A Guide to Raising Wild Snakes

【You say you’re a little hard to understand. Good thing that’s right up my alley.】 After receiving a heart transplant, Zhai Xun inherits the original owner’s will and is drawn into a hunt for a snake. During an expedition into the rainforest, he unexpectedly meets a mysterious wild man. After Zhai Xun saves him twice, the wild man, whom he names Zhuo Yi, issues a cold warning. “I won’t help you again.” Zhai Xun: So dramatic. So cool. Through a series of coincidences, their paths become completely intertwined. As Zhai Xun fills in the heart donor’s notes and investigates the first half of his father’s life, everything begins to change. More and more secrets come to light. Zhai Xun is caught up in it all, and before he knows it, his bond with Zhuo Yi grows stronger. Beside a roaring bonfire, Zhai Xun solemnly lectures him on the boundless depth of the Chinese language. “We usually say goodbye in one of two ways.” Class with Xiao Zhai is now in session. “One is ‘bye-bye,’ and the other is ‘zai jian.’ ‘Zai jian’ is more formal. It means ‘see you again,’ while ‘bye-bye’ is more casual.” After a long while, Zhuo Yi clenched his burning fingers, stood up, shouldered his backpack, and slowly said, “Zai jian.” After teaching this strange human the formal use of “zai jian,” Zhai Xun discovered that it really did mean they would meet again. He had taught this strange fellow only two ways to say goodbye. Later, he discovered a third. “Never again,” Zhuo Yi said. 【A decidedly unserious adventure story】