He and It Chapter 141: The Serpent of Pharisee (7)

Chapter 141: The Serpent of Pharisee (7)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

 

The four-armed giants shook with horror.

They had dwelt with Echidna a long time in the darkness of the underground palace, and like all the remaining children of Gaia, they bore the fate of banishment, and grew more and more furious, and more and more frenzied. The serpent demon’s angry blows could raise an earthquake in a country, and his shrill roars would rouse even the God of Sleep ¹ from his blanket in panic.

But those fierce words and gestures, the proud and haughty yells, were far less dangerous than his soft hissing. Now Echidna hid in the darkness of the night, with writhing serpents sprouting from every hair, and every word he uttered made the ears of the creatures who heard them rot and bleed.

The four-armed giant covered his ears firmly with two of his arms, and retreated in panic, for the fury of the serpent demons had reached him, and the cold blood was burning sharply in his body. He fled as far as he could, before he dared to rest and breathe a sigh of relief.

“Brother!” The rest of the giants gathered around. “Why did you take the bronze bull with you, then bring it back? Where is the Master?” 

The four-armed giant said urgently, “You quickly go to collect those human sacrifices, and tell them to line up one by one to enter the gate of the palace! Echidna, for some reason, refused to eat the bronze ox. If it continues like this and he can’t control his vicious temper, when he emerges from his magic palace, he will split us like lambs to be slaughtered, suck our internal organs, and chew our bones and bone marrow!” 

The giants shivered with fear at the prospect of what he told them, and gasped like thunder.

Of the giants who had been guarding the crowd before, one was the wisest of them all. He was a good thinker, an eloquent speaker, and was called Polluxaeus. This giant, who prided himself on being different, and as wise as if he had been struck by Athena’s shield, ² had been set upon by the lowly human, and henceforth had to provide the sacrifices with a regular supply of food and water. And so he hated the man who had come forward, the little man he could have killed with a single finger.

With a twinkle in his eye, Polluxaeus came up with what he thought was a good plan.

“Alas, brothers!” he cried in a low voice. “I have a good man who may please the demon serpent. Hear me, for of the human sacrifices that have come this time, there is one who is especially ingenious. Who, as you know, with one glance discovered the secret of the bronze bulls, and knows how to scrub the beasts without burning his hands! This person must not be retained.” 

The four-armed giants nodded their heads repeatedly, and carefully followed his words. “Very true, from our previous experiences, if such a person were to stay in the underground palace, he will surely cause a great deal of trouble in the future. Since he knows how to scrub the bronze oxen, then he must know how to scrub the scales of the viper, right? Polluxaeus, take the whip, and bring him here first!” 

Meanwhile, Xie Ning, who was far away in the pasture, didn’t know that he had gotten himself into trouble.

As the giants came and went and caused panic, he sat with his people in a cool place. While the others discussed what they knew, Xie Ning practiced using his hearing.

“From what I know, in the legend, Echidna was the consort of the great beast, Typhon. She gave birth to many sinful sons and daughters, but most of them were killed by Herakles.” One of the older princes said. Xie Ning didn’t know how old he was, but they were all quite mature.

Another added, “Ah, Typhon, and the great battle of long ago. The mighty Zeus struck him down from the sky with thunderbolts, and he melted the earth with fire, so Zeus threw him down to Tartarus again…” 

“But,” someone else said hesitantly. “Echidna doesn’t look much like the evil Typhon who was his compatriot…” 

Xie Ning looked up sharply. The familiar names suddenly brought back memories.

After a moment’s thought, he picked up a piece of ore in his hand, and slowly scratched a network of relationships on the ground while thinking and drawing.

Yes, Typhon! According to the description in the “Divine Scripture” ³, Earth Mother Gaia and the Abyssal Tartarus ⁴  were in love with each other, and their son was Typhon. Typhon’s companion was Echidna of Arima, who was half fair nymph, half hideous serpent, with whom he sired many hideous and evil monsters that were later killed one by one by demigod heroes.

As the last of Gaia’s children, Typhon was young, but still in the second generation of the original gods. Echidna, on the other hand…Well, even though she started out as a mere nymph – a substandard, godless female immortal ⁵ – for that reason, wasn’t she also among the Primordial Gods? Because she could have called Gaia her mother.

I see…No wonder! No wonder Echidna was so much more powerful than the Minotaur!

In terms of seniority, this half-human half-snake, god-like and devil-like legendary creature was even older than the Chief of the Gods, Zeus, but the barbaric ancient deities weren’t accepted by the newer, more open and civilized world. In a time when the Titans were extinct and the Mother of the Earth was silent, the new Gods controlled the sacred mountain of Olympus. The patriarchal gods, who came later, expelled and replaced the matriarchal gods. ⁶

At that point, Xie Ning’s brow furrowed.

He wondered what had gone wrong with the mythological narrative. From what he had seen with his own eyes, Echidna was unmistakably male, maybe a bit androgynous, but not at all the image of some nymph.

As he pondered that, he heard rumbling footsteps in the distance, then the giants came striding down the corridor again as they clutched the viper whips at their waists.

Xie Ning hastily threw away the ore, and with a careless wave of his hand, smudged the web of relations.

“You!” He heard the giant shout gruffly. “Little man! Come with us!” 

Xie Ning’s heartbeat stuttered.

“It’s you! That kid over there!” As a confirmation, the giant continued to point his thick, knobby finger in Xie Ning’s direction. “What are you waiting for? Come here!” 

For a moment, the crowd was in a panic, each in their own way.

“They’re going to take revenge!” someone cried. “Since this young man is wise and courageous, they are afraid of what he will do in the future. They are jealous of him and want to take revenge on him!” 

Another stood up, and cried out, “Do not go, my son! For if you go with them, your life is in the hands of death. Cherish thy precious life, and I will give in thy stead five slaves who are fluent in speech, willing to work hard, of strong constitution, and who have a better chance of surviving than thou. Do not go, just let us deal with them!” 

Xie Ning reluctantly stood up. His legs and feet were trembling and weak. He was just barely holding it together so that no one could see. 

As the saying went, “You might hide from the first day of the month, but you can’t hide from the fifteenth day of the month. Don’t be afraid of thieves stealing, but be afraid of thieves thinking about you.” Forget the question of whether or not I could live with a few people dying for my sake, how many slaves do you have, that you can replace me for the rest of my life? 

He was grateful for the kindness of these ancients, but his education and his conscience wouldn’t allow him to agree to the exchange.

Revenge came so quickly. Was this the danger of being outgunned? When he thought of the first man to die, Xie Ning’s heart was in turmoil. What will happen to me, what will they do to me? 

His face was white. He nodded his head toward the crowd with a hard to manage calmness, as he stopped them from offering their servants.

“Stay. I’ll go,” he whispered. “It’s all right.” 

He walked slowly up to the giant, and preemptively said, “I. Want to see. Echidna!” 

Whether they were going to beat him to death, or do something else, Xie Ning had made up his mind that asking to see the owner of the palace first would always catch the giants off guard and make them hesitate.

This was like a loan. With the first missed payment there is the possibility of survival. In exchange for safety in the moment – and for the chance to really see Echidna – What he would do after that, he would have to figure out later. 

The giants actually stopped in amazement for a moment. Still, their answer was, “Don’t be smart, boy. You’ll see him soon enough.” 

Huh? 

Xie Ning was bewildered, but before he could think of what that meant, the giant had already swung his whip impatiently, and dozens of pit vipers swept down on him so violently that Xie Ning almost vomited blood. It felt as if all his bones were going to be broken by the whip.

The giant coiled Xie Ning in the whip, turned his head and left, then dragged him up from the ground. Xie Ning’s eyesight went black, and his throat overflowed with fishy sweetness. The continuous and deadly hissing sound in his ears was definitely not a good thing. He was lucky that Palaemon had given him a cloak embroidered with gold threads before he left. He wrapped the upper half of his body in the sturdy cloak, so that he wouldn’t get bitten by the hovering snake head. 

After an unknown period of time, Xie Ning, who was being dragged around by the giant, and whose body was cushioned against the snake coiled around him, suddenly lurched heavily, as the sound of the wind in his ears died down.

The most dangerous dragging game in the world had finally stopped.

He fell to the ground in a heap, dazed and confused. Artists were indeed timeless. At this moment, Xie Ning completely understood what Shi Nai-an’s words, “It was as if I had done a whole hall of water and land, with chimes, cymbals, and gongs all ringing in my ears,” [/efn_note] Chinese writer (d. 1372), one of the four great classics, Shuihu zhuan/ Water Margin  is attributed to him. [/efn_note] really felt like. His stomach and esophagus were turned upside down, and he wanted to vomit but he couldn’t.

If he did vomit, he really didn’t know whether the vomit would be food waste or blood.

“Is that him?” 

In a haze, Xie Ning heard a sonorous voice coming from a distant high place.

He could barely lift his head. At the junction of flames and shadows, he saw a giant statue he had never seen before. This giant was taller and more majestic than any of his companions, with four arms lined up on either side, adding a metaphysical aura to his overall appearance.

“Yes, my brother, it is this cunning little man,” the giant who had captured him and brought him there said. “Let him serve the Master.” 

The four-armed giant stared in disgruntlement at the tiny little man, and asked skeptically, “What can such a weakling do? Someone who is ten times more clumsy than a gnat, ten times less clever than a bird, and too thin to fit in his teeth? What can he do? In my opinion, it is better not to expect too much from him, but to go and get twenty more.” 

He made the command, but his brother, determined to avenge his own humiliation, urged instead, “By the love of the Goddess of Fortune ⁷, men can do more than even the gods they worship. Did not an oracle descend from heaven when the merciful Earth Mother avenged her former divine son, and warn Mount Olympus that only by involving mortals in the war between the gods and the Titans that the gods could actually kill the Titans? The threat posed by mankind is great, even though they are weak!” ⁸

Polluxaeus lobbied hard, counting on those words to stir up a new wave of hatred against mankind among his brothers.

Thus, he succeeded. The four-armed giant looked grimly and angrily at the human on the ground. He nodded and bellowed, “Arise, man! Since you are complacent with your wisdom as a human and have acquired the skill of how to scrub a bronze ox, then go and continue to serve our Master. Scrub his body and tail, and make him happy!” 

Xie Ning really wanted to vomit blood.

So, their intention was to bring me here to see Echidna? And I have to rub Echidna’s tail? If you really want me to die, you can just say it. Why do you have to be so convoluted? 

The four-armed giant pushed the heavy door of the palace open as far as he could, which was still wide enough for two ordinary people to enter and exit side by side.

Then, he turned around, ready to catch Xie Ning with his free hand and throw him in.

“… Wait!” Xie Ning gasped and shouted. “I demand! I demand!” 

The four-armed giant stopped his movement, suspicious, and asked, “What do you demand?” 

“Tools,” Xie Ning struggled to say. “I demand, scrub, tools.” 

The four-armed giant could not help but laugh inwardly, as he mocked the arrogant little man.

Polluxaeus boasted that the little man was clever, but he would assert that he wasn’t clever, but frighteningly stupid. This was to be your death, and yet you ask for a scrubber’s tool! Even Hermes, when he came, did not boast that he could escape Echidna’s iron arm with his winged shoes of gold. and even Hera’s Argus Panoptes, when he was alive, could not venture near the center of the serpent’s palace without Athena’s aid. [/efn_note] Hermes, the Messenger God, protector of travelers, heralds, thieves, and orators. He wore golden winged sandals that allowed him to fly. Hera was the Queen of the Gods. Argus Panoptes “the all seeing” hundred-eyed Giant was her servant – eventually killed by Hermes [/efn_note]

It was as a kind of malicious joke, that he really brought Xie Ning the scrubbing utensils, an exquisite golden pail filled with precious balm, and a sponge made of wool, soft as a cloud, fine as a mist, with the delicate luster of buttermilk.

“Go!” The giant laughed heartily, and just like that, he shoved Xie Ning through the door of the palace, together with the golden bucket.

The moment the door closed, Xie Ning’s heart shuddered as it was on the verge of stopping entirely.

Even if ten bronze oxen were driven to open the door, it would still be difficult to move it. That meant that he could either die there, or be pardoned by Echidna and walk out of the place with honor. It was hard to see any other choice between the two paths.

He walked slowly forward. The golden bucket only reached the giant’s calf, but was a head taller than Xie Ning. He hid behind the bucket, and heard the deepest voice. It spread like a flood of boiling water, and shook the whole palace.

Xie Ning looked cautiously around at the exaggerated size of the place.

The walls of the palace were constructed of copper, but the doorposts, dome, and the reliefs on the walls were all made of gold and silver. On both sides of the path stood a variety of gold sculptures, mostly fierce tigers, leopards, lions and other beasts. They were so vivid that it seemed that if you blew a breath, you could wake up their wagging head and tail. The floor was covered with a rich purple carpet, and in the wide shadows behind the pillars, there were trees made of glass, covered in pomegranates, figs, olives, and apples. They had emerald leaves and ruby fruits, and many serpentine-haired maidens made of silver displayed under the trees, weaving, embroidering, and picking the fruits…They were all in their element.

Above the dome was a great serpent encircling the whole temple, with many smaller serpents, each holding a lamp in their mouth. The firelight from above shone on all the extravagant furnishings and lavish treasures, but somehow it made people feel cold, as if every diamond’s facet radiated a poisonous light, and every gram of gold and silver were drenched in blood and screams.

Xie Ning held the wool sponge under his armpit and looked around. He spotted a gold pot thrown in a corner, so he ran over to get it, filled it with balm, and carried it in his hand.

I’m here. Hiding until I die is still hiding. If Echidna finds out, that’s an even bigger certainty of death, maybe an even more miserable one, so I might as well take the initiative…

Xie Ning took a deep breath. His mind filled with the voice of the professor for his oil painting class. The professor always said that he was the most afraid that students wouldn’t dare to paint. If they were bold enough to paint, they could scratch things out if they were wrong, but if they didn’t dare to paint, they wouldn’t even have the chance to make a mistake, then how could they make progress? 

Those words determined many of his decisions afterward, since he was still young and there was always plenty of time for trial and error, but…but…At this point, did he still have very many chances left to make mistakes? 

Xie Ning smiled bitterly. He touched the scar on his head, took one step, and then another, as he slowly walked forwards.

Along the way, my luck has always been up and down, he thought. Since it’s down now, this should be the time for it to rise, right? 

The further he went, the more strange sounds he heard. Sometimes it was like the roar of a lion, sometimes like a howling wind echoing through valleys. Sometimes it was like the cawing of a strange and unpleasant old crow, but more often than not, it was the hissing of unknown numbers of snakes, which even the gods couldn’t pick apart, and which, as if intertwined with copper wires, wove an endless stream of ancient, venomous incantations.

It was in this way that Echidna raged like a hurricane. He cursed the Gods, he cursed all the spirits, and in the deep, dark and chaotic Arima, he almost went mad in his long exile. He flowed with all the venom and horrors of the world, and that bitterness, which then brewed without end in his death-like solitude, made him burn with torment all the time.

“Do you think that I shall rest in peace when you have driven me hither, seduced me, teased me, made me wail with discontent, and done such base deeds!” The Serpent roared to the heavens. Clouds of resentment tangled themselves in the skies above Cilicia, dripping with venomous saliva. His fangs, sharpened by millennia of hatred, were even sharper than the tip of Ares spear, the God of War. ⁹

“Olympus! You may dare not face me any longer, but one day I will die with rage, and a new Echidna will instantly be able to birth a demonic heir, and at that moment we will surely put an end to your dominion, Zeus, you wait!” 

At such blasphemous words, the heavens thundered in anger, and the God of Sleep was summoned from the underworld to the palace of Arima.

He hid himself in the shadows, and when the maddened serpent demon was not aware of him, he hastened to cover his body with his sleeping cloak. After that, He didn’t dare to stay too long for fear that the flowing poison of the primordial god might corrode his divine power, so when he saw Echidna suddenly fall asleep, the Sleeping God drew away silently, and in his haste, he couldn’t help but overlook the tiny human in the distance.

To Xie Ning’s ears, one second, Echidna was roaring fiercely, and the next second, there was no sound.

Xie Ning, “?” 

He couldn’t hold back his curiosity, and tried to accelerate his speed, as he jogged along.

After he passed through a second palace gate, he saw messy ruins on the ground, and a snake-tailed demon collapsed on its back in the middle of it all, snoring regularly.

Obviously, he was sleeping.

Xie Ning, “??” 

What was the matter? Did he have some serious brain problems? Was he having a seizure? 

However, he had to say, the current situation was the best for him. Luck had really favored Xie Ning, since he didn’t have to face an awake and angry Echidna.

Haha! Thank goodness!

Xie Ning held his breath as he gingerly climbed over a broken wall to Echidna’s side.

The demonic creature, though not of direct Gaia lineage, was several times larger than normal. The snake’s tail was sinuous and coiled. Xie Ning estimated the length to be no less than eight meters, and after stuffing him in the tail, three more people could be added to it, stacked up inside.

It was…It was so beautiful.

Xie Ning squatted next to him. After having witnessed the childish behavior of the snake demon, his psychological fear of Echidna was greatly reduced, and he actually dared to boldly stretch out a finger and carefully poke the other side’s snake scales.

Wow, so hard.

Xie Ning poked and prodded, but Echidna never woke up. He just exhaled cold air. His robust chest didn’t rise and fall, and the golden tattoos and gorgeous jewels on it seemed frozen in time.

… Xie Ning frowned, and despite the pain from his injuries, he stretched out his neck and concentrated on the tattoo patterns. After a moment of silent memorization, he went on to observe the order and structure of the scales.

Gradually, all the fear in his heart receded like a tide. Xie Ning’s mouth recited the words, and at the same time his eyes shone with a bright light. He gazed at the creature with joy, like a scholar who discovered a lost collection of books, tried to recite the entire library from memory alone.

If only he could get his hands on him. After all, he had a musculature he’d never seen before, a luster of scales he’d never seen before…what a treasure. What a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Xie Ning suddenly paused.

He lowered his head thoughtfully and looked at the wool sponge and gold pot in his hands.

–Wait, isn’t that what I’m here for? 

The soft wool soaked up the balm, which overpowered the heavy miasma of poison in the air. Xie Ning surreptitiously wiped the hard, tightly packed scales, and concentrated on the luster of the balm as it soaked in.

He rubbed, then stopped and sighed, so happy that he couldn’t help but blurt out, “It’s so pretty…” 

No. Xie Ning suddenly came back to his senses, and hurriedly shut his mouth.

Where do you get off talking so much? Just focus on the job. Why do you have to make noise? What if the other party hears you? 

Xie Ning reprimanded himself and confessed to Echidna in his heart.

Since I’m painting you, you’re now my model, but I’m so poor, I can’t pay you, so I’ll just wipe your tail for you…I’ll make it clean and sweet-smelling, so please don’t mind the pay.

He happily wiped the tail, not realizing that while Echidna was floating in the Sleeping God’s trap, he still had a vague sense of what was happening in the outside world.

At first, the snake demon was lost in a boundless black dream world. He realized that this was a trick by the Sleeping God, and became even more furious, wanting to go all the way up Mount Olympus, and tear all the Gods to pieces in order to alleviate the poison of hatred in his heart.

However, he suddenly felt like there was a small thing beside him, that was poking his scales one by one.

Kill you! Echidna hissed in his dream, having suddenly found an outlet for his anger. Kill you! I will kill you, you lowly, lowly, incompetent…!

A sweet fragrance swelled and dispersed in the air, then something soft gently covered his cold scales.

…Mmmm. ~Mmmm~

Mmm…So warm.

In a trance, the wool was dipped in the balm, then gently rubbed over his tail. With each stroke, his muscles spasmed with such warmth that Echidna hissed in surprise. He very much wanted to roll into a ball and hold his tail. He tried to suppress the uncontrolled throbbing, but it was no use. His insides were cramping, and his eyeballs were scurrying wildly under his eyelids.

He was confused! Very overwhelmed, and very…confused.

The wool, and the hands that grasped it, occasionally touched him with the tips of those delicate little fingers, and burned his soul.

The serpent demon shivered uneasily, and would have opened his eyes, but he couldn’t. His sharp claws didn’t move, and his tail was as heavy as Mount Alta, ¹⁰ for it was the God of Sleep’s will that he should not awaken clearly till his anger had subsided in sleep.

How weak he felt from that touch. He tried to make a sound, but it was a confused, muttering murmur. His tongue seemed to be either tied in three or four knots, or completely limp between his lips. Echidna was already breathing heavily. His chest rumbled, and he couldn’t get rid of the sensation that his soul was being tampered with.

It was at that moment, that fateful moment, that the serpent-demon heard that voice again, close at hand.

“It’s beautiful…” the man said, in a voice as small as a grape seed, but in Echidna’s ears, as loud as a thunderbolt.

That was you? That was you! the demon hissed in horror, but his thoughts melted away at the compliment. His heavy body remained where it was, and his soul floated upward, as it wandered drunkenly among the clouds, where he whimpered and moaned, while his reason dissolved, and in those misty, relaxing clouds Echidna became a puddle that flowed softly away.

He was really asleep.

.

The work was done!

Xie Ning was so tired. One pot of balm wasn’t enough, so he ran back to fill it twice more before he was finished wiping the tail. As soon as he put his hands down he couldn’t stand it. He was sleepy and tired, and just wanted to find a place to rest.

He dragged his feet, mercilessly left the big fragrant snake behind, and lay down in the bushes by the entrance of the palace. As soon as he closed his eyes, he fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Xie Ning was awakened by the sound of the door opening.

Polluxaeus had bypassed his brother and pushed open the gate of the palace without authorization. His intention was to observe the little man’s manner of death, but he never expected that when he poked his head in, the little man was actually still alive and had just woken up.

“You!” The giant pressed his whip in surprise, then lowered his voice. “You shameless mortal! How dare you cheat, ignore your duty, and hide here? Now, I will definitely use my whip to beat you to death!” 

Xie Ning was shocked, and hurriedly got up. He waved the wool, and defended himself, “I’ve finished!” 

Polluxaeus was skeptical and said, “Not only are you lazy, but you are also a liar with a bad mouth. How dare you claim to have approached the Master with that weak mortal body of yours?” 

Xie Ning really couldn’t suppress his anger as he laughed in his heart.

Ha! You’ve been picking on me all day long, haven’t you? I’ll let you find out yourself, and you find it well!

He stood up and said to the giant with manufactured fear, “Echidna sleeping. He is happy, but, not knowing, I.” 

Polluxaeus stared at him with wide eyes, then said incredulously, “How can the Master be asleep and in a happy mood? How is it that thou, a mortal, are so fortunate?” 

“My credit, to you,” Xie Ning made a congratulatory gesture to the other person. “Spare me! Don’t kill me!” 

Now, Polluxaeus was really moved.

Of all the giants, not even their elder brother had been given the honor of serving the serpent-demon in close proximity. If he took the smaller man’s place of honor, how high would his position here rise!

When he saw the way that the other slowly loosened his grip on the whip, Xie Ning knew that the idiot must have had the wrong idea. He hurriedly threw down the balm-soaked wool, limped out of the gap in the hard-to-open gate, and fled without looking back.

Aha. Echidna might be asleep, but whether he is happy or not, I don’t know. Anyway, how could such a powerful and violent primitive demon tolerate his subordinates doing something while he was asleep? I’ll let you have that merit. Don’t be polite.

When he saw the cowardly human run away, Polluxaeus was very satisfied. He picked up the wool on the floor and walked quickly into the depths of the palace towards Echidna, who was slowly opening his eyes.

He was astonished, for the inner room was filled with the odor of balm. The human really had wiped the tail of the serpent demon.

At the sight of the respectful Polluxaeus, the tenderness on Echidna’s brow disappeared, and he leapt up, his tail swirling and his black hair dancing as he glared fiercely at the giant.

“Why are you standing here in the way?!” he asked angrily. “You thieving fool, where are the men who were here last night?” 

Polluxaeus cried out, but he defended himself, “Great Master, I was the one who served you last night, as humbly as a lamb serves a lion.” 

“Hmph.” Echidna sneered. When he saw the wool in the giant’s hand, he became even more furious, and felt that the giant had profaned something. He said in a low voice, “Put the fleece on the ground, son of Atlas.” ¹¹

Polluxaeus did as he was told, but he did not know what misery awaited him.

As soon as he had laid down the wool, Echidna, not wishing to stain the even and soft balm on his body with blood, gave orders to his multitude of gigantic serpents to entangle themselves around the giant’s body, strangle his limbs, and bite him to death.