My Demon Husband Is a Snake Chapter 2 - 2 Will

Utterly helpless, I dreaded even more the thought of confiding in my mother.

Then, a far more dreadful event transpired: my mother underwent a medical examination, revealing an advanced stage of liver cancer.

She had mere weeks, at most two months, left!

"Mother, I cannot bear to watch you die. Please, put on the cheongsam, even if it is only for three more years." Clutching the pure black cheongsam, intricately embroidered with a White Python, I knelt before her bedside, desperately imploring her.

That serpent was a creature of immense terror, utterly fearsome, even in its deceased state.

In the dead of night, it would still slither into my covers, leading to my current pregnancy, a consequence I hadn't even realized was taking root within me.

Yet, if this embroidered python cheongsam could grant my mother more time.

I would readily accept any price. I only wished for my mother to live.

My mother gently shook her head, refusing, "Have you forgotten your father's final words? He decreed that no one should ever wear this cheongsam again! So many years have passed, countless individuals have sought to borrow it, and I have upheld my promise to your father by keeping it secured. How could I possibly... break that vow for my own selfish desires?"

My mother had earned her living as a tailor, meticulously sewing garments for others, a profession that ultimately took a toll on her eyesight.

Through her sheer determination and hard work, she had raised me, enduring immense hardship.

Our existence was perpetually marked by extreme poverty, a constant struggle just to survive, with no certainty of when our next meal would come.

During those trying times, numerous individuals offered substantial sums of money for the cheongsam. Had she simply agreed, our family would have been lifted from destitution in an instant.

But she steadfastly refused every single offer.

"Mother, at the very least, give me a reason. I cannot bear to lose you," I pleaded, my heart shattering, hot tears streaming down my face.

My mother reached out, tenderly wiping away my tears, and let out a weary sigh, "I too find it unbearable to leave you alone in this world. Forget it, I shall reveal the truth to you. The serpent depicted on the cheongsam is real; it was personally slain and skinned by your father, then meticulously embroidered onto the garment. This cheongsam possesses the power to extend one's life through its inherent Cultivation. The fortune teller declared upon your birth that whoever uses this cheongsam to prolong their life would inevitably pass the consequences onto you. Mother truly cannot commit such a selfish act, even for her own sake..."

"But, Mother... don't you see... it has already begun exacting its revenge upon our family?" I tightly gripped the soft silken cheongsam, my teeth gritting, "It visits me every night. I... I am now... pregnant..."

My mother's pupils widened in sheer disbelief, as if the words had scarcely registered. She asked, her voice laced with alarm, "What did you say? Repeat it."

"I am pregnant... with the ghost python from the cheongsam..." Confronted with such a vile and unspeakable ordeal, I trembled, struggling to articulate the words, "Mother, please wear the cheongsam and live. Considering my life is already..." so ruined.

My mother's composure crumbled even more dramatically than mine, her voice escalating into a hysterical scream, "Enough, Wanwan, stop! Please, stop talking!!"

I fell silent, observing her complexion grow even paler than before, my heart aching with regret.

A pang of remorse struck me; perhaps revealing the truth had been a mistake, exacerbating her illness and inflicting such a profound shock.

My sole intention had been to persuade her to wear the cheongsam, to extend her precious life.

What transpired next left me utterly astounded by my mother's desperate actions!

Without warning, she tumbled from the sickbed, collapsing onto the cold floor. She began repeatedly kowtowing to me, crying, "Snake Lord, I implore you, please spare my daughter. The fault lies with us, the adults; it has nothing to do with Su Wan!"

No, my mother was not begging me.

She was pleading with the spectral White Python adorning the cheongsam.

Yet, neither the garment nor the colossal serpent it bore offered any sign of acknowledgment.

A heavy, oppressive atmosphere descended upon the room.

An unnerving silence enveloped us.

Still, my mother continued her relentless kowtowing.

Within the profound stillness, the rhythmic "thud, thud, thud" of her forehead striking the ground echoed with an unsettling eeriness.