An Jiuyue's face turned green. She bolted out of the space immediately and went to check on the two children. She almost scared herself to death when she took a look.
"Mother, a snake, a snake! There's a snake!"
The moment Rong'er and Zheng'er woke up, they saw a snake coiling around their bed. Terrified, they wrapped the blanket around them tightly and curled up in a corner on the bed.
"Don't be afraid, Mother is here."
Even An Jiuyue gulped secretly when she saw the huge snake that was as thick as her calf.
It was sticking out its tongue and half of its body was still hanging on the window ledge. She cursed herself internally. I was too careless. How could I not shut the window when sleeping at night?
However, she recalled that she had closed the window properly because it was raining. If they were left open, the rain would be blown indoors.
Did the snake break the window?
But it was not the time to worry about that. She had to think of a way to deal with this snake that had barged into her house and frightened her children.
She could not possibly wait for it to leave on its own. Since it was capable of barging in, it must be here to eat meat. Of course, she also could not let this big chunk of meat escape without killing it to eat.
She secretly retrieved the machete from her space and held it in her hand tightly.
It was still early spring and the snake wouldn't have left its hibernation pit unless it was disturbed. Its pit must have been flooded from the rain.
The snake was also moving rather slowly because the weather was cold.
Moreover, it was not moving towards the children, but towards the stove where the charcoal was burning. It was warmer there and the snake was drawn to its warmth.
At that thought, she stayed put and stretched out her hand to signal the two little ones to keep quiet. She watched as the snake slithered over to the stove and leaned its head closer to the stove. Then, it laid unmoving on the ground.
An Jiuyue remained silent.
What a lazy snake! It's already satisfied with warming its head and doesn't care that half of its body is still hanging on the window and drenched in the rain.
"Mother!"
Zheng'er and Rong'er looked at the snake in fear before looking at their mother.
"Shh!"
An Jiuyue reached out and gestured for him to keep quiet.
"The snake is still in hibernation. It was awakened by the rain. Let's wait for it to fall asleep before we get it out. Go to sleep first, I am here. Don't be afraid. I will protect you."
She lowered her voice and spoke to the two little ones.
The two little ones were frightened today. She felt that it was better to prevent them from witnessing her killing the snake later.
Therefore, although the snake was sleeping next to the stove, she secretly retrieved a calming incense from her space and threw it into the charcoal stove.
Soon, the two children fell into a slumber. Even the snake felt extra sleepy.
It seemed like the calming incense was also effective on snakes.
After they fell asleep, An Jiuyue got off the bed quietly and moved towards the snake. She tightened her grip on the machete in her right hand again as she gently gestured with her left palm above the snake's head.
This snake was too big. She couldn't possibly strike there.
Otherwise, not only would snake blood spatter all over the house but the entire treehouse would also be overturned.