To Serve a Serpent

Chapter 2: A Dark Prelude

有些烫人的水从四面八方扑过来，扑进他的鼻孔里，扑进他的耳朵里。敖嘉被呛得想咳嗽，可是嘴才张开，更多的水就呛进他的气管。他想把头抬起来，可是大祭祀那枯瘦的手却比他想象得更有力，真真如铁钳一般，几乎要把他的脖子都掐碎。

→ Scalding water rushed at him from all directions, forcing itself into his nostrils, surging into his ears. Ao Jia was so choked he wanted to cough, but the moment he opened his mouth, even more water flooded into his windpipe. He tried to lift his head, yet the High Priest’s bony hand was far stronger than he had imagined—like an iron clamp, it nearly crushed his throat.

明明痛苦得要死，敖嘉却开始想不相干的事。他想起自己吃虾的经历，那些青色的虾被活生生地放进滚烫的水里，在慢慢变红、慢慢死去的过程中是不是像自己这样难受呢？

→ Even though he was in unbearable agony, Ao Jia found himself thinking about something irrelevant. He remembered the times he ate shrimp. Those greenish shrimp were tossed alive into boiling water—when they slowly turned red, slowly died, did they suffer the same way he was suffering now?

敖嘉的意识开始变得模糊……

→ Ao Jia’s consciousness began to blur…

“唔！！”

→ “Ugh!!”

脖子上的那只手总算松开了。敖嘉本能地从水里挣扎出来，他脱力地赖在池沿上，大口地吸气。他一度以为自己是死定了的。

→ The hand gripping his neck finally loosened. Instinctively, Ao Jia struggled out of the water, collapsing weakly against the edge of the pool, gasping for air. For a moment, he had truly believed he was going to die.

“哼！”大祭祀甩甩自己湿掉的衣袖，冷冷地吩咐两边的侍女：“明夜就是祭祀大典，你们几个给我看好他！现在开始断食，多给他吃除滞散，每两个时辰洗一次澡，衣服和身体都要薰香，不然蛇祖大人会不高兴的！误了巫宗国的国运你们一个两个的都担当不起！”

→ “Hmph!” The High Priest shook the water off his sleeves and ordered coldly to the maids on either side: “Tomorrow night is the Grand Ritual. Watch him carefully! From now on, no food. Give him more Purging Powder. Bathe him once every two hours—his clothes and body must be perfumed, or the Serpent Ancestor will be displeased! If the fortunes of the Wuzong Kingdom are ruined, none of you will bear the consequence!”

每个国家都有自己的守护神，那些守护神可以是正神，可以是邪神，更可以是妖族，百姓虔诚地供奉他们而他们则给予庇佑。从巫宗国随处可见的蛇像就可以看出，巫宗国信奉的是多疑敏感善妒的蛇祖，在这片土地上流传着的关于蛇的传说数也数不清。

→ Every nation had its own guardian deity. The guardians could be righteous gods, evil spirits, or even demon beasts. People worshiped them faithfully, and in return they received protection. The countless serpent statues everywhere in the Wuzong Kingdom made it obvious: they worshiped the suspicious, sensitive, and jealous Serpent Ancestor. Stories about snakes were endless on this land.

敖嘉一向是不相信传说的，在他看来，什么庇佑，什么福泽，都是些虚无的东西，甚至可能根本不存在什么所谓的蛇祖，得利的永远是那些打着神的旗号却暗戳戳地在背后获利的人。比如说，大祭祀。

→ Ao Jia had never believed in such myths. In his eyes, divine blessings and protection were nothing but empty nonsense. The so-called Serpent Ancestor might not even exist. The ones who truly benefited were those who hid behind religion to profit in secret—like the High Priest.

“看什么看！一脸的衰样，死了娘么？！你这样愁眉苦脸的，怎么让蛇祖高兴？”大祭祀突然调转矛头，开始挑起他的刺来。敖嘉这才发现自己已经盯了大祭祀很久了。

→ “What are you staring at?! Look at your miserable face—did your mother die?! How are you supposed to please the Serpent Ancestor looking like that?” The High Priest suddenly turned on him, picking at him with sharp words. Only then did Ao Jia realize he had been staring at the priest for a long time.

敖嘉低下头。巫宗国的皇位一空就是五百年，五百年来，每一个祭品都活不过祭祀之夜，这些人的死，真的是因为他们都没有通过蛇祖的试炼么？还是另有隐情？不管怎么看，皇位空悬的直接得利者都是大祭祀，会不会是大祭祀想把持朝政……

→ Ao Jia lowered his head. The throne of the Wuzong Kingdom had been vacant for five hundred years. For half a millennium, every ceremonial sacrifice died before the ritual night ended. Did they truly die because they failed the Serpent Ancestor’s trial? Or was there another reason? No matter how one looked at it, the one who benefited most from the empty throne was the High Priest. Could he be the one holding on to power…

“哼！”敖嘉正出神，大祭祀突然冷哼一声，“啪”地一甩袖子，湿冷的袖角正好重重地甩在敖嘉的脸上。敖嘉这才后知知觉地回过神，用手捂住自己的脸。

→ “Hmph!” Lost in thought, Ao Jia was startled by a cold snort. With a sharp “snap,” the High Priest flicked his sleeve, and the wet, icy cuff slapped heavily across Ao Jia’s face. He finally regained awareness, clutching his cheek.

“是不是小时候脑子没长好啊？怎么老是走神？我刚刚说的话你都听到了没有？！要不是看在你长得好看的份儿上，我早就物色个乖顺点的祭品了。”大祭祀阴霾的眼光在他的身上游移了一遍，阴阳怪气地道，“最后告诉你一句，好好收收你的性子，想想要怎么取悦蛇祖大人才是。”大祭祀说完这些，最后看敖嘉一眼，掀开帘子走了出去。

→ “Did your brain fail to grow when you were a child? Why are you always drifting off? Did you even hear what I just said?! If you weren’t so good-looking, I would’ve chosen a more obedient sacrifice already.” His gloomy gaze swept over Ao Jia, and he sneered, “One last reminder—get your attitude under control. Think about how you’re going to please the Serpent Ancestor.” With those words, he glanced at Ao Jia once more, lifted the curtain, and walked out.

盯着大祭祀离开的背影，敖嘉恨恨地捂住自己的脸颊，眼里露出一抹坚定的光芒。他才不会就这样认输的，他要想办法离开，一定要离开。他决不容许自己成为别人牟利的工具！

→ Watching the High Priest’s departing silhouette, Ao Jia pressed his cheek, eyes filled with a fierce resolve. He would not submit. He would find a way to escape—he must escape. He would never allow himself to become someone else’s tool for profit!

下定了决心要逃走，但事实显然没有他计划的那么美好。大祭祀的命令被实行得很彻底，两个时辰洗一次澡，难吃得要死的药……之后的敖嘉就像一只待宰的公鸡，毫无反抗能力地被拖进水池里清洗了一次又一次。更让敖嘉觉得愤怒的是，那个除滞散不知是什么古怪的东西，吃了之后他身上一点力气也使不出来，全身软绵绵的。

→ He had resolved to flee, but reality was far less promising. The High Priest’s orders were strictly enforced—bathing once every two hours, and that disgusting medicine… Ao Jia became like a rooster awaiting slaughter, dragged helplessly into the pool again and again. What angered him even more was that strange Purging Powder—after taking it, he couldn’t muster even the slightest strength; his whole body turned limp and powerless.

“叩叩。”门外传来一阵畏畏缩缩的敲门声。敖嘉被一次次地折腾，耐心早就已经消弭殆尽了。也不哪里来的力气，他发着颤把一个杯子狠狠地摔在地上，像只受伤的狮子一样怒吼：“给我滚！”

→ Knock knock. A timid knocking came from the door. After being tormented repeatedly, Ao Jia’s patience had long been worn away. Summoning what little strength he had, he hurled a cup to the ground and roared like a wounded lion, “Get out!”

“对……对不起。”门抖两抖，颤颤地开了，居然是那个他见过的小侍女的。小侍女畏畏缩缩地把头伸进来，脸被他吓得煞白。

→ “I—I’m sorry.” The door shook twice and opened a crack. It turned out to be that young maid he’d seen before. She timidly poked her head inside, her face pale with fright.

发现是她，敖嘉把火气往下压了压，无力地瘫回床上，闷声道：“你来做什么？”

→ Seeing who it was, Ao Jia forced his temper down and collapsed weakly back onto the bed. He muttered, “What do you want?”

“我……我来给你这个。”小侍女向两边看看，见没有人注意，悄悄上前两步，把一把小银刀塞在他手里。

→ “I…I came to give you this.” The maid looked around to make sure no one was watching, then quietly stepped forward and slipped a small silver knife into his hand.

敖嘉掂掂自己手里的小银刀，有些好笑，这么一把小银刀可以做什么？

→ Ao Jia weighed the tiny knife in his palm, slightly amused. What could such a small blade possibly do?

小侍女没有在意他不屑的表情，而是很认真地跟他说：“明天晚上，他们会把你绑在祭台上，行完祭祀之礼之后，他们不会留下任何人看着你的，你可以用这个刀解开绳子，趁那个时候逃走。”

→ The maid ignored his scornful look and said earnestly, “Tomorrow night, they will tie you to the altar. After the ritual is performed, they won’t leave anyone to watch you. You can use this knife to cut the ropes and escape at that moment.”

“他们不会留下任何看守？”敖嘉有些意外。

→ “They won’t leave any guards?” Ao Jia asked in surprise.

小侍女郑重地点点头，“我听奶奶说过祭祀的事。虽然有些不合常理，但往年都没有留看守，实实在在地没有留看守。”

→ The maid nodded solemnly. “My grandmother told me about the rituals. It sounds strange, but every year, no guards are left. Truly—no one stays behind.”

敖嘉默默地把银刀攥在手里，这个事更加肯定了他的想法，根本没有什么蛇祖，一切都是大祭祀搞出来的障眼法，现在他更有理由相信，是大祭祀杀死了这些可能成为国王的祭品们，还对外宣称他们没有被蛇祖选中，一切都是为了自己可以长久地把持朝政。

→ Ao Jia clenched the knife silently. This only confirmed his belief—there was no Serpent Ancestor. Everything was the High Priest’s deception. Now he was even more certain: the High Priest himself had killed all the potential kings, then claimed they were not chosen by the Serpent Ancestor—all so he could rule indefinitely.

敖嘉看着自己的手里的刀。也许自己这次可以“解开”巫宗国的百年之秘呢？对，他要活着，他不但要活着，还要揭露出祭祀的真面目，让百姓们看看，这个德高望重的大祭祀私下里到底是什么嘴脸。

→ Ao Jia stared at the knife in his hand. Maybe this time, he could “cut open” the century-old secret of the Wuzong Kingdom. Yes—he would live. Not only survive, but expose the truth of the ritual, and let the people see what kind of face their respected High Priest really hid beneath his mask.

这么下定决心之后，似乎一切都变得容易起来了。敖嘉对清洗之类的事前所未有地配合，他在等待，等待祭祀的开始，等待战斗的开始。

→ After making that decision, everything suddenly felt easier. Ao Jia cooperated with the baths and preparations like never before. He waited—waited for the ritual to begin, waited for the battle to start.

敖嘉不知道，有些事并不是他不相信就并不存在的。他正在满心期待的事，一开始就是一个错误，最后必定会化成一个让他痛不欲生、吞也吞不下的苦果。

→ Ao Jia did not know that some things do not cease to exist simply because he doesn’t believe in them. What he was eagerly anticipating had been a mistake from the very beginning—one that would eventually turn into an unbearable, unspittable bitterness.

那个蛇窟里，的确有些不寻常的东西。

→ Inside that serpent pit, there truly was something unusual.