After I Lost My Memory, I Was Coaxed into Marriage by a Yandere - Chapter 22

“Is it time for my medicinal bath?” The hour was late, and the lamps had already been lit inside the room.

Xiao Yanyi lay atop Chi Wei, pinching a soft piece of flesh on her face and feigning displeasure. “You see, the moment I mention consummating our marriage, you start talking about other things. Am I some kind of terrifying beast?”

Chi Wei shifted to the side and sat up from the bed. “How could you say that? To me, A-Yan is the fairy who saved my life.”

“I am no fairy; I am a female demon who sucks away your essence.” Xiao Yanyi spread her fingers playfully and lunged, pinning Chi Wei back onto the mattress and lightly biting her neck.

The sharp tips of her teeth pierced the skin. Chi Wei’s breathing grew heavy as she tightly embraced Xiao Yanyi’s back, her fingers digging into the other’s shoulders.

Her brows furrowed slightly, but her gaze was dazed. It was as if she were desperately enduring pain, yet that pain brought with it a trace of strange, intoxicating vertigo. It made her eyelids grow heavier and heavier.

Xiao Yanyi released Chi Wei’s neck. Her tongue lightly licked the two small punctures on the warm skin. As she sat up, she did not forget to plant a gentle kiss on the wound.

Wiping a smear of red from the corner of her mouth with her thumb, she looked at the fast-asleep Chi Wei. A smile she herself did not notice appeared on her face. “I shall spare you today.”

Xiao Yanyi murmured to herself, “That medicine smells terrible. I will be kind and let you rest for one more night.”

The next morning, when Chi Wei woke up, the window was half-open. The hot air surged into the room, only to be kept away by the gauze curtains surrounding the bed.

Xiao Yanyi was sitting by the bedside in a thin nightgown, leaning against the couch. She was not covered by a quilt, and from the waist down, she was completely bare. Beneath the nightgown was her pinkish-white snake tail, which coiled several times across the bed and was held firmly in Chi Wei’s arms.

The snake tail seemed to be wrapped around her; Chi Wei held it tight to keep cool. It followed the curve of her waist downward and looped twice around her left leg, the tip of the tail circling her slender white ankle like an exquisitely crafted anklet.

Chi Wei’s first thought upon waking was that having a snake demon for a wife was actually not bad. At the very least, during this season where one broke into a sweat just by stepping outside, she provided cooling. At night, there were no mosquito bites, making sleep quite comfortable. During those few nights sleeping in the wild, she had been covered in bites and truly suffered.

Xiao Yanyi was reading a book. Sensing that she was awake, she freed a hand to gently stroke the top of Chi Wei’s head. “Are you hungry?”

Chi Wei shook her head; she wanted to lie there a while longer.

Every time she was bitten by Xiao Yanyi, she felt incredibly drowsy, but upon waking, she felt exceptionally refreshed, her body full of strength.

She rubbed against the snake tail in her arms, pressing half her face against it. Suddenly, her nostrils flared as she took a light sniff.

There was no scent of soap from clothes, but rather a pleasant, clear fragrance. She could not name the scent, but smelling it brought a sense of peace to her heart.

Chi Wei sniffed again. Suddenly, Xiao Yanyi grabbed her nose. She looked up and tried to break free in dissatisfaction, but she could not move. She could only tilt her head back and breathe heavily through her mouth.

“A-Yan, I cannot breathe,” Chi Wei blinked, pleading for mercy.

Xiao Yanyi shook her nose gently, tossing her to the side. As she propped herself up, her snake tail transformed into two fair, slender legs that touched the floor.

When the tossed Chi Wei turned back around, she only saw a section of smooth calf visible beneath Xiao Yanyi’s pale yellow skirt.

Chi Wei sat up on the bed, resting her arms on her bent knees. Xiao Yanyi pulled back the gauze curtains, and the peaceful, addictive fragrance faded. The heat from outside rushed in, instantly making Chi Wei too hot to want to get out of bed.

“Your breathing is too hot; it is uncomfortable.” Having dressed, Xiao Yanyi walked to the mirror and knelt. She casually tied her hair into two buns and secured them with a plain white hairpin. She looked capable yet gentle, though her light pink earlobes remained visible beneath her hair.

Chi Wei rubbed her nose and walked behind Xiao Yanyi in a few steps. Looking at Xiao Yanyi’s thin, slender back, she truly wanted to pull her into an embrace and never let go, but she did not quite dare.

The day was simply too hot. It was so hot that Chi Wei did not want to get up to eat at all. It would be best if Xiao Yanyi kept her wrapped in her snake tail to keep her cool all day.

Xiao Yanyi seemed able to read Chi Wei’s expression. Seeing her staring at her legs, she lightly hooked Chi Wei’s palm with her fingertip and pulled. “If you truly like my snake tail that much and want to stay in bed all day, that is fine. Why do you not go back to bed and play something more interesting?”

Suddenly, Chi Wei did not feel hot anymore. She stood up and dutifully put on her clothes. “Wife, do not say that. I think I really am a bit hungry.” Unsurprisingly, she received a white-eyed glare from Xiao Yanyi.

The two walked out of the room one after the other, strolling toward the pavilion in the middle of the lake. Xiao Yanyi’s voice floated softly from behind her: “Chi Wei, it could not be that you are incapable, right?”

Regardless of whether she was “capable” or not, Chi Wei pretended she did not hear. The weather was already stifling, and those words made her ears burn even more.

She could not explain why, but whenever she thought about “doing it for real” with Xiao Yanyi, her heart grew so panicked she did not know what to do. To her, everything was still moving too fast.

In truth, Chi Wei felt that she could not be entirely blamed. Who would not be nervous when suddenly presented with such a beautiful wife? Moreover, Xiao Yanyi had a slender waist, soft arms, and skin like warm jade; just looking at her made one reluctant to use even a bit of force.

Since Chi Wei did not take the bait, Xiao Yanyi found it dull and stopped teasing her.

The people from the Xuandu Department had left early that morning, leaving behind a letter for Chi Wei.

Before Chi Wei had even woken up, Xiao Yanyi had opened it and glanced at its contents. The paper instantly turned to dust between her fingertips.

Having just settled in this place, she was truly unwilling to go through the trouble of moving again. Thus, after lunch, she found an excuse to go out, intending to quietly eliminate the people from the Xuandu Department.

Xiao Tan, who had guessed her thoughts, watched Xiao Yanyi’s retreating back and shook her head with a sigh. Chi Wei rubbed her small head and teased her, “You are so young; why are you so sentimental? A-Yan went out to buy books and will be back later. You do not need to be this clingy.”

Xiao Tan sighed and whispered, “I truly hope you can remain this innocent forever.”

“What?”

“I did not say anything. I am also going out to find something good to eat. You stay home by yourself today.”

With both of them gone, only Chi Wei remained at home.

She called for servants to move a low couch into the gazebo. Lying there, she flipped through Casual Tales of the Strange. There were many stories about demons in it, and Chi Wei wanted to use them to learn more about Xiao Yanyi and Xiao Tan.

However, the book was mostly filled with stories warning people not to be short-sighted or deluded by the illusions of demons into a life of pleasure.

For instance, a certain scholar on his way to the capital met a beautiful woman in a ruined temple. They talked by candlelight, and the woman claimed to be the daughter of a local wealthy man. Impressed by the scholar’s talent, she met him in secret at night.

The two were intimate and fell in love; the scholar gave up his ambitions for fame and moved into the woman’s home. One day, a Taoist priest suddenly arrived and attacked the woman without a word. The woman could not resist and transformed into her original form to flee, she was a rat demon wearing a human skin. Their well-behaved children were also revealed to be small rats, and the magnificent mansion instantly showed its true form as a desolate graveyard.

Only then did the scholar realize he had been drained of his essence and vitality by the demon, nearly losing his life. The wealth, tenderness, beautiful wife, and young children were all a great dream woven by demonic arts.

Closing the book, Chi Wei blinked and pinched her thigh hard.

“Sss.”

“Ow, ow, ow! That hurts!”

Looking around, she realized this courtyard was so large that it could not possibly be a graveyard.

Thinking of how Xiao Yanyi had been biting her again the previous night, she called a servant to bring a mirror. There were some purple bruises on her neck, and amidst the purple were two distinct, tiny punctures.

She then used the mirror to examine her face. Chi Wei looked left and right; her skin was as delicate as a freshly peeled egg, and there were no dark circles under her eyes. She was being well-cared for by Xiao Yanyi. The two pounds of weight she had lost while running away had already been gained back thanks to Xiao Yanyi’s pampering.

She tossed the book behind her onto the ground. Chi Wei took another sip of the iced plum drink Xiao Yanyi had ordered for her before leaving. “This is absolute nonsense. If I were a rat demon, draining essence would not be that much trouble. A weak scholar could just be pinned down and drained; there would be no need to sacrifice oneself to seduce them or do such redundant and disgusting things.”

“From this, it is clear that Xiao Yanyi absolutely wants my heart and not my essence or whatever.” Chi Wei sat on the low couch and let her thoughts wander, her face secretly turning red.

Amidst her wandering thoughts, a maid approached from a distance and stopped outside the pavilion to bow. “Miss Chi, Master Zha from the Xuandu Department has returned and is waiting outside. He says he wishes to pay you a visit.”

Chi Wei sat up straight, her finger instinctively pointing at her own nose. “Visit me? I think it is better not to see him. Just say that I went out with my wife and have not returned yet.”

Last night, Xiao Yanyi had repeatedly warned her that she must not see Zha Shiyu. She did not want Xiao Yanyi to return and catch her with Zha Shiyu, as it would be impossible to explain.

One had to know that while Xiao Yanyi looked soft and weak, she was quite terrifying when she became jealous.

The maid complied and left. Chi Wei gave a lazy yawn, intending to take a short nap in the pavilion during the warm afternoon breeze.

Just as she closed her eyes, a smiling voice suddenly brushed past her ear: “Miss Chi, may I ask how old you are this year?”

Chi Wei snapped her eyes open. Zha Shiyu’s heroic, smiling face was already close at hand. Startled, she stood up, quickly smoothed her skirt, put on her shoes and socks, and sat properly at the other side of the stone table. She glanced nervously toward the garden, thankfully, no one was passing by.

“Master Zha, this counts as trespassing on a private residence, does it not?” Chi Wei tried to make her voice sound steady.

Zha Shiyu smiled even more gently and sat down on the stone stool Chi Wei had just occupied. Seeing her immediately move to the opposite side, Zha Shiyu was slightly stunned but did not ask further. He only explained, “I truly have an urgent matter to ask about. Your servants refused to announce me, so I had to resort to this.”

Chi Wei said in a hurried breath, “You still cannot climb over the wall! I know Master Zha might have some misunderstandings about me, but I am by no means a frivolous person. Although we have not known each other for long, some things should be made clear. I am a very traditional person; once I choose someone, it is for life. I have no second thoughts!”

Zha Shiyu was completely bewildered until Chi Wei reached the final sentence. He then realized and laughed, saying, “Ah? Miss Chi has misunderstood. I came here unannounced because of my superior, Master Chi Che of the Xuandu Department. When she was young, she accidentally lost her younger sister, whose name was Chi Wei. Over the years, she has searched everywhere but has never heard any news. Yesterday, I saw that Miss Chi’s appearance is seventy percent similar to Master Chi’s, so I wanted to come and ask. It seems Miss Xiao truly misunderstood my intentions.”

To explain himself, Zha Shiyu spoke very quickly, fearing she would think his motives were impure.

“Yes, yes, my wife definitely misunderstood.” Her face turned bright red, and Chi Wei was so embarrassed she wanted to jump into the lake. “I should be twenty-one years old this year.”

“Should be?” Zha Shiyu keenly caught that hesitation.

Chi Wei nodded, her face flushing. She was very curious about the Chi Che Zha Shiyu mentioned; after all, in Xiao Yanyi’s words, she was an orphan. “Could it be you mean that she is my sister?”

“It is highly likely.” Zha Shiyu’s gaze was clear and his tone sincere. “I will report this to Master Chi when I return to the capital. I wonder if Miss Chi has any token on her person that could prove her identity?”

Chi Wei shook her head. “No. I was injured a while ago and do not remember anything from the past. Even the name Chi Wei was told to me by my wife.”

Zha Shiyu nodded. Thinking of Chi Wei’s attitude toward her, he guessed that her letter from this morning had not reached Chi Wei’s hands. Normally, if Xiao Yanyi had seen the letter and it concerned her lover’s background, there would be no reason to hide it.

“Then, Miss Chi, can you return to the capital with me?”

“This, I might need to ask my wife.”

Zha Shiyu raised an eyebrow. “If your wife knew that you still had family in this world, she would probably not disagree, right?”

Having nothing better to do than stay in this town, Chi Wei’s eyes lit up. “Master Zha is right. I will discuss it with her after my wife returns. Can you wait for me at the manor?”

Zha Shiyu smiled and nodded, but his face suddenly froze as he looked behind Chi Wei.

Chi Wei felt a sense of dread. She slowly turned her head and saw Xiao Yanyi standing a few steps away, her face as dark as a cold pool.

“There is no need to ask. I do not agree.”

The smile on Chi Wei’s face froze, and a hint of doubt began to rise in her heart.

“Someone, see the guest out! From now on, no unrelated persons are allowed to step into the manor.” Xiao Yanyi gave a cold order, and the servants stepped forward, approaching Zha Shiyu’s side.

Zha Shiyu’s heart tightened. Knowing Xiao Yanyi had misunderstood him, he realized staying longer was useless. He could only turn around silently. At the door, he finally could not help but turn back and nod slightly toward Xiao Yanyi. “Miss Xiao, if I have done anything improper or caused a misunderstanding, I offer my apologies here. I ask for your understanding. As for that letter, please make sure to hand it to Miss Chi.”

Xiao Yanyi’s face grew even colder. Chi Wei quickly stood up, lightly took her hand, and said softly toward Zha Shiyu, “Safe travels, Master Zha. I will discuss this matter properly with my wife.”

Once Zha Shiyu’s silhouette disappeared through the door, Chi Wei carefully turned to Xiao Yanyi, her voice soft and gentle: “Wife, you always used to say I was an orphan with no relatives, but now.”

“The capital is the territory of the Xuandu Department.” Xiao Yanyi interrupted her, her gaze like a frozen pond. “Zha Shiyu’s superior must be someone from the Xuandu Department. If you go, how will Xiao Tan and I manage?” She turned around and looked steadily into Chi Wei’s eyes. “Are you planning to abandon us once again?”

Chi Wei lowered her eyes, her tone somewhat confused. “But you and Tan’er have always been able to hide your aura, right? With so many people in the Xuandu Department, they have never seen through you.”

“What if one day I can no longer hide Tan’er’s demonic energy?” Xiao Yanyi took a step closer, her voice lowering. “Furthermore, that person might not truly be your sister. Even if she is.” She reached out to encircle Chi Wei’s waist, resting her chin lightly on her shoulder. Her breath was warm, but her words carried an imperceptible tremor. “If I say that I am unwilling to stay in the capital, you would still choose Xiao Tan and me, right?”

Chi Wei’s heart softened. She knew very well how Xiao Yanyi treated her. However, Zha Shiyu’s words were still in her ears; that sister she had never met seemed to have lived in self-reproach for many years.

Seeing her struggle, Xiao Yanyi tightened her arms around her slightly, her voice growing even softer: “A-Chi, why do you not wait until my injuries are healed and until Tan’er can completely restrain her demonic energy before we go to meet her together? Is that alright?”

She paused, her voice tinged with deep worry. “The Xuandu Department is particularly biased against demons, even more so than priests like Xin Rong. I am truly afraid that Xiao Tan will be locked up by those people.”

Chi Wei thought for a moment, her eyes flickering. She suddenly looked up. “Then how about this? Let Master Zha take a small portrait of me and a handwritten letter to that Chi Che. We will agree to meet in the capital in one year. By then, your injuries will be healed, and we will have settled Tan’er safely at home. Then, you and I can enter the capital together. How does that sound?”

Xiao Yanyi frowned and remained silent for a moment before saying in a low voice, “This.”

“It is only one meeting, and we will not live together afterward. Rest assured, I will not leave you alone.” Chi Wei planted a kiss on Xiao Yanyi’s hair. Xiao Yanyi tightened the belt behind Chi Wei’s back and finally released her.

“Alright.” Anyway, what happens a year from now is another matter.

Chi Wei’s eyes lit up. She suddenly leaned down and picked up Xiao Yanyi steadily, spinning around happily in the courtyard.

Xiao Yanyi gave a light cry, her hands instinctively clutching Chi Wei’s shoulders.

“I knew A-Yan was the best to me!” Chi Wei laughed, her face tilted up, her voice clear. “If that Chi Che truly is my sister and dares to harm you in the future, I will definitely stand against her and even burn down her house!”

After spinning a few times, she slowed down and gently set Xiao Yanyi on the ground. She tilted her head up slightly to kiss Xiao Yanyi’s forehead. It was a fleeting touch, yet it made her heart race.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, and Chi Wei’s eyes were clear and bright, reflecting the person in her arms.

The low laughter of a passing maid came from a distance. Only then did Chi Wei release her hold on Xiao Yanyi’s waist. She turned her back to the veranda, holding Xiao Yanyi’s palm. She pressed her forehead against Xiao Yanyi’s and laughed bashfully in a low voice.

Now that things had come to this, Xiao Yanyi was no longer willing to waste her energy on unrelated people. Zha Shiyu had left the manor, unaware that the rest of the Xuandu Department group had all perished. When she returned, she would have plenty of overwhelming problems to deal with.

Glimpsing that book Chi Wei had been reading halfway through the previous night in the corner, she moved past Chi Wei. She leaned down to pick it up and walked toward the pavilion, sitting casually on the soft couch Chi Wei often used.

Chi Wei sat down at her feet and noticed that the soles of Xiao Yanyi’s shoes were stained with a lot of wet mud. She thought to herself: This person said she was going out to buy books during the day, but she looks like she has been in the fields.

She gently took hold of Xiao Yanyi’s ankles, removed her dirty shoes and socks, and called someone to bring a clean pair. “Are you tired? Did you manage to buy the books?”

Xiao Yanyi allowed her to do as she pleased, resting her feet on Chi Wei’s lap. The page in her hand happened to be at a cliché ghost story, and she could not help but laugh. “What, are you not afraid that I am also the kind of demon who stops you from going to the capital and sucks your essence every night?”

“Wife has certainly sucked a lot,” Chi Wei said, her fingertip lightly touching the side of her neck. “This place is still bruised. This morning, the maid and Master Zha kept looking here, and I did not know what to say.”

As she spoke, her palm supported Xiao Yanyi’s heel, and she began to massage it with moderate pressure. A feeling of soreness and numbness came from the sole of her foot. Xiao Yanyi’s ears grew hot, and she instinctively tried to pull her foot back, but Chi Wei held it firmly.

“Do not move; you must be tired after walking so far.” Chi Wei lowered her head, skillfully pressing the pressure points on the sole of her foot.

That sensation seeped in bit by bit. How could Xiao Yanyi focus on the book? She turned her reddened face away and muttered softly, “Do not think it is dirty; do not touch me later.”

Her skin was as clear as jade and without even a trace of sweat; how could it be dirty? This shy and timid appearance was truly rare. Chi Wei could not help but stop and look at her closely. Xiao Yanyi, however, was quick to pick a grape and press it against Chi Wei’s lips. Her other hand pushed Chi Wei’s shoulder, not allowing her to look any further.

The two laughed and played in the pavilion like this, unknowingly passing the entire afternoon and completely forgetting the slight unpleasantness caused earlier by Zha Shiyu.

After nightfall, Xiao Yanyi stayed by the desk as Chi Wei wrote a letter to the person who might be her sister.

Chi Wei stared at the letter paper for a long time, her brush hovering, not knowing where to start. She should have many questions for this person, but because of her amnesia, she remembered nothing.

In the end, under Xiao Yanyi’s soft guidance, she briefly described her amnesia and attached a small portrait Xiao Yanyi had drawn for her.

Seeing the person in the drawing look so vivid, Chi Wei was constantly amazed. “I did not know you had such skill in painting.”

Xiao Yanyi lowered her eyelashes and slowly cleaned her brush, her voice as soft as a whisper. “Since I have drawn you so many times, it naturally became familiar.”

Chi Wei did not hear clearly and looked up with smiling eyes. “What?”

“I said,” Xiao Yanyi looked up and smiled, the lamplight making her gaze soft, “I have always been proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Otherwise, how could you have been so determined to take me away?”

It was a joke, but Chi Wei took it seriously. She put down the envelope, walked over to Xiao Yanyi, and slowly crouched down. “A-Yan, do you also miss your family very much? Do you think if we went back now to admit our mistakes and asked for their forgiveness, they would agree to let us be together?”

Hearing this, the smile froze on Xiao Yanyi’s face, and her eyes grew dark. “No. Moreover, I have no desire to see them right now.”

Chi Wei stared at her blankly, her eyes full of confusion and pity. “How can that be? Should family not be the ones who cherish you the most? What are their requirements for your partner? If I work hard now, would it still be in time?”

Xiao Yanyi shook her head and gave a cold laugh.

Their requirement was for you to replace me, to become my sister, and the next Valley Master of Huxia Valley.

She rose slowly, a smile on her lips but her voice growing cold. “Let us not speak of this. It is time for your medicinal bath.”

Because of this, Chi Wei swallowed the question she had intended to ask about the letter Zha Shiyu mentioned, not daring to ask again.