The woman is on her knees with her head down. She raised her hands together over herself. Her clothes are soiled as her wretched soul wanders to this long-abandoned temple. People have forgotten about this God, wishing not even to remember the old days.
- Please hear me, my Goddess. I am left alone from my family. I have no strength at all to continue on this path you have appointed for our village. I am ready to bow my head to the ground. Yes, I have nothing, but I am ready to give whatever you ask!
She bowed her head even lower, touching the ground with her forehead, smelling rot, old fruit from past offerings, and dust. The altar had not been cleaned in a long time. This maiden was the only guest of a certain Goddess.
Hands dropped following, lifting dust into the air, crawling up her nostrils. Exhaling loudly to keep from sneezing. The woman didn't open her eyes until last, hoping for a response to her plea.
It must have been a miracle from on high that came to her. None of this was in vain. And she would get help. The woman raises her head and sees before her only a statue that is covered with mold, dirt, and wax.
The candles have faded in one faint breeze that has lifted, someone's tail. Fear seized the human mind, making me crawl back. Legs did not obey, did not want to lift her body, and her hands grasped the bare ground.
What had sat so long in shadow and darkness appeared before her, finally revealing its true form. Only the human countenance forced all attention to itself, while the scaly tail slowly bounded her body into captivity.
It was as if the snake had hypnotized the wretched man, forcing him to sit motionless on the ground, in a hideously dirty and far from white dress.
When the woman was seized and lifted upward, to the level of the creature's eyes, it grasped the stranger's face, moving closer to itself. In order to get a better look.
- Aren't you the wretched creature who has come here all your life and prayed to me? Are you so desperate and foolish that you can't believe your family is dead and the village has turned its back and declared you a witch?- She laughs, smiling as she sees the salty tears flowing from her eyes straight to her fingers. What's your name, brat?
Claws dig into soft cheeks harder, trying to force a response. But the woman has forgotten all the words, out of fear, swallowing lumps in her throat.
- Lin.... Lin Ying Wei,- the woman managed to say before she let out a groan of pain. The tail squeezed her body to the point of great pain, which caused an even louder sound.
- You are my last faithful follower, So be it till your end. Remember my face, my name. For it will haunt you in your next miserable lives,- This creature was given the name "Viper" because of the kind of snake that could kill with its tail, its claws, and its venomous fangs.
Letting go of Wei's powerful tail, she falls to the ground and doesn't hold back from screaming. Her legs ached more, her mind was completely unwilling to listen to her. The Chinese woman looks into the face of her Goddess. The light of her green eyes blinded and obscured everything in front of her.