Chapter 37:
A Strange Case of Male Pregnancy (Part 2):
“You Don’t Hit Women, But What About…”
Yang Juan’s voice was a mix of hushed whispers and loud pronouncements, her shoulders hunched, her neck craned forward. “Young lady, don’t be too afraid. Wait and see if there are any symptoms. If you are pregnant, stay in my house, and I’ll go find someone in the village to help. If we act quickly, there’s still a chance.”
“What symptoms?” Jiang Wan asked.
“Nausea, the same as a woman,” Yang Juan replied.
“Are you feeling nauseous now?” Jiang Wan asked, looking at Chen Henian. He simply inhaled, his expression unchanged, his eyes cool and damp, the picture of composure despite the alarming news.
Chen Henian spoke, his voice casual, his words shocking. “Men getting pregnant, that’s a good thing. If I’m pregnant, I’ll give birth. What’s there to be afraid of?”
“Give birth?” Yang Dali and Yang Juan were stunned, realizing he was mocking them. “You don’t believe us? You think we’re lying?”
“How do I know if you’re telling the truth?” Chen Henian countered.
Yang Juan’s face was a mixture of anger and amusement, her voice laced with impatience. “You’re penniless travelers, why would we lie to you? We’re trying to help, and this is how you repay us?!”
“Are there other pregnant men here?” Chen Henian asked.
“Of course!” Yang Juan replied.
“Honey, don’t waste your breath!” Yang Dali stopped her. “If you don’t believe us, leave. But you won’t get far. You’ll be back, with a belly full of snakes.”
He picked up the stick, the four dead snakes lying on the ground, their heads crushed. He went inside, returning with a knife and a bowl. He expertly sliced open the snakes’ bellies, extracting their gallbladders, placing them in the bowl, then tossed the carcasses over the fence.
His face was expressionless, his dark eyebrows furrowed, his weathered face unmoved by the smell of blood, his movements practiced and efficient.
“That’s terrifying,” Jiang Wan said. “You’re not even afraid of touching the snake gallbladders?”
“What’s there to be afraid of?” Yang Dali said. “Only that one snake is dangerous, the one that causes pregnancies.”
Chen Henian noticed the lack of fear in his eyes. They weren’t afraid of snakes, only the one that could impregnate men.
“Why only the gallbladders? What about the rest of the snake?” Jiang Wan asked.
“Snake gallbladders can be soaked in wine,” Yang Dali replied. “Snake meat is just food. We’re tired of eating it.”
“You eat snakes…” Jiang Wan said. “Are they… tasty?”
Yang Dali didn’t answer, his attention drawn to a loud groan coming from inside the house. He hurried inside with the bowl.
Yang Juan also looked towards the house, her face etched with worry.
“What’s wrong?” Jiang Wan asked.
Yang Juan shook her head, picking up a mop to clean the bloodstains on the ground. “Go inside, don’t stand out here, it’s damp.” Her gaze shifted from the courtyard to Chen Henian’s stomach. “Rest, it’ll ease your suffering.”
“We missed the morning bus. We can’t leave until the afternoon,” Chen Henian said, turning and walking back to their room.
He retrieved his suitcase, never letting it out of his sight. Back in the small room, as he picked up the suitcase, he heard the mirror ghost’s voice. “Your compass is spinning. You’re not even looking, it’s keeping me awake.”
Spinning?
Was the snake moving?
He opened his suitcase, taking out the compass. The needle was pointing in a different direction. He followed it, his footsteps echoing on the concrete path, until he heard a man groaning in pain.
It was coming from their room. He quietly leaned against the wall outside the door.
“Father, take this thing away! I told you not to kill the snakes! The more you kill, the more it hurts!”
“That beast cursed you! Eat some snake gallbladder, fight poison with poison, it might help!”
“Don’t bring it near me! I’m going to be sick!”
It was Yang Dali and his son.
Chen Henian peeked inside, seeing Yang Zhen’s face for the first time. He was sitting on the floor, clutching his stomach.
He really was fat.
He had a large belly.
Snake pregnancy?
Their son was pregnant with snakes.
The compass needle pointed at Yang Zhen’s belly. The source of the evil must be inside him. Chen Henian didn’t linger, the sight of the pregnant man grotesque and disturbing. He quietly retreated, leaving the house and walking towards the village entrance.
“Where are you going?” Yang Juan called out, stopping her sweeping. “The ground is wet, and there are snakes in the mountains!”
Chen Henian didn’t reply, continuing on his way.
Jiang Wan called out, “My brother is just worried, we’ll be back by noon.”
“Hey—! Don’t wander off!” Yang Juan yelled after them.
Jiang Wan caught up with Chen Henian. He walked steadily, his suitcase in hand. She smiled. “Why are you in such a hurry? Did you discover something?”
“Let’s investigate this village,” he said.
“Of course,” she replied. “But you don’t seem… worried at all.”
“What’s there to be worried about?” he countered.
Jiang Wan, her hands behind her back, smiled. “What they said didn’t sound like a lie.”
“It’s true,” Chen Henian said. “Their son is pregnant.”
“You saw it? That’s strange.” Jiang Wan pondered. “I’ve never heard of snakes impregnating men.”
“Then you…” she glanced at him. “What if…”
“I’ll gouge your eyes out if you look again,” Chen Henian glared at her, and she quickly averted her gaze.
The Yang family lived on the outskirts of the village. As they walked towards the more populated area, the grass was neatly trimmed, the sky overcast, the atmosphere oppressive. Villagers gathered outside their houses, wearing rubber boots and gloves, wicker baskets and nets filled with snakes beside them.
Almost every household had snakes, the villagers expertly skinning and extracting their gallbladders, quicklime sprinkled around their houses.
Quicklime repelled snakes. This was a snake-hunting village.
The villagers, seeing their unfamiliar clothes, either avoided them or whispered among themselves, their words like a strange chant, unintelligible to Chen Henian.
After walking for a while, observing the houses and the surrounding mountains, he said, “There’s something wrong with the feng shui here.”
“What’s wrong?” Jiang Wan asked.
“Too much decline,” he replied. “The decline is recent, the strange occurrences too.”
“Perhaps it’s the snakes’ revenge, for being hunted?” she suggested.
“Do they look afraid of snakes?” Chen Henian asked, his gaze sweeping across the area, then stopping, his finger pointing. “Let’s go there.”
It was a large, densely forested mountain, its slopes steep and treacherous.
As they approached, the houses thinned out. A villager called out to them. “Where are you going?!”
“Don’t go up the mountain! It’s swarming with snakes!”
“Don’t worry,” Jiang Wan replied with a smile. “I’m taking my pregnant brother to find the father of his child. Snakes are exactly what we’re looking for!”
The villager stared at her, and Jiang Wan laughed.
“Do you have no filter?” Chen Henian glared at her.
“I wasn’t lying,” she grinned.
Her smile quickly faded.
The red string on Chen Henian’s finger flashed, and a gust of wind sent her tumbling, her hands catching her just in time. But her hands were covered in mud, the smell clinging to her skin. She grimaced, wiping her hands on a tree trunk.
“Serves you right,” Chen Henian smirked.
“Petty,” she muttered.
They climbed the mountain with ease, their footsteps light and agile.
The mountain was covered in trees, the air cool and still, the yin energy not particularly strong, a gentle breeze rustling the leaves, the overcast sky dimming the sunlight.
Chen Henian sensed a disruption in the feng shui, a break in the natural flow of energy. Most villages were built in valleys, surrounded by mountains, the human presence creating a protective barrier of yang energy, strong enough to suppress even the yin energy of ancestral graves. But something had disturbed the balance here.
Who, and how? There would be clues.
As they neared the summit, Chen Henian smelled blood. He pushed aside a bush, revealing a snake’s carcass, its seven inches precisely targeted.
“Someone’s here,” he said.
Jiang Wan followed cautiously, noticing faint footprints. They heard a rustling sound, someone moving through the undergrowth.
Chen Henian bent down, following the sound. They saw a figure, tall and slender, its posture elegant, a wooden sword strapped to its back.
“Not a local,” Jiang Wan whispered.
As she spoke, the figure stopped, turning to face them. “Who are you? Why are you following me?”
Chen Henian and Jiang Wan stepped out from behind the trees.
“I thought you were a snake spirit,” Jiang Wan said. “Are you a practitioner?”
“Yes,” the man replied.
“Which sect?”
“Southern Daoist, Mount Jielü, 361st generation disciple,” he said, bowing slightly.
Chen Henian hadn’t expected to encounter a Southern Daoist here, one of the orthodox sects.
The man, dressed in a yellow robe, his features handsome and righteous, continued, “If you’re here to hunt snakes, you can leave now.”
“No,” Chen Henian replied.
“This is my job.”
Seeing his firm stance, the man nodded.
“Very well.”
He unsheathed his wooden sword.
He had identified himself. According to tradition, one job couldn’t be handled by two sects. If they refused to leave, they would have to fight.
“I don’t hit women,” the man said, his sword pointing at Chen Henian. “Let’s settle this.”
“Alright,” Chen Henian said, reaching for his suitcase to retrieve a weapon. But his hand paused, his fingers pressing against his stomach, his brow furrowed in confusion.
“What’s wrong?” Jiang Wan asked.
He didn’t answer, his lips pressed together, unable to move, his eyes wide with surprise, a wave of nausea washing over him, the surrounding scents intensifying, the damp earth, the leaves, the blood of the snake, filling his nostrils. He gagged, covering his mouth with his hand, his stomach empty, nothing to vomit.
The man stood there, his sword raised, waiting.
Jiang Wan, understanding his symptoms, burst out laughing, her laughter echoing through the trees.
She turned to the man, her voice playful. “You don’t hit women, but… what about pregnant men?”
