Little sister was well-behaved for a few days, but then started misbehaving again.

The weather got cold, and my dad and I worked overtime every day to cut pig grass.

When night came, I would fall into a deep sleep, leaving the cold and wind behind.

It was an especially cold night. I had finally fallen asleep when I was suddenly awakened by a scream.

Someone pressed against me, their warm body startling me.

I opened my eyes and saw my tearful little sister looking at me, pointing and shouting.

"Snake! There's a snake!"

I looked towards the foot of the bed, where an uninvited guest was raising its head high, its sharp eyes fixed on me and my little sister.

It looked ready to attack at any moment.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

My sister started screaming again, and I felt like she was going to deafen me.

"Li Panmei! Go catch it! Grab it!"

As she spoke, my sister pushed me forward.

Caught off guard, I stumbled forward, narrowly avoiding the snake's head.

My actions angered the snake, and it hissed, swiftly lunging at me.

It seemed determined to bite me to death.

Startled, my hand accidentally touched something under the bed, and instinctively, I grasped it and swung it at the snake.

The snake couldn't dodge in time and was split in half by my strike, blood splattering everywhere.

Only then did I realize that there was an axe under the bed.

The snake, now split in two, twitched a few times on the ground before losing its breath.

I remembered a long time ago when my sister and mother took me out, an unprecedented event.

That day, she held my hand obediently and called me "brother".

I thought my sister had finally accepted me.

But later, when it got dark, my sister led me deep into the woods and secretly ran away with our mother.

I was left alone in the forest, unable to find my way, so I ran around aimlessly.

I was afraid of encountering the wild beasts and female ghosts my mother had warned me about.

When my mother found me, I was tightly entwined by a snake as thick as an arm, with my ankle bitten and blood visible.

That night, my mother went crazy, wielding an axe and dismembering the snake.

It was also that night when I finally believed that I was my mother's son.

Unfortunately, after that day, my mother remained indifferent towards me.

I also developed a deep psychological trauma towards snakes, trembling uncontrollably whenever I saw one.

My hand holding the axe was still trembling involuntarily. I turned my head and looked at my sister coldly, her face covered in tears and snot.

"Is this funny?"

I asked my sister.

With tears streaming down her face, my sister's voice trembled as she replied.

"No, it wasn't me."

I knew my sister very well. I knew which tears were genuine and which were fake.

For example, right now, I knew she was genuinely scared.

Which means she wasn't the one behind this snake.

Who else in this family would want to harm me?

Was it my mother or my father?