The man's background could wait for later.
"That one is going to die soon. So it wants you to raise the egg in its place."
"…What… die?"
When he looked in the direction the man pointed, he saw something like a spear stuck into the back of the snake's neck.
"?!"
Seeing the blood still flowing, Qiong Xing tried to move closer to do something, but he could not move because his waist was still being held.
"It's too late. It can't be saved anymore."
"That can't be true!"
No matter how much he struggled, the man's arm did not loosen. Instead, the man grabbed Qiong Xing's chin and forced him to look up.
In the eyes he was forced to meet, there was something that looked like sadness.
"Do you feel sorry for it? Does it hurt that you can't do anything? Then listen to this one's final wish."
If only he had noticed sooner.
If only he had treated the wound earlier.
As if he understood Qiong Xing's feelings, the man said that. When Qiong Xing nodded, the man finally released his hold on him.
"Is it really okay for me to do this?"
Even though he already knew the answer, he could not stop himself from asking.
The snake had only tried to take its child back.
It had only tried to protect its stolen child, even putting its own life on the line.
So, this much slaughter had happened.
If someone knew nothing about the reason, no, even if they did know the reason most humans would fear a snake that had done something like this and would try to kill it.
Even though the true ones at fault were the bandits who stole the child.
Was it really okay for Qiong Xing, a human just like those bandits, to be the one entrusted with the egg?
"It says you're the one."
He accepted the egg from the snake as it nodded in agreement.
When he gently and carefully stroked it, the snake lowered its head, looking relieved.
"You've done well. …You're tired, aren't you? Please rest now. I promise I will take responsibility and raise this child with care, so don't worry."
When he slowly patted its head in praise, the snake quietly closed its eyes.
Sometimes, a parent's love has a power so great that nothing else can compare to it.
The sight of a parent desperately trying to protect their child is the same whether they are human or animal, it makes no difference.
After he continued stroking it for a while, something suddenly dropped in front of him with a soft sound.
"…Huh?"
The moment he let go to pick it up, the snake's body began to crumble like sand and scatter into the wind.
There was no way to stop it and all he could do was watch the remains be carried away by the breeze.
Perhaps sensing something, the egg in his arms seemed to tremble for a brief moment, and he hugged it close, telling it that everything was okay.
All that remained was a small and round red stone that fit in his palm and the egg that had been entrusted to him by the snake.
He felt like it was the snake's final parting gifts.