldn’t help but look at her frequently as they blushed.

Yuan Xiang hurriedly turned to look at the bamboo cage on the table. The talisman on the cage fell off, the cage door opened wide, and the snake inside was nowhere to be found.

Hui Teng couldn’t hear the comments around her, as if no one else were on the street, staring at him.

She passed through the tumultuous crowd as if passing through decades of time, and without realizing it, she had already walked in front while in a trance as she came to the beggar.

The little demon didn’t know what the years of the world were, the taste of the bitterness of life, or the sourness of the dew.

“You… are you my wife?” Sitting in the mud, the old beggar’s hand sholk. He narrowed his eyes for a long time and became excited. Barely, he got up on crutches, tremblingly separated the crowd, and staggered forward. 

“Ah, my wife, you’re finally back. I’m waiting for you. I’ve been waiting for you all these years. The immortal Shifu once said that I should live and wait until the day I see you again. He did not lie to me, did not lie to me…”