Beauty Snake - Chapter 80

Chapter 80: “You Cannot Use Your Eyes To See This; You Must See It With Your Heart.”

“North Star…” Seeing the ring on the table—covered in dust and looking somewhat battered—Ji Yunfei lost herself for a moment. She reached out, clutching the ring tightly in her hand, and looked up at Yin Wan. Her voice held a tremor she didn’t even notice: “What do you mean… ‘return it for the time being’?”

“What exactly happened to Xie Yin?”

“Hiss… I knew you’d be like this. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have let you speak.” Yin Wan curled her lip and muttered under her breath, “I should have just stuffed the ring in your hand and tossed both of you out together…”

But meeting Ji Yunfei’s reddened eyes, which looked ready to brim over with tears, she sighed: “Why are you about to cry already? How did someone with such a soft personality make my sister willing to be the one on the bottom…”

“Fine, fine, take back those unshed tears.” Yin Wan frowned slightly, feigning annoyance. Once she saw Ji Yunfei belatedly wipe the corners of her eyes and stabilize her emotions, she cleared her throat twice: “I know you care about my sister, but…”

She paused, lowering her eyes and her expression, her voice becoming muffled: “Her situation isn’t very optimistic. The Vajra Scepter damaged her soul, leaving her in a coma. Sister A-Mo has been channeling spiritual power to her every day just to barely keep her stable. Now, Uncle Mo is also buried in ancient texts daily, searching for a way to treat soul damage; he’s lost a lot of weight.”

Yin Wan did not mention the external injuries covering Xie Yin’s body. She knew that Xie Yin would never want Ji Yunfei to see her in her current state, which could hardly be described as beautiful.

“You know my sister’s situation; she definitely can’t come back to manage the company, so this burden fell on my head. Along the way, I’m returning this ring, which currently has no one to look after it, to its owner.” Yin Wan shrugged, looking at Ji Yunfei’s hand tightly gripping the “North Star.”

“Was it done by those so-called Demon Hunters?” Ji Yunfei tried her best to restrain her emotions, but the slight trembling of her hands betrayed the anxiety and restlessness in her heart. She grabbed Yin Wan’s wrist and repeated: “Was it them?”

“Hiss—! You, why are you so heavy-handed!” The strong grip on her wrist made Yin Wan hiss in pain. She shook off Ji Yunfei’s hand and snapped crossly: “Just talk, don’t get physical!”

“Sorry, I got too excited…” Realizing she hadn’t controlled her strength and had hurt Yin Wan, Ji Yunfei quickly sat up straight and lowered her head to apologize.

“Forget it. You just mentioned the Demon Hunters—how do you know about them?” Yin Wan rubbed her reddened, aching wrist, inwardly surprised that Ji Yunfei knew of that group.

Ordinary humans couldn’t distinguish demons in human form, let alone know that demons truly existed. How could she know about those lunatics?

“The Abbot of Qingshan Temple told me.” Mentioning this, Ji Yunfei couldn’t help but sigh. “Before Xie Yin knocked me out, she kept mumbling about ‘them.’ After she vanished, I wanted to know who ‘they’ were, but I had no way of finding out. Coincidentally, my friend mentioned the Legend of the White Snake, which made me think of the Abbot. He once gave me a sachet…” At this point, Ji Yunfei paused, a flash of shame and annoyance crossing her face. “Being entangled with a beautiful snake demon… it’s inevitable to be a bit worried. So going to a temple is quite normal, right?”

“But who knew that those people took advantage of the Abbot’s seclusion to take on his appearance and deceive me?” Ji Yunfei bit her lower lip hard, her eyes filled with resentment. “I only found out when I went back to the temple recently.”

“It’s my fault Xie Yin got hurt…” The resentment in her eyes was replaced by grief and self-blame. Her eyes reddened again, and when she spoke, her voice trembled: “I shouldn’t have accepted that sachet…”

“No, this isn’t your fault. Those lunatics have been targeting my sister for a long time.” Yin Wan interrupted her. Ji Yunfei looked up in confusion, unexpectedly meeting eyes that sparked with fire.

“Those guys failed to get what they wanted a thousand years ago, and they’ve held a grudge ever since.” Yin Wan gnashed her teeth, wishing she could tear those hypocrites into a thousand pieces. She paused suddenly and looked at Ji Yunfei with a faint, mocking smile: “However, speaking of which, we should probably thank you.”

“Thank… me?” Ji Yunfei couldn’t wrap her head around it. She pointed to herself, incredulous.

“In that dream before, after my sister kicked me out, she probably told you. Your past-past-past life saved her.”

“At that time, she was being hunted by those lunatics. Fortunately, you showed up, so she could survive. But…” Yin Wan trailed off, her expression hesitant, as if considering whether to continue.

“But what?”

Seeing Ji Yunfei’s “curious baby” expression—looking like she wouldn’t stop until she got to the bottom of it—Yin Wan sighed and rubbed her forehead. “They let my sister go for the time being, but they targeted you for ruining their plans. They are a group of petty, vengeful villains. They turned into bandits one night and burned your entire village.”

“By the time my sister went to save you…”

“She saw my head falling to the ground…?” Ji Yunfei finished the sentence for Yin Wan.

“You… how did you know…?” Yin Wan’s eyes widened, looking as if she’d seen a ghost. She squinted, guessing: “Did some grandmaster guide you to remember your past lives…?”

“No, I dreamed about it… Xie Yin probably intended for me to dream it. Of course, only the life where I saved her.” Ji Yunfei shook her head, falling into memory. Recalling something, the corners of her mouth curled up: “She wanted me to know about the past, but at the same time, she didn’t want me to know she was a snake demon. She was such a coward.”

“You know, before I knew she was the ‘Snake Beauty,’ she expressed her love for me in her demon form. But at that time, I only had her human identity in my heart. I told her that humans and demons walk different paths, and it was impossible.” Ji Yunfei couldn’t help but laugh out loud, her eyes full of tenderness. “But if I had known they were the same person, I think I could revoke that statement. As long as it’s her—human, demon, ghost, or anything else—it doesn’t matter.”

“Save those words to tell her in person. Don’t say them in front of me; I’m already full of ‘dog food’.” Seeing Ji Yunfei drifting off-topic, Yin Wan waved her hand with a look of feigned disgust.

She was just a “baby” who had recently transformed! She didn’t want to be fed couple’s drama all day!

“A-Wan… can I call you that?” Ji Yunfei asked, but then wondered if it was too intimate, considering this was only their second meeting.

“Whatever. My sister and the others call me that. You are the partner my sister chose, so naturally, you can too.” Yin Wan spread her hands, not caring what she was called.

“The partner she chose…” Ji Yunfei mulled over those words, her heart a mix of sour and sweet. She unconsciously bit her lip, then looked at Yin Wan with determination and a solemn tone: “Is there a way for me to remember my past lives? Xie Yin said that in every life, my memory is wiped clean to start over. So, it’s reasonable for me to want my own memories back, right?”

“I really… want to know what we went through together.”

She could never forget the tearful look Xie Yin gave her that night. The emotions contained within were so complex that she, with only this life’s memories, could never fully understand their depth. Moreover, she always felt that without those memories, her soul was incomplete…

“Heh, it’s just like what Mother said; you make the same choice every single time.” Yin Wan raised an eyebrow as if she had expected this. She rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a somewhat old, thick notebook, pushing it toward Ji Yunfei: “This can help you.”

Ji Yunfei took it eagerly and flipped it open, only to find the pages completely blank. Stunned, she flipped through to the back, but every single page was, without exception, blank.

“Are you sure…?” Having found nothing, Ji Yunfei looked up at the person opposite her who seemed to be suppressing a laugh. Her lip twitched.

“Pfft—hahahahahaha!” Seeing her expression, Yin Wan couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

After finally laughing her fill, she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and gasped for breath: “Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t help it.” She cleared her throat, sat up straighter, and resumed a serious tone: “This, you cannot use your eyes to see; you must see it with your heart.”

Seeing Ji Yunfei still looking dazed, she rolled her eyes: “I know you can’t digest this all at once. How about this: take the notebook back, and before bed, just try to feel it. Attempt to establish a connection with it… ugh, I can’t explain it well…” Frustrated by the inability to describe the subtle connection, Yin Wan scratched her hair. “In short, it can only be understood, not explained in words. You could do it before, so you can definitely do it now.”

“Alright, alright, I have a mountain of contracts to read—stuff that piled up while my sister was gone. You should head back now.” Yin Wan grew impatient and began to shoo her guest away.

As for whether Ji Yunfei could figure it out, that was no longer her business… she was just the messenger, nothing more.

“Wait, one last thing before I go…” Ji Yunfei remained “stuck” opposite Yin Wan, her fingers absentmindedly fidgeting.

“Speak.”

“Can I… can I see Xie Yin? Just for a second…” Her tone was tinged with a plea.

She missed Xie Yin so desperately. Usually, the longest they were apart was no more than a week. She had never imagined that longing could be this painful… especially since Xie Yin’s current situation was not good. How could she rest easy?

“……” Hearing her words, Yin Wan’s hand flipping the contracts froze in mid-air, and her lips pressed into a straight line.

“A-Wan, you know your sister’s current condition. Little Ji is straightforward and a bit impulsive. If she sees A-Yin like this, she might rush off to fight those lunatics… there is a precedent, after all. So, no matter how much she begs, you cannot take her to see her until A-Yin wakes up.”

Xie Chu’s instructions flashed through her mind. Yin Wan’s momentarily wavering heart instantly became firm. She sighed: “My sister’s current state is not suitable for visitors.” Having said that, she peeked at Ji Yunfei’s reaction. Seeing her stunned silence, she added: “When the time is right, I will take you to see her. What you need to do now is fix your own state of mind—don’t let my sister wake up to a depressed ‘salted fish’!”

“Fine. In that case, I won’t press further…” Hearing her words, Ji Yunfei didn’t linger. She nodded, clutched the notebook to her chest, and turned to leave. Reaching the door, she paused with her hand on the knob and looked back at Yin Wan: “Thank you… for telling me all this.”

“I will get myself back together… I won’t let her down.”

She wanted Xie Yin to wake up and see a Ji Yunfei who was in a good state—a Ji Yunfei who could be strong, independent, and positive even without her…

A qualified lover who, in turn, was enough for Xie Yin to lean on…

Support