Parker plucked the dirty grass from Curtis’s nest, then gathered up the remaining grass in a bunch into his arms.
“Let me help!” Parker stuffed the dry grass into the hole as he spoke. The grass smacked Curtis—who had his head raised underneath—right in the face, before most of it sliding down his silk-like hair with only some remaining on the top of his head.
Bai Qingqing carried over the last bit of grass. Curtis stuck out his hands to receive it, and the last bit of his grass on his head slid off too.
“I can’t fit this basket through the hole. I’ll hand you the eggs one by one.” Bai Qingqing’s gaze fell upon the white eggs that were placed together, and it was evident from her eyes that she couldn’t bear to part with them. She touched the snake eggs one by one.
Quite a bit of sticky substance had dried up on the eggs’ surface, causing the eggs to stick together. Bai Qingqing didn’t dare separate them, so she cautiously raised several eggs that were glued together and sent them into the hole.
“Be careful,” Bai Qingqing said gently.
Curtis was very cooperative. At least until after he finished receiving the eggs from her and transformed into a snake to begin to sleep, Bai Qingqing had yet to realize his coldness towards the snake eggs.
After settling down Curtis and the snake eggs, Bai Qingqing squatted by the hole and couldn’t bear to leave. She heard Parker’s excited voice above her head. “The weather’s turned sunny. Let’s go out and play.”
Parker then placed a large rock in front of the hole, blocking out Bai Qingqing’s view of the interior of the black hole.
Bai Qingqing shoved at the rock, but the rock was large and thick, and despite exerting all her might she wasn’t able to move it by even an inch. She looked up at Parker and said, “Curtis will suffocate to death this way. Hurry up and shift it away.”
“No, he won’t. If he can’t breathe, he’ll shift it away himself. With the rock there, he’ll definitely feel more at ease sleeping.” Parker pulled up Bai Qingqing by the hand. “Let’s go out. Many females are playing outside now.”
Bai Qingqing felt that his words made sense. She had seen news of a snake—that had been soaked to make snake wine for several months—slithering out of the jar and biting someone. That went to show that when snakes went into hibernation, their respiratory requirements weren’t very high. Furthermore, Curtis had that much space in there, so he was unlikely to suffocate to death—and even if he couldn’t tolerate it, based on his strength, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to break out of the jar.
After hesitating for a moment, Bai Qingqing said, “You’d better leave a gap for him. What if he’s too lazy to move?”
“Alright, alright.” Parker shoved at the rock in a slipshod manner, leaving a moon-shaped crack the length of a palm, then pulled Bai Qingqing’s hand and said, “Let’s go.”
Bai Qingqing responded with an “mm”. When she got up, she used too much strength, which brought about a pain in her stomach. She gasped and said, “Slower.”
Parker instantly reduced his strength, holding Bai Qingqing by her waist, and only after her pain eased did he slowly walk out with her.
Cold wind was soughing outside the house, blowing upon people’s faces like knife blades. The wind had dried up the ground that had been soaked in rainwater for three months. Under the roof, the sweet potato stems—with their tough and tenacious nature—were thriving.
A cold breeze entered Bai Qingqing’s clothes through the edges, making her so cold she shivered. She shrunk her neck and tightened the clothes around her.
“It’s so cold,” Bai Qingqing said, white air coming out of the corner of her mouth. She reached out to touch it, and the white smoke quickly disappeared at her fingertips.
Parker was next to Bai Qingqing, holding her with his long arm. “I’ll block out the wind for you.”
“Mm.”
The rain had finally stopped. The cold weather didn’t affect Bai Qingqing’s cheery mood. She looked left and right with genuine interest.
“Everyone seems really busy. Or am I hallucinating things?”
There were many beastmen outside coming and going in haste, and it wasn’t as crowded and lively as when the rain briefly stopped during the heavy rainy season.