Chapter 5 — Pink Snake Tail

And realized, I don't hate my tail. It's soft and flexible, can act as a pillow at night, and gently curls tightly around me. It also... brings me joy, when Lan Trach gently touches me. So, it's not the tail that I hate. It was myself at that time–trying to please others, trying to turn it into a beautiful fishtail. “Now I won't be like that anymore.” I smiled, "Do you want to see my tail? But not yet, I've just replaced a new layer of scales, it needs a few days to protect." "Okay, then just hide it." He hugged me tighter, his voice pleading, "But you have to stay." Not an order, but a plea. I shook my head. "If Luc Van misses you, I will come back to visit any time. But I can't stay here forever... because I can't leave Lan Trach behind." Drops of water fell from us, forming an invisible boundary. "Many years ago, his parents were captured and sold on the black market, and died early. All these years, he had no peers." My voice was small but determined. “Now, you are his only kind.” At that moment, footsteps were heard on the shore. Luc Van stood by the lake, looking down. He did not blame, did not say harsh words, just held out his hand: "Good boy, you are home." I happily held his hand: "I miss you so much." "Yes, dad too." Luc Minh stood quietly looking at me and Luc Van. Just being pulled ashore, the lights in the manor turned on one after another. "Is it really that little snake?" "How dare it come back..." "Stop talking." Luc Van's voice lowered, "I raised Phi Phi, it's not your turn to point fingers." The atmosphere immediately fell silent. I turned to look at Luc Minh: "Thank you." Luc Van took a thick fur coat and put it on my shoulders: "My room is still available." As if nothing had ever changed. The adoptive father remains the same. But I can't stay like before. I only stayed three days. After making an appointment to come back to visit next month, I left the territory and returned to Lan Trach. That night it was past ten o'clock, and he still hadn't returned. I'm rarely at the clinic that late. I immediately went to the dark alley. From afar, I saw the clinic's window shining with light. But behind me suddenly came a strong, sweet, fishy smell. As soon as I turned my head, the back of my neck felt a sharp pain. In the last view, was a heavy iron barrel. When I woke up, the cold iron cage pressed against my ribs with sharp pain. 6 The hunter used an electric stick to hit my legs hard, grinning fiercely: "Turn back into a snake quickly!" I bit my lip, digging my nails deep into my palm, trying my best not to let the snake's tail appear. "Isn't that right..." One guy frowned, "didn't he say he was a female pink-scaled snake?" I took the opportunity and said with a trembling voice: "You caught the wrong one... I once did surgery." reformed, I no longer have a tail." I raised my pale face: "Now I... am no different from a normal human being." Pausing for a moment, I continued: "If you don't believe me, you can go check right where you knocked me out, that's where I was reformed." They were half-convinced. But still locked me up. It was midnight now. Just in time for the auction to begin. Even though I was a wall away, I could still clearly hear the noise rolling like waves coming from the auction room. At any moment I could be dragged out. There's no time left. I huddled in the corner of the cage, suddenly coughing violently, my shoulders trembling, my fingers tightening around my throat - "Damn, I scared another kid to death." The youngest hunter cursed, took the key and put it in the lock: "Pull it out." The cage door just opened a crack - I immediately rushed out. I used all my strength to push him down and into the underground pipe. The more we ran, the darker it became, gradually we could no longer hear the commotion outside the auction. The snake's eyes dilated in the darkness, catching the faint heat in the air. The intersection ahead, on the left, has a strong smell

blood, on the right is a breath of fresh air. That's the exit. But I stopped again. To the left–I saw a familiar figure. Tinh Dao. She was also arrested. Locked in the darkest place. Seeing me, her pupils constricted: "Save me."