#they're more fearsome than the sand people

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

Pit of vipers

The last thing Jin Guangyao expects to be greeted with the moment he arrives in Qinghe is three king cobras. Their bodies are risen halfway up, watching him descend Hensheng with narrowed pupils, neck flaps wide open and tongues hissing.

Their long, black, scaly bodies are adorned with contrasting, cream colored stripes - and Jin Guangyao would find them beautiful if he wasn't deathly afraid of them. There aren't many things he fears - his fears are conceptual most of the time. But snakes are very much real, and he is immensely uncomfortable being so close to them.

He even debates mounting his sword again just to gain a bit of a distance from the fast approaching reptiles.

But Nie Huaisang emerges from behind the ornate doors seconds before the three snakes charge - and what a happy coincidence it is that they are now retreating, Jin Guangyao thinks, relieved.

If he'd paid any attention to Nie Huaisang, he would have seen the glint of satisfaction in his eyes and his barely concealed smirk as he walked out. He would have also noticed that Nie Huaisang had emerged with a bit too perfect timing - which means he's been watching the scene unfold for a while before he intervened.

After all, there are no coincidences. Not in Qinghe, at least. Not anymore.

His tone gives nothing away but excitement. "San-ge! You've met my new pets!"

Jin Guangyao swallows, steadying his voice, eyes darting between the snakes and Nie Huaisang almost as if he feels threatened by both. "Pets?"

"Yes! Aren't they beautiful?"

Nie Huaisang waves his fingers and the three king cobras slither his way quickly, one sliding upwards to curl around his wrist, while the other two nuzzle into the ends of his robes.

It makes for a fearsome display, despite Nie Huaisang's easy smile. Jin Guangyao feels irrational - why is he so on edge all of a sudden? Huaisang would never allow his pets to hurt him, Huaisangs trusts and loves him. He has no reason for fear, his instincts are wrong.

They never are.

They are now.

"How did you come across these... pets, A-Sang?"

"I bought them, of course! Did you know there are snake merchants around? I didn't!"

Nie Huaisang continues rambling about his pets as he gestures Jin Guangyao to follow him inside. He hopes the snakes won't follow - but they do.

And much to Jin Guangyao's shock, the place is teeming with them. Dark, colorful, long, thick, scaly, smooth - they drag along the marble floors like ribbons over water, swirling in semicircular patterns as they move.

"Is it safe for you to have so many snakes, A-Sang? Aren't at least some of them... venomous?"

"Oh, they all are!" Nie Huaisang responds, cheerfully, "My head disciple wants to study their venom! For example, the venom of the most expensive snake I bought, the black mamba, kills by slowly paralysing the victim until it suffocates to death. Isn't that interesting?"

Jin Guangyao swallows hard. If he isn't careful, he might even...

"I also got a saw-scaled viper! It's this pretty, sand color, with brown spots on it. Apparently, one single bite can kill two people, and it bites multiple times!"

The childlike wonder and excitement in Nie Huaisang's voice raises goosebumps on Jin Guangyao's skin. This is nothing be so fascinated about, not with so many snakes lurking about, all of them equipped to kill.

"Even the three king cobras are venomous! One bite is enough to kill 11 people!"

Jin Guangyao watches his step even more than he did when he was a spy in the Wen ranks. At least you can see it coming when people attack you.

Well, most of the time anyway.

"They're all trained, though, don't worry!" Nie Huaisang adds, comfortingly, "They won't bite unless they're signaled to."

Somehow that does nothing to ease Jin Guangyao's worries.

They walk into the sect leader's quarters and sit for tea. There are no snakes in this room, Jin Guangyao notices, gratefully. Even the three king cobras have stayed behind, guarding the door.

"So, what did you need help with, A-Sa..."

A large, yellow snake slithers from somewhere in the far corner of the room, its back golden and its sides creamy white. Its body seems endless, thin at the head and growing thicker towards a tail that cannot be yet seen. Its eyes are red, glowing like rubies, head slightly raised to take in its surroundings.

"This one isn't venomous, San-ge! It's an anaconda. It's really friendly!"

Jin Guangyao watches, paralyzed, as the snake nears, until there is no more distance between them. It looks at Jin Guangyao curiously before slithering across his lap.

Nie Huaisang says something but Jin Guangyao cannot hear it.

The snakes slithers upwards, and Jin Guangyao begins to feel how heavy it actually is - and he knows it's not fat or bones. It's muscle.

"Anacondas are constrictor snakes." Jin Guangyao finally hears. "They kill by squeezing their prey to death."

If he paid attention, Jin Guangyao would notice Huaisang isn't smiling so happily anymore, eyes hooded with danger as his lips pull into a smile more venomous than the snakes in his palace. He too watches the anaconda as it curls loosely around Jin Guangyao's shoulders, dragging its weight over the man's frame.

Jin Guangyao can feel its breath, the coldness of its scales, the danger of being crushed to death.

"After the prey is dead, the anaconda swallows it whole."

Jin Guangyao's heart heart pumps desperately in his ears, adrenaline filling his veins.

The anaconda seems to have taken an interest in his throat and Jin Guangyao is done being brave. "Huaisang."

A dismissive wave. "Relax."

"But-"

Nie Huaisang's eyes gloss over, like a puppy that's just been kicked by its favorite human. "You don't trust me? You think I'd ever hurt you?"

"No, no, I don't... I do trust you..."

"Then relax! Take deep breaths and close your eyes. I'm right here."

The snake curls its head around Jin Guangyao's throat, and his eyelids flutter closed. He does trust Nie Huaisang, he has no reason not to.

He doesn't see Nie Huaisang's smile drop, and his eyes narrow with hatred, the grip on his fan cracking the delicate wood of the handle. He doesn't see the way he locks eyes with the snake, and the reptile awaits an order it appears all too eager to fulfill.

Most of all, he doesn't see himself, the snake around his throat in a perfectly straight line, the same way he cut into Nie Mingjue's neck and beheaded him.

Nie Huaisang waves his hand and the snake lets go.