After I Lost My Memory, I Was Coaxed into Marriage by a Yandere - Chapter 10

At high noon, black thunderclouds surged in and covered the scorching, piercing sunlight. Raindrops as large as beans pelted the deck, and in less than the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, the day turned so dark it was difficult to see.

The sounds of wailing and pleas for mercy constantly reached Xiao Tan’s ears. Standing inside the room and looking through the door, she personally witnessed a woman, who had just kindly given her a piece of braised beef with a warm smile, struck down by a pirate’s blade and collapsing to the floor.

On the distant gunwale, the tentacle of a massive octopus sea monster coiled around a crew member and hurled him into the boundless ocean. After a few rolling waves, the man’s hands were never seen again.

The head of that octopus demon alone was over ten feet high, and its slimy, slippery tentacles were shockingly long. Countless teeth lined the center of those tentacles, and bright red blood spread out beneath its body.

Squads of pirates marched across the deck, rummaging through every room for wealth, jewelry, and ornaments. Yet, every time they passed the room where Chi Wei was located, they acted as if they could not see the door in front of them at all.

Xiao Tan pressed against the invisible barrier, watching anxiously as the ship’s captain, Luo Han, who secretly fed her snacks every day, was dragged to the bow. She felt powerless, unable to help in any way.

Turning around, she saw Chi Wei still soaking in the medicinal bath with her eyes closed. The agonizing pain caused beads of sweat from her forehead to drip steadily into the water.

With tears in her eyes, Xiao Tan pleaded with Xiao Yanyi, “Help them.”

“What? Help whom?” Chi Wei opened her eyes and looked toward Xiao Tan at the door. However, Xiao Tan did not even glance at her; she walked straight to Xiao Yanyi, grabbing her hand and shaking it gently.

It had nothing to do with her. Chi Wei was about to close her eyes and continue enduring the pain when she suddenly saw Xiao Yanyi give Xiao Tan a cold sidelong glance. Then, without even lifting her head, Xiao Yanyi waved her sleeve toward Chi Wei.

Chi Wei froze, wanting to ask Xiao Yanyi what she was doing.

But then she saw Xiao Yanyi and Xiao Tan appear to be arguing, yet she could not hear a single word.

It turned out that during her seven days on the ship, she had been soaking in medicinal baths constantly. Her vision had improved from only being able to see a little while soaking to being able to see clearly for half an hour afterward.

She knew the ship would not stop mid-voyage, so she had decided to wait until she fully recovered to give Xiao Yanyi and the other a surprise. Once they reached the south, they could travel and enjoy the scenery together; would that not be wonderful?

She had not expected to encounter a situation today where she could see but not hear. Steeling her nerves, she tried to read their lips.

Xiao Tan was so anxious she was nearly crying. “Can you please save them? There are over two hundred people on this ship; it is truly pitiful. That octopus demon is in league with those pirates. They surely are not just stealing wealth; they might even eat the people outside.”

Xiao Yanyi replied, “Such is the Heavenly Way. Humans eat fish and shrimp, and when fish and shrimp become spirits, they eat humans. It is merely a cycle. You are a demon yourself; do not forget who you are just because you have spent too much time in human form.”

“And what about you? You were born and raised as a human. Your Huxi Valley even claims that slaying demons and protecting the innocent is its duty. Do you not feel any pity for those people outside? Many of them boarded this ship just to find a cure for their family members’ illnesses,” Xiao Tan said angrily, pointing loudly toward the cabin exterior.

Xiao Yanyi said calmly, “I am a demon. How could I have been born of humans?”

A demon?

What on earth were they talking about?

Chi Wei’s heart pounded with terror. Was it demon or was she misreading it as medicine?

Xiao Tan spoke again.

She seemed infuriated by Xiao Yanyi. She pointed at Xiao Yanyi’s nose while wiping tears from her eyes. “You stinking snake demon, you have no conscience at all. No wonder Chi Wei does not like you. Waaa.”

Hearing this, Xiao Yanyi glanced at Chi Wei. Chi Wei hurried to blink and gave a slight smile, putting on an innocent look as if she were merely suffering from the medicinal soak.

“Say another word and I will throw you out to feed that disgusting sea monster. It has so many teeth; I am sure it can make you stay quiet.” Xiao Yanyi returned Chi Wei’s sweet smile, stood up, and added three scoops of hot water to the tub. Simultaneously, with a flick of her finger, another drop of crimson-gold blood fell into the tub behind Chi Wei.

Chi Wei understood what she had said to Xiao Tan. Suddenly, Xiao Tan stood still and pointed blankly out the window. Out of the corner of her eye, Chi Wei happened to see the octopus sea monster Xiao Tan had mentioned crawling slowly past the room.

Its mouth, filled with fine, dense teeth, undulated silently. Two human legs were being dragged by the corners of its mouth; they twitched a few times before finally going stiff as the massive maw opened and swallowed them whole. Dark red and murky green slime trailed across the doorframe, dripping slowly downward. Only some red and green slime remained stuck to the wood. Though Chi Wei was submerged in scalding hot water, she felt her whole body go cold and her scalp tingle.

“Urgh.” The scene was too nauseating. Chi Wei tried to endure it but eventually could not help letting out a dry heave.

Observing a reaction that usually did not occur, Xiao Yanyi leaned down close to Chi Wei. “What is it? Are you feeling unwell?”

This time, she did not need to read lips; Xiao Yanyi’s voice entered her ears clearly. However, Chi Wei was a bit afraid to speak. Since her eyes had regained sight, why was everything so bizarre?

What did Xiao Tan mean by saying her wife was a snake demon?

Chi Wei kept her eyes tightly shut and shook her head without a word, acting as if she were too overwhelmed to speak. She currently wanted neither to see nor to hear anything more.

Xiao Yanyi patted Chi Wei’s shoulder gently. “If you are uncomfortable, come out early.”

Chi Wei nodded and closed her eyes. She no longer knew what the two of them discussed afterward.

But her heart was filled with curiosity. After a short while, she could not resist opening her eyes to peek, but the room was already empty.

The medicinal bath made her body sting, and her mind was inexplicably agitated.

Suddenly, the sounds of shouting, screaming, and clashing weapons from outside reached her without any obstruction, making it impossible for Chi Wei to sit still. She struggled out of the tub, threw on some clothes haphazardly, and without even tying up her wet hair, she stumbled to the door and pulled it open.

The scene outside was no longer a normal ship cabin; it was a living hell of fire.

The soaring flames tore the night into fragments, and thick smoke billowed everywhere. Terrified passengers screamed as they fled, while pirates with hideous expressions chased them with bloody blades and axes. Figures flickered like ghosts, passing one by one through the edges of her blurred vision.

Right in front of her, a young boy was caught by a pirate and stumbled to the ground. The pirate gave a cruel laugh and raised a large blade, the cold steel reflecting the raging fire. It was about to fall!

Chi Wei’s breath hitched. Without thinking, she grabbed the door bolt nearby and prepared to rush out. Even if it was like an egg hitting a stone, she could not just stand by and watch!

But her body slammed into an invisible barrier. Even though there was nothing in front of her, it felt like hitting a cold, hard wall, and she was thrown back forcefully. The door bolt fell to the floor with a clatter.

She scrambled back up and could only cling to that tangible yet invisible wall, her fingertips turning white from the pressure. Across this invisible boundary, she clearly saw the despair and terror in the boy’s eyes. A moment later, the blade fell. A head rolled to her feet, and blood sprayed onto the invisible barrier, winding down in front of her and leaving a striking red stain.

Chi Wei opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She gripped the barrier, the blood in her body running cold. This was not a nightmare, yet it was more absurd than any nightmare she had ever had.

Realizing that Xiao Yanyi and Xiao Tan were still outside, she struck the invisible barrier with all her might.

Xiao Yanyi finally succumbed to Xiao Tan’s relentless pestering and was half-pulled, half-dragged out of the room.

Upon seeing the mountain of corpses and sea of blood at the bow, Xiao Tan stamped her feet in frustration. “If you refuse to save them now, when Chi Wei recovers her memory in the future, I will tell her everything that happened today without missing a single word. At that time, do you think she will still be willing to love someone as cold-hearted as you?”

Seeing Xiao Yanyi’s face darken, Xiao Tan shifted her tone to one of complaint. “If Chi Wei’s cultivation had not been destroyed by you, even if she did not remember she knew magic, she would definitely find a way to save people.”

“A-Yan, just take it as doing a good deed to accumulate merit. I understand the principles of the Heavenly Way, reincarnation, and karma that you learned at Penglai. But is what you are doing to Chi Wei not also interfering with karma? Doing a kind act now might mean suffering a bit less retribution in the future.” Her voice grew softer. “Besides, with so many people dead, the ship still has to drift at sea for several days. Having severed limbs all over the ground with no one to clean them up is so distressing to look at.”

Xiao Yanyi’s expression grew even colder. Before Xiao Tan could finish, she spoke three words calmly, “I understand.”

“Ah?” Xiao Tan was stunned; she had not expected her to actually agree.

Amidst the red and green filth on the ground, Xiao Yanyi, dressed in a white dress, walked toward the bow with a composed gait. Shouts, fighting, and desperate wails were all around her, and her appearance quickly drew the attention of the pirates.

Several men covered in blood surrounded her, their language foul and disgusting. Xiao Tan hid in a corner; instead of being worried, she secretly cheered the pirates on.

“Yes, curse her like that.”

“Be even more insulting; you will have a lot to deal with in a moment.”

“My god, you even dare to say you want to take her back as a bandit queen? I do not think even the white smoke rising from your ancestral graves can save you today.”

Chi Wei was not far behind her. Her room was on the second floor, giving her an unobstructed view of the tragedy outside. Her chest felt as if it were being churned by flames, hating her own helplessness.

Suddenly, she saw Xiao Yanyi walk out below. She pressed herself tightly against the barrier, shouting at the top of her lungs.

Seeing those foul-mouthed pirates approach Xiao Yanyi, she was so anxious her palms trembled. But she was immediately stunned and retreated a few steps.

Because in the next instant, she saw the same Xiao Yanyi who had just been adding water and testing the temperature for her stand still before the flailing tentacles of the sea monster. Xiao Yanyi raised her right hand, pointing her fingers like a sword, and made a stroke in the air.

A white light flashed, like two invisible guillotines falling from the sky.

The hideous, man-eating sea monster did not even have time to wail before it slumped down. Thick green liquid gushed out, and the deck was instantly filled with a foul stench.

The pirates, who had been acting so arrogant a moment ago, froze for only a second before realizing they had encountered a formidable foe. They leaped off the ship to escape. Luo Han, the ship’s captain, was the first to react; with a wave of his hand, he led the crew to confront the remaining pirates.

The scene felt like a dream. Chi Wei swallowed hard, watching a pirate who had just boasted about taking Xiao Yanyi back to teach her a lesson leap off the deck. In that instant, his limbs flew off as if he were being drawn and quartered, leaving only a head and a torso to sink into the sea with a gurgle.

When she had seen the strange conversation between Xiao Yanyi and Xiao Tan, she was originally worried about whether she should bring up the idea of sleeping in separate beds tonight. Now, she felt there was no need to struggle with that thought anymore.

No, she did not dare bring it up at all.

Chi Wei hurriedly retreated two steps, hiding herself deeper in the shadows to avoid any gaze Xiao Yanyi might cast upward. She stood frozen for a long time, her mind in chaos, unable to understand what had just happened outside.

It was not until the sound of approaching footsteps reached her that she snapped out of it. She scrambled back to the bedside, lay down with her clothes on, and closed her eyes tightly.

What exactly happened?

That man-eating, foul-smelling sea monster was still etched into her mind. Xin Rong had not lied; there really were demons in this world. But why did Xiao Tan say Xiao Yanyi was a demon?

Xiao Yanyi had just casually raised her hand and flicked two fingers in the air to easily sever human limbs and even the tough, slimy tentacles of that monster.

Could it be that her gentle, beautiful wife who looked like a transcendent immortal was truly a demon as well?

Before she could figure it out, the door clicked softly. Xiao Yanyi walked in slowly, followed by several crew members carrying a wooden tub.

The freshly boiled hot water was prepared for her to wash away the impurities from her body; this was the only request Xiao Yanyi had made when everyone knelt to thank her for saving their lives.

The crew members did not engage in small talk this time. They set down the tub and the hot water, said, “Thank you for saving our lives, Miss Xiao. If you need anything, please let us know,” and then left quietly.

Chi Wei felt the corner of her blanket being gently lifted and then carefully tucked in. She knew it was Xiao Yanyi.

She could not help but marvel at how gentle Xiao Yanyi was with her, completely different from the god of death she had appeared to be outside.

After a while, the sound of water rippling softly filled the quiet room.

It sounded like someone was scooping up warm water with their hand, letting the stream slide from their palm and drip back into the water.

Chi Wei guessed that Xiao Yanyi was probably bathing.

In previous days, she always washed herself after Chi Wei’s medicinal bath; at those times, Chi Wei’s eyes could not see anything.

Although it was wrong to peek at someone bathing, everything that had just happened was far too shocking.

In the end, Chi Wei could not suppress the doubt in her heart. She tilted her head slightly to steal a glance, but once she saw, she could not look away.

Xiao Tan was not in the room. Only a single oil lamp was lit, and perhaps fearing it would disturb Chi Wei’s rest, the thin gauze curtain by the bed had been lowered, obscuring Chi Wei’s direct view.

However, the blurred silhouette made Chi Wei’s heart race instantly.

For beyond the thin gauze curtain, in that small space, Xiao Yanyi had her back turned to her and was currently undressing.