Chapter Nine: Hybrid Secrets in the Heart of the Forest

  After three hours, I returned to the cave where I live. The little turtle was in front of me, playing innocently in the water pools I had dug inside the cave. I watched her silently, my mind occupied with something else… the snake. I did not tell him about it, nor will I soon, for my trust in him remains nonexistent. The wise men’s words have echoed in my mind since childhood: “Never trust a snake.”

  Still, I cannot ignore an idea stuck in my head: can a snake give birth to a child from a turtle? I do not know how that happened, for the biological difference between them is obvious, even striking. It seemed illogical to the point that my mind could not comprehend it.

  But, in the end, I will confront him. I will ask him, and I will listen to his answer. Only then will I judge: was he truthful… or a liar? Then, I will decide what I will do with him.

  A week passed.

  I think the time has come to visit the snake this week. But before I left the cave, I decided to take some “advanced security measures.” First, I blocked the entrance with wood and stones, then I proudly placed the wooden door I had made (which barely holds against a breeze), and after that, I artistically piled stones on top of it—at least from my point of view. Finally, I added my finishing touch: leaves. That way, if someone passes by, they’ll think the entrance is just a natural pile… or a very bad trap.

  I moved through the forest for an hour, stumbling over roots and wrestling with branches. Finally, I arrived at the place where the snake lives.

  Hello, lazy snake!” I said, raising an eyebrow defiantly. How are you? Can you move at last? Or are you still on a yearly vacation? By the way… have you started looking for your little daughter you had with the turtle? Or are you still waiting for her to send you a paper letter?

  The snake said: My little dragon friend, why don’t you believe that the turtle was my wife and that she gave birth to a beautiful daughter? What should I do to make you believe me, my little friend?

  Well, what if I told you that I am not from the dragon family, but, honestly and sincerely… I am a human in a dragon’s skin. Would you believe that?

  The snake said: My little friend, how beautiful you are! If you weren’t standing before me with your scales, horns, claws, legs, teeth, wings, and your halo that screams you are a little red dragon… I would believe you. But, unfortunately… what I see before me is a great and majestic red dragon.

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  Okay, snake, forget that I am a handsome red dragon, and consider me a green dragon, like lettuce or a mint leaf. Just change my color in your mind from red to green, so you don’t feel any confusion while talking to me.

  But let’s leave colors aside for now… you still haven’t answered me: how, for heaven’s sake, did you have a child with a turtle? You’re a snake and she’s a turtle! Were you both at some mixed reptile club or what?

  The snake said: Ah, it seems you don’t know anything about this topic. And why would I expect you to know? You’re still young, and it doesn’t seem that your dragons teach you the basics of “cross-species reproduction” at this age.

  Oh, okay then, old philosopher snake… what are you trying to say now?

  The snake said: Be patient, my little friend, I will explain to you… just don’t interrupt me every five seconds.

  I’m sitting, attentive, and almost taking notes… just talk, and don’t dodge the question.

  The snake said: Honestly… it wasn’t complicated, quite the opposite, it was easier than you imagine.

  Really? So either you’re a magician, or you’re an excellent liar, snake!

  Honestly, I’m tired of this mysterious dialogue and the strange eggs. I’m going now, and I won’t waste my time looking for you again… unless I miss your weird jokes!

  The snake said: Well, my dear friend, wait a moment, I will tell you now. Listen to me carefully.

  In fact, if you reach my level in spiritual cultivation, you will be able to change your form into a human shape. That is how I was able to marry the turtle. That is the whole matter.

  Okay, I understand that, but you said your daughter was born in her beast form, that is, the shape of a turtle.

  Isn’t she supposed to be born first in your human form, then the hybrid species inside her awakened?

  The snake said: Well, what was I expecting from a child? Listen carefully, you are right and at the same time wrong as well.

  The truth is that if the mother remains in beast form and does not transform into a human form during pregnancy, then the hybrid child is born in the same form as the mother.

  I will simplify the matter further for you to understand it better. Take me as an example: I am a snake, and my wife is a turtle. According to your understanding, the child should be in human form because we married in our human forms, right?

  Yes, you are right, that is what should happen.

  The snake said: Well, my friend, you are right about that, but after the turtle married me and learned about her pregnancy, she remained in her beast form and did not transform into her human form.

  Then she laid one egg, and when it hatched, a beautiful little turtle came out of it.

  It is not a snake, nor is it in its human form.

  However, she carries the lineage of my blood, but it is currently inactive, though she can activate it when she reaches a certain level of power.

  At that point, she can benefit from all her bloodlines, that is, the snake bloodline that I belong to and the turtle bloodline that her mother belongs to. Is the matter clear to you now?

  Yes, thank you, cunning snake. Many things have become clear to me.

  After that, the old snake and I continued our conversation. He told me many things I didn’t know existed in the forest.

  Then I bid him farewell and told him I would visit him soon, then I returned to the cave.

  As soon as I arrived at the cave where I live, a surprise occurred.

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  (Number of words in this chapter: 1,098 words)

  Best regards,

  [Ss1000101]

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