The image in front of me flashed, and the sea breeze rushed in front of me.

It is a small town, surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the sea on one side.

"Eh, what's wrong with you, can you hear me?" the girl named Xiaoxue reappeared in view, squatting barefoot on the beach, and a young man lying in front of her.

“... Don't tell me that you changed that person...", I said.

"Well, it's me. "The snake made no secret of it.

"Hey, there's someone here!, as if he's fainted!" Xiaoxue shouted into the distance, and a man in the prime of life came over in a few moments.

It turned out to be that brother in the snow!

"It's not like drowning, it's probably hungry. Xiaoxue's brother squatted down and said, "It looks like it should be from an outsider, come, you can help." He picked up the young man, oh no, it was the arm of the snake, and he carried it all at once.

"Are you pretending?" I asked, "deliberately falling here?"

"Originally," said the snake, "but I waited too long and no one came, and in the end I fainted from hunger." ”

“... You're here to find Xiaoxue?"

"Well, it took many reincarnations to find her. "The snake's voice is a little gentle.

"It's not okay to become a monster and deceive her. ”

"I didn't think about it that much at the time, I just wanted to live with her normally once. "Human life is very short, and reincarnation is only a few decades, so I can afford to wait." ”

I didn't say anything more, and continued to look at its memories.

The rest of the story is unremarkable, the brother and sister take the hungry snake back to the residence, feed it food and water, the snake quickly wakes up and becomes a human snake, Xiaoxue almost falls in love with it at first sight, and doesn't even care that it seems to come from an alien planet - because it used to be a monster, the snake doesn't know anything about human life: not used to sleeping in bed, always eating raw things, not knowing that humans can drink hot water and can't use chopsticks, in short, just like a newborn.

But all this is extremely cute in Xiaoxue's eyes, she patiently teaches it one by one, Ba Snake is also smart, and soon learned the skills needed for daily life, Xiaoxue's brother didn't like this strange young man at first, but as time went on, he found that this young man seemed to really like his sister, so he didn't ask anymore.

It seems that everything is on the right track, Xiaoxue and Ba Snake soon became lovers, and if nothing else, they should soon talk about marriage.

"At that time, I didn't think anything mattered," the snake's voice rang in my ears, "I even thought it would be better to be a human being." ”

"Why?" I was about to ask, but the sight in front of me made me shut up.

Xiaoxue's brother accidentally fell off a cliff when he was out, and there was no news.

The sad girl has not recovered for a long time, and Ba Snake has tried everything to make her happy, but with little success.

"The other day, I had a dream. "It was also the beach where they met for the first time, and Xiaoxue leaned on the snake and said, "A voice in my dream told me that there is a kind of youkai in the world that can turn back time and its blood can resurrect the dead. ”

Ba Snake froze, "Do you believe it?"

"I don't know..."

Not far away there was a bird perched on the beach.

"It is impossible to start all life in the world. Ba Snake said.

"But..."Xiaoxue's voice became quieter and quieter, "what if..."

At this moment, the snake suddenly stood up, so fast that I could not see clearly, and it caught the bird that had just stopped on the beach.

"What are you?" Xiaoxue didn't understand what the snake meant.

"Remember this bird?" said the snake to Xiaoxue, "and it has a pinch of yellow fluff on its forehead. ”

Xiaoxue nodded as if she didn't understand.

I heard the snake sigh slightly, and it bit its fingers, and with a slight movement of its wrist, it broke the bird's neck.

“... You!" Xiaoxue exclaimed.

"Remember this bird. Ba Snake said.

Next, I saw the snake change back into the form of a snake, and Xiaoxue on the side covered its mouth.

"I'm here for you to turn back time so you can remember it all. After the snake finished speaking, he bit his tail.

Rewind the clock a few minutes to the scene where Xiaoxue and Ba Snake just sat on the beach.

"You..." Xiaoxue couldn't say a word.

"Yes, I'm not human, I'm the youkai who can turn back time. The snake pointed not far away, "Do you see that bird?"

Birds with yellow fluff on their foreheads are still alive on the beach.

"Really..."Xiaoxue's tears couldn't be stopped, "I can get my brother back..."

"No," the snake's eyes were full of reluctance, "I said that life in the world cannot be repeated. ”

"But isn't this bird alive? it has just been killed by you..."Before Xiaoxue could finish speaking, an even larger bird fell from the sky, its sharp claws piercing the neck of its prey.

Xiaoxue stayed where she was.

"Xiaoxue, listen to me. Ba Snake gently hugged his beloved girl, "Life will not come again, the bird just now, if I didn't pinch its neck, it would become the prey of other birds, or something else, in short, in the time trajectory of this world, this bird will inevitably end its life at this time, no matter which way, so..."

"Let go of me. Xiaoxue's voice was as cold as ice, "Why didn't you tell me earlier that you were a monster?"

"I... I'm afraid I'll scare you, and—" Snake hesitated for a long time, "I'm ready to become human." ”

There was a moment of doubt in Xiaoxue's eyes, and then tears welled up and spread into the arms of the snake.

"She accepts you. I said, "That's good." ”

"No," the snake's voice whispered in my ear, "and that night she stabbed me in the chest with a knife, and I was reincarnated to be in another world to save my life." ”

“... She doesn't believe you. ”

"yes," Ba Snake smiled bitterly, "I looked at the knife and asked her why she did it when she knew she couldn't resurrect her brother, and she said she wanted to try again, anyway, I'm a monster, even if I get hurt by mistake, it doesn't matter." ”

"You're still a youkai. I said.

The picture came to an abrupt end, and I didn't want to look any further, and I pulled my mind back to the Bauhinia Courtyard.

"So, that time you were in the snow, it was to get revenge on her. I said.

Ba Snake did not deny it.

"Did you succeed in the end?"

"No, I left at last. "I can't do it, I'm still unwilling after that, I have gone to countless worlds to find her, I have been her passerby, friend, lover, pet, relative, she is sometimes a human in different worlds, sometimes a plant animal, but she has not become a monster." ”

"Did it ever end well?" I asked.

"There have been times when we were very close, but in the end we were always interrupted in various ways, either betrayal, or death, or whatever. "If there had been a good ending, you wouldn't have seen me now, and I'd have become a human long ago." That kind of wonderful future does not exist. ”

"You can choose not to tell her the fact that you're a youkai. I said.

"yes, but I don't know why, it's... I don't want to hide anything anymore. ”

(End of chapter)