Beauty Snake - Chapter 68

Chapter 68: “Hmph, Just Keep Spoiling Her Then, You Bad, Overindulgent Mommy.”

“Meowww—Hiss—!” The sesame-seed pupils in those amber eyes suddenly dilated. The purring of comfort coming from Hehei’s mouth stopped at some unknown point, replaced by a low, guttural growl.

Watching Hehei snap upright, fur standing on end, hissing at her, Ji Yunfei was stunned. She knew better than to try and touch the cat again right now.

She took a step back, carefully observing the bristling “little black truck.” Soon, she realized that Hehei wasn’t actually looking at her, but was staring fixedly at something directly behind her.

Following the cat’s gaze, Ji Yunfei turned around, but behind her was nothing but the cat tree and some snacks.

Unaccountably, a chill ran down her spine, and her back began to feel icy. She remembered the rumors she’d heard before renting the place. This apartment was cheap because it was allegedly haunted by “A-Piao” (ghosts).

Ji Yunfei had almost put it out of her mind, but seeing Hehei’s unfamiliar, frightening gaze, she couldn’t help but start believing in some feudal superstitions again.

“Wooo—” Hehei continued to growl, ears pinned back flat. Ji Yunfei felt helpless; it seemed like anything she did now might further provoke the cat.

Suddenly, the “little truck” lunged at her. The movement was so fast she only saw a black blur before a sharp, undeniable pain shot through her right index finger.

Simultaneously, long scratches appeared on her arm from the cat’s frantic kicking. It looked quite horrific.

“Ow—!” As they say, the fingers are connected to the heart. The pain at her fingertip felt like a knife stab, causing her to cry out in pain and forcing physiological tears to prick her eyes.

While Ji Yunfei closed her eyes and yelped, the culprit, Hehei, seemed to realize what he had done. He immediately let go, flattened his ears into “airplane mode,” and scurried away to hide in the cat bed. Only a pair of amber eyes peeked out, looking somewhat apologetic.

Drip… drip… The sound of liquid hitting the floor made Ji Yunfei stop wailing. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the ground.

Several spots of crimson stained the white tiles, looking like bright mandalas blooming on snow—charming yet dangerous.

Moving her gaze to her right hand, she saw the “spectacular” state of her hand and arm. Several shallow, bloody scratches marred her porcelain skin. The deepest wound, however, was a hole on her index finger made by a feline canine tooth. It was still oozing crimson blood, and the faint smell of rust filled the air, stimulating her nerves.

“Hiss—” Ji Yunfei didn’t have time to lecture the suspect cat. She rushed to the bathroom to let cold water wash over the various wounds.

The bone-chilling water gushed from the tap. The stinging sensation mixed with the cold made her shiver, but she gritted her teeth and rinsed the wounds clean. The scratches on her arm weren’t too bad and stopped bleeding quickly, but the hole on her finger continued to well up with red.

The throbbing pain came in waves. Ji Yunfei went to the bedroom to find the cabinet behind the bed for some disinfectant and bandages. As she tossed aside a pillow that was in her way, she unexpectedly saw the yellow silk pouch lying quietly underneath.

“You and I share a fate today. This pouch shall keep you safe…”

“Do not be blinded by beauty… you cannot be a Xu Xian today…”

The old abbot’s words suddenly echoed in her mind. Since this pouch was meant to protect her in times of crisis, it was only logical to use it against an unknown ghost, right?

With that thought, she reached for the pouch. By chance, the wound on her finger bled again, and without surprise, it stained the silk. The golden pouch now bore a discordant spot of bright red.

Seeing this, Ji Yunfei hurriedly grabbed a tissue to wipe the red away, but she was a step too late. The blood had already been absorbed by the fabric.

Resigned, she set the pouch down and used an iodine cotton ball to gently swab and disinfect her wound. “Hiss— Ow—!” The moment the brownish liquid touched the raw flesh, she cried out despite preparing herself. But for the sake of her health, she bit her lip and finished the simple bandaging.

Only then did she turn her attention back to the blood-stained pouch. She looked at the pouch, then at the spotted puppy plushie, “Flower,” sitting on her pillow. Without hesitation, she tied the pouch around the puppy’s neck.

The puppy in yellow overalls and the little yellow pouch didn’t look discordant at all; they were a perfect match.

Satisfied, Ji Yunfei took a photo of the puppy and sent it to her only pinned contact on WeChat.

FFF: “Look, look! Cute Flower~ Doesn’t the yellow pouch go perfectly with the yellow overalls?”

A moment later, her phone vibrated.

Snake Beauty Xie: “You’re cuter than Flower ^v^. Is the pouch around its neck the one you mentioned last time?”

FFF: “Yes, yes! Guess where I found it? Right under my pillow! No wonder I forgot it—under the pillow is such an inconspicuous spot!”

FFF: “If I hadn’t needed to get the iodine, I probably wouldn’t have found it so soon (Cat-shrug.jpg)”

After that message, the other person suddenly went silent. Just as Ji Yunfei was wondering why, a knock came at the door.

Knock knock knock— Creak—

She opened the door to find Xie Yin standing there, her hair a bit disheveled.

“Where are you hurt? Why did you need iodine? Let me see.” Xie Yin scanned her quickly, catching the slightly grisly marks on her right hand. “How did this happen?” Seeing the state of Ji Yunfei’s hand, Xie Yin’s heart tightened, her voice full of concern.

“Shh—” Ji Yunfei put her left index finger to her lips and mysteriously pulled Xie Yin inside, whispering, “I suspect this house really isn’t clean…”

“?” Xie Yin’s expression nearly cracked. She knew the situation of this house better than anyone. On the surface, the landlords were an old couple, but in reality, the apartment belonged to her. To make Ji Yunfei feel comfortable renting it, she had used a few tricks to spread those rumors. As for ghosts? That was pure nonsense. Even if there were one, she would have swept it out with a flick of her snake tail. How could it have hurt Ji Yunfei?

Filled with confusion, she followed Ji Yunfei to the living room sofa.

“Oh, I haven’t cleaned up yet… the scene is a bit bloody… if you can’t stand it, look away…” As they sat down, Ji Yunfei realized the blood on the balcony floor hadn’t been cleaned. She felt she’d been a bit inconsiderate bringing her in.

“It’s fine, I’ll help you.” Seeing her embarrassment, Xie Yin smiled gently and got up to get the mop from the bathroom.

Seeing that Xie Yin wasn’t terrified or disgusted, Ji Yunfei sighed in relief and followed her.

“Tell me, who is the culprit?” Xie Yin leaned over, mopping the floor while her eyes remained locked on Ji Yunfei’s hand.

“Ahem… well… if I said a ghost likes me too much and wanted to leave a mark, would you believe me?” Ji Yunfei hadn’t done anything wrong, yet under Xie Yin’s gaze, her voice trailed off and she fidgeted like a student caught in a mistake.

Hearing that unreliable answer, Xie Yin rolled her eyes and stopped mopping. “Don’t lie to me. Those marks on your hand are clearly from a cat.”

“Trying to shield the criminal? Don’t even dream about it, little Ji Yunfei.”

Seeing her lie exposed so easily, Ji Yunfei pouted and muttered, “You could have just played along…”

Xie Yin didn’t respond, she just leaned over again and finished mopping. Soon, the balcony tiles were white again, leaving no trace of the blood.

“Tell me, what actually happened?” After cleaning the mop, Xie Yin frowned slightly and carefully took Yunfei’s hand, her eyes full of tenderness.

Meeting Xie Yin’s focused gaze, Ji Yunfei lowered her head and recounted the event. “Hehei was actually acting close to me for once… I couldn’t help but rub his belly, but then he suddenly bristled and stared right behind me.”

She paused, warily glancing around the room before lowering her voice. “I turned around and saw nothing… and since this house is rumored to be ‘unclean,’ I thought maybe it was… you know…” She curved her hand downward in a ghostly gesture and made a face.

Seeing her making faces even now, Xie Yin sighed and pinched her cheek. “You silly girl. Instead of believing in that nonsense, maybe think about whether you just annoyed Hehei.”

“Hey… Hehei couldn’t possibly be wrong… it definitely wasn’t his fault— Ow, ow, ow! Gently, gently!” Before she could finish defending the cat, the pressure on her cheek increased, and she had to beg for mercy.

“Hmph—just keep spoiling her then, you bad, overindulgent mommy.” Seeing the glint of tears in Ji Yunfei’s eyes—even though she knew they were forced—Xie Yin’s heart softened, and she let go.

“He knows he was wrong. Don’t blame him, okay? Please, my good Yinyin—” Ji Yunfei leaned in close to Xie Yin, whispering coaxingly in her ear.

The warm breath on her ear, combined with the slightly high-pitched, sweet voice, made Xie Yin’s ears turn red despite her efforts to remain composed. She pursed her lips. “Fine, I won’t blame him. But no canned treats for him this week. And you aren’t allowed to sneak him any!”

“Meowww—” A mournful cry came from the balcony. Hehei seemed to understand, and a look of being wronged appeared in his amber eyes.

I am innocent—hurting Ji Yunfei wasn’t my intention—wuuu, my treats are gone—

Xie Yin didn’t miss the look in Hehei’s eyes. She arched an eyebrow and turned to Ji Yunfei. “Alright, go get your things. I’m taking you to the hospital for a rabies shot.”

“Ah, oh, okay…” Ji Yunfei had thought that since her cat was vaccinated and the chance of a house cat carrying rabies was tiny, she could just handle it herself. But meeting Xie Yin’s indisputable gaze, she swallowed her words and obediently went to her room to pack.

Once Ji Yunfei was in the bedroom, Xie Yin stood up, her brow furrowed, and walked into the room where she specifically kept her snakes.

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