At this moment, it was already daybreak.
When several girls rushed out of the room and into the lobby excitedly, the boss and his wife were dumbfounded.
The proprietress was so frightened she stammered, “W-Where did they come from?”
The girl from the second floor grabbed the proprietress’s arm tightly, shaking her in excitement. “What year is it? No, that’s not the most important thing—call the police, quickly! Is there a phone? Let us use the phone! I need to contact my parents!”
The proprietress obediently called the police in a daze like a robot without thought, and handed her phone to the girls.
Bai Lixin silently followed behind the girls as they came to the lobby.
While the girls were busy contacting their families, the proprietress sidled up to Bai Lixin and asked, “When did you return to your room?”
Bai Lixin: “I don’t know. Someone locked me in the room.”
The proprietress continued to ask, “Yesterday, I waited outside your door for a long time, but you didn’t come out, so I mustered up the courage to go up and look for you. But you were already gone from the room, so I closed the door and sealed it with wallpaper. Were you still in the room then? How could that be? I didn’t see anyone.”
She cautiously glanced at the girls and whispered to Bai Lixin, “They seem to be the girls who went missing on Snake God Mountain. How did they come out of your room?”
Bai Lixin: “It’s a strange story. I’m afraid you wouldn’t believe it if I told you.”
The proprietress: “Go on, tell me. How will I know if I believe you unless you tell me?”
Bai Lixin then briefly explained how he had been captured by the big black snake, and how these girls had been taken to lay eggs for it. Hearing this, the proprietress’s expression changed dramatically.
At times, her eyes widened; at others, her face turned pale, or she covered her mouth in fear.
“How terrifying,” she gasped, panting her chest. “There was a snake demon causing trouble on Snake God Mountain? What happened to that snake demon?”
Bai Lixin: “It died.”
The proprietress let out a long, relieved sigh. “It’s dead? That’s good, that’s good. If it’s dead, no one will get hurt anymore.”
Over there, the girls were talking excitedly on the phone.
“Hello, Mom, it’s Xiao Rou.”
“Wuuu… Yes, Mom, it’s really me, Xiao Rou. I’m not lying to you.”
“I miss you and Dad so much.”
The girl from the second floor cried, “I’m on Snake God Mountain. I’m still on Snake God Mountain.”
“It’s a long story, Mom, but I’m fine now. You and Dad stay at home, and I’ll come find you soon. Don’t… don’t come here. Hello? Mom? Mom!”
The call was cut off, and it seemed her parents were already on their way.
The girl from the third floor snatched the phone and quickly dialed a number. After a moment, an elderly voice answered, “Hello, who is this?”
“Grandma!” the girl cried excitedly.
Although the girl from the fourth floor was a bit dull, she hadn’t forgotten her home phone number.
On the other end of the line, her family members asked anxiously about her situation. With the help of the other girls, they also learned where she was.
When the girl from the fifth floor took the phone, she hesitated for a few seconds before dialing a number.
As soon as the phone rang, it was picked up immediately. “Hello.”
The girl remained silent for two seconds, then whispered, “Dad.”
The other side was silent for a moment before a cold, stern voice spoke, “You still know how to call home?”
The girl: “…”
“Do I owe you something? I invested all my energy in you, paid for your high school and college, pushed you to become a civil servant. You had such a bright future ahead, but you disappeared. Three years—your mom and I searched for you for three years, and you didn’t make a single call. I’m not your father. I don’t deserve it! What? After running wild for three years, running out of money and can’t make it anymore, you now think of me?”
The girl gripped the phone nervously. “Dad, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t tell me you’re sorry. I don’t need it.”
The sound of a child crying came from the other end of the phone, followed by a milky voice, “Daddy, it hurts. Wuuu… Hold me.”
The girl stiffened, shocked.
Soon after, the man’s voice came over again. Although it was still stern, there was a hint of patience. “Good, son. Be brave and get up on your own.”
The girl trembled all over. “Dad, who is that child?”
The man replied coldly, “Your brother. Your mom and I had him. He’s a year and a half old. This time, I’ll raise him right so he won’t turn out like you. If you want to come back, then come back on your own.”
“You’re sick!” The girl from the second floor couldn’t stand it anymore. She grabbed the phone and yelled at the man on the other end, “Your daughter’s been missing for three years! Three years! And the first thing you do is scold her instead of asking if she’s safe? Do you know what she’s been through these past three years? She didn’t run away from home—she was kidnapped and imprisoned! All of us were kidnapped and imprisoned!”
“Why were only you girls imprisoned? Why not others?” The man’s voice remained calm.
Hearing this, the girl from the second floor was momentarily speechless.
The man continued, “First of all, I don’t believe your kidnapping story. I know my own daughter well enough. She’s always lied. If she got a 98 on a test, she’d insist it was 100. I won’t believe anything you say. Secondly, even if she was kidnapped, she had it coming.”
The girl from the fifth floor flushed red and trembled.
The man went on, “I told her not to go to Snake God Mountain, but she insisted. If she had listened to me and stayed at home, none of this would have happened. Every year, so many people go to Snake God Mountain. Why was she the only one kidnapped and not someone else? She could have avoided it, but because of her disappearance, it brought so much trouble to our family. I’ve become the subject of gossip at work because of her.”
The girl from the second floor was furious. “You’re really sick!”
The man on the other end of the phone said with an air of superiority, “Hmph, no wonder she can’t make any decent friends out there. A good girl’s mouth couldn’t be so dirty.”
The girl from the third floor shouted into the phone, “Better to have a foul mouth than a heart as rotten as yours!”
Before the man could say anything worse, the girl from the fifth floor grabbed the phone and quickly ended the call with, “Sorry for bothering you. I won’t come back.”
The girl from the second floor fumed, “No wonder you don’t want to go home.”
The girl from the third floor offered, “Why don’t you come to my house?”
The girl from the fourth floor tilted her head, her expression innocent and confused. “That man said such mean things. He’s a bad guy. Let the police catch him.”
The girl from the third floor gritted her teeth. “The police can’t do anything about moral scum.”
“The keyboard warriors can do something, right?” The girl on the second floor pointed at her phone. “I recorded everything just now. How about exposing him? Doesn’t he hate trouble? Let’s make him famous in front of the whole nation.”
The girl from the fifth floor thought for a few seconds before shaking her head. “No, after all, he’s still my dad. He raised me for so many years. Even if he looks down on me, he never harmed me. Since he doesn’t want to see me, I’ll just leave. We’ll live our own lives from now on.”
The girl from the second floor looked a bit worried. “What will you do from now on? Why not come to my house?”
The girl from the fifth floor smiled. “I wasn’t even afraid of the snake demon; why would I be scared of life’s challenges? Don’t worry, I’ll make it big one day. When Sister becomes a successful woman, I’ll take you all on a world tour.”
Because of the sandstorm, the police couldn’t arrive immediately.
Although the girls had been rescued, they couldn’t leave right away.
According to the weather forecast, the sandstorm would last for another half month.
During this time, something strange happened in Snake God Town.
The stomach of the eldest son of the Dong family, Dong Qing, grew as large as that of a ten month pregnant woman.
One night, a neighbor heard blood-curdling screams from the Dong household.
The next day, someone went to check, assuming something had happened. But surprisingly, except for Dong Qing, who remained unseen, the rest of the Dong family seemed to be in high spirits, showing no signs of trouble.
Min Min and the other girls were curious about what had happened in the Dong family.
They knew Bai Lixin was powerful and pleaded with him to satisfy their curiosity.
Min Min: “Could it be that Dong Qing gave birth?”
Man Man almost spat out the snack she was eating. “No way! Vomit-inducing medicine is easy to buy; he could’ve just thrown it up.”
The short-haired girl: “That’s not necessarily the case. Didn’t Bai Lixin say their family was running low on snakes? Those snakes are the foundation of their beauty treatments. For the sake of beauty, maybe they forced Dong Qing to give birth to the snakes.”
The long-haired girl shuddered. “So extreme? That’s terrifying.”
Min Min blinked her eyes curiously. “How does a man give birth? No, wait… how does a man give birth to snakes?”
Man Man stroked her chin, analyzing seriously. “Men don’t have a uterus or birth canal. Could it be a C-section?”
All eyes turned to Bai Lixin. “Please, take us to see it. We’re really curious.”
Bai Lixin sighed. “Alright…”
To be honest, he was also quite curious.
It had been days since Bai Lixin last visited the Dong family, and this was his third time entering their home.
The overwhelming stench hit him in the face as soon as he stepped in, almost bringing tears to his eyes.
The girls didn’t seem to notice the smell, but they still clung to Bai Lixin, not daring to act recklessly.
After all, they were the ones who had stuffed the snake eggs into Dong Qing’s stomach. Now, they felt a little nervous about entering the Dong household.
Hearing they had visitors, Dong Jing came out.
When she opened the door and saw Bai Lixin and the others, she was stunned for a moment, then nervously tucked her hair behind her ear and looked at Bai Lixin shyly. “What brings you here?”
The girls stared wide-eyed. Their eyes were fixed on Dong Jing in front of them, with disbelief written all over their faces.
Who is this?
Her black hair was like a waterfall, her skin smooth like peeled eggs, her eyelashes thick like fans, her eyes were moist and dark, her nose was delicate and upright, and her lips rosy and full.
She looked like a character straight out of an anime, too beautiful to be real.
If not for the vague resemblance in her features, they wouldn’t have recognized her as Dong Jing.
Bai Lixin: “Can we come in?”
Dong Jing nodded shyly. “Of course, please come in.”
The girls nervously followed Dong Jing and Bai Lixin inside. There were two people sitting in the living room who also looked like they had stepped out of an anime world—a handsome man and a charming woman.
The three of them seemed to glow with a soft light and filters, surrounded by a backdrop of romantic roses and lilies.
Contrary to their expectations, there were no accusations. Instead, the three warmly welcomed the five visitors, offering them fruits and snacks.
The girls didn’t dare touch anything from the Dong family. They were just curious about what had happened to these people in such a short time.
“It’s all thanks to you,” the woman covered her mouth and smiled gracefully. When she smiled, the roses in the background seemed to bloom. “If you hadn’t forced Dong Qing to swallow those snake eggs, we wouldn’t have known that the snakes he birthed were far more effective than any others.”
She touched her face, marveling, “I wouldn’t have such a beautiful face now.”
The man chimed in, “I never knew I could be this handsome.”
Dong Jing also nodded. “Yes, I used to be so self-conscious about my looks, thinking I was too plain. Now I’m finally confident.”
“You were self-conscious about your looks?” Min Min twitched her lips. “But wasn’t your previous face already enhanced by snake meat?”
Dong Jing: “Yes, but the effect wasn’t great.”
Min Min muttered under her breath, “How ugly must you have been before?”
Man Man was almost dying of curiosity, “How’s Dong Qing now?”
“He’s doing well,” Dong Jing smiled. “He’s eating and drinking as usual. We’re feeding him the best supplements. But it’s not convenient for him to come out now; he’s about to give birth again.”
