Beauty Snake - Chapter 90

Chapter 90: The Third Prerequisite of the Secret Technique—Both Parties Must Be Mutually in Love and Willingly Merge Their Souls.

“It’s okay if you don’t accept it right now.” Ji Yunfei looked directly into Xie Yin’s intoxicating eyes, her own gaze filled with an inseparable tenderness. “If you can’t accept it now, then I will slowly, bit by bit, show you through my actions and my sincerity.”

“This time, it’s my turn to chase you. All you need to do is be yourself.”

Thump-thump, thump-thump— It was unclear whose heart made the first sound, or perhaps both their hearts had synced to the same frequency in that instant. The subtle thumping grew deafening in the silence.

“You, you…” The moment Xie Yin spoke, she actually stuttered. Enduring the rising waves of shyness, she swiftly “snatched” the strawberry milk candy from Ji Yunfei’s hand. “Who said I wanted you to chase me…”

With that, she turned around and fled back into her small hut like a startled animal. Not long after, the sound of cups and bowls clattering to the floor echoed from within the wooden house. Just as Ji Yunfei was about to step forward to check on her, the door slowly creaked open a tiny slit, and a fluffy head cautiously poked out…

“You… next week… accompany me to the fireworks festival.” Her eyes darted around everywhere except at Ji Yunfei, then she shouted: “You’re not allowed to refuse!”

Bang—! The wooden door slammed shut once again. Ji Yunfei stood dazed at the entrance for a long time before the realization finally hit her—Xie Yin had accepted her apology! She could finally start pursuing her properly!

And she even asked her to go to a fireworks festival… wasn’t that just giving her an opportunity to show off?

“Yes!” Ji Yunfei pumped her right fist, letting out an excited whisper. Winning back the “silly snake”—she was determined to succeed!

“Master! Master!”

Still immersed in her beautiful fantasy, Ji Yunfei felt a tap on her shoulder. Caught off guard, she jumped. She turned her head and saw the “Glasses Guy” (Yanjing-ge) looking at her with furrowed brows and eyes full of worry.

“Ah! Glasses Guy? What are you doing here?” Seeing him suddenly appear beside her, Ji Yunfei was startled, followed by a look of confusion.

“Master… I’ve been standing here for a long time. I called you but you didn’t answer; you were just standing there giggling to yourself like an idiot.” He spoke quite seriously. “Are you okay? It’s a bit creepy…”

“Ahem, ahem…” Ji Yunfei felt a bit embarrassed. She hadn’t realized how ridiculous she must have looked just now. Fortunately, only Glasses Guy had seen her looking so “worthless,” so her image could still be salvaged.

Thinking of this, she composed her expression. “Never mind that. Did Auntie Xie send you for something?”

“Right, Clan Leader Xie told me to call you. She said something about a method to repair the damage finally being found… Sigh—” Before Glasses Guy could finish, the Ji Yunfei who had been standing there a second ago vanished. He blinked, only to find she had already run several meters away.

“So fast…” Seeing Ji Yunfei leave without even looking back, Glasses Guy felt a bit dejected. This was the first time he had seen her since she returned… and she was gone again.

Forget it. He shook his head to comfort himself. If Ji Yunfei was in such a hurry, it must be something very important. As for catching up, that would have to wait until she finished her business.

“Auntie Xie! I’m here!” Hurrying to Xie Chu’s side, Ji Yunfei immediately saw everyone sitting in a circle.

Seeing her arrive, Xie Chu poured a cup of tea and placed it opposite her. “You’re here? Sit down first.”

Ji Yunfei caught her breath and sat down obediently. She waited for the other to speak, but after a long while, no one seemed willing to start.

Hiss… I haven’t done anything heinous, have I? Why is the atmosphere so weird?

“Cough, cough. Xiao Ji, you probably know why we called you here, right?” Finally, Uncle Mo spoke up, breaking the stiff silence.

Relieved that someone had spoken, Ji Yunfei nodded. “I could guess a little from what Glasses Guy said on the way here.”

“Did you find a way to repair Xie Yin’s soul?”

“Mmm.” Uncle Mo nodded, opened a tattered book on the table, and pushed it toward Ji Yunfei. “This is a secret technique of my Snake Clan… specifically used for repairing soul damage.”

“Using ancient snake runes to deploy an array, the caster and the recipient must touch foreheads, sink their spiritual consciousness, and let their souls connect and echo.”

“……”

“The caster recites the forbidden incantation to break the void and draw mysterious power. Souls intertwine; at the moment of fusion, time and space stand still. The caster uses the power of their Natal Soul to repair the damaged soul.”

The records in the book were long and complex, likely incomprehensible to an ordinary person. Fortunately, Ji Yunfei possessed the memories of the Eldest Miss of an Exorcist family, so understanding it wasn’t too difficult.

Simply put, this was a form of Dual Soul Cultivation. The caster’s intact soul would merge with the recipient’s damaged soul to nourish and supplement it.

The method sounded reliable and didn’t seem dangerous, so why were Xie Chu and the others looking so serious? Shouldn’t they be happy they found a solution?

“This method is the most complete and reliable record we could find. However…” Xie Chu spoke, her expression unreadable. She paused for a long moment before saying slowly, “This is a secret technique passed down from our ancestors. Everyone knows the nature of snakes is ‘lustful,’ so this method of Dual Soul Cultivation inevitably involves… that.”

Speaking of this, she suddenly felt parched and took a sip of tea. “There are several prerequisites for this technique. First, both parties must have shared the ‘joy of fish and water’—they must have had a physical relationship. Second, every member of our Snake Clan possesses a Heart-Protecting Scale, which is only given to the person they love. One of the essential components for the ritual is the Heart-Protecting Scale of one of the participants.”

“Heart-Protecting Scale…” Hearing the mention of the scale, Ji Yunfei’s hand instinctively went to her neck. She pulled out the ink-black scale she had been carefully keeping and showed it to everyone. “Xie Yin gave this to me a long time ago… I’m not sure if this is the scale you’re talking about.”

“Yes, that’s it. That is the Heart-Protecting Scale.” Xie Chu immediately spotted the golden mark that only exists on those scales, a mark only visible to the Snake Clan.

For a moment, Xie Chu didn’t know how to feel. On one hand, she was relieved that Xie Yin had given it to Ji Yunfei early on, saving them a difficult step.

On the other hand, she wanted to strongly condemn her “love-brain” daughter. As the name suggests, the Heart-Protecting Scale is the scale directly in front of their heart—it is vital to a snake demon. Giving it away leaves the heart unprotected and extremely fragile; it essentially means entrusting one’s life to the other person.

To think she was in such danger yet couldn’t wait to give her life away… it was truly impulsive and reckless.

“Since we have the scale, that’s one less trouble.” Drawing her thoughts back, Xie Chu sat up straight. “But that isn’t the most important part.”

“The third prerequisite: The two parties must be mutually in love and willingly merge their souls.”

The soul is a very fragile and sensitive part of a person. The slightest error could result in the total destruction of both body and soul. Therefore, Dual Soul Cultivation is unlike ordinary healing spells—it cannot be forced without the consent of both parties. It must be done while both are willing and their souls are not in conflict.

This rule should have been the easiest, but Xie Yin had amnesia and had forgotten everything about Ji Yunfei. Currently, they were lucky if Xie Yin didn’t hate her, let alone be willing to perform Dual Soul Cultivation.

“After A-Yin lost her memory, we were afraid of triggering her, so we all agreed not to tell her the truth. Consequently, she really believes she is still two hundred years old…”

Xie Chu slightly regretted keeping the secret. But if she had to go back to that moment, she would likely do it again. Partly to protect Xie Yin, and partly out of her own selfishness as a mother.

Sometimes she even selfishly thought it was fine for Xie Yin to stay amnesiac—to be the carefree Little Overlord of the Snake Den, without worrying about this and that, or throwing everything away for Ji Yunfei.

For a long time, she had watched Xie Yin transform from a lawless brat to someone who was indifferent to everyone except Ji Yunfei. As a mother, she had watched her daughter become polite but distant.

Once a rift is created, it isn’t easily healed. When did the rift start? Xie Chu thought it was probably when she first opposed the relationship between Xie Yin and Ji Yunfei.

So, seeing that lively, stubborn brat reappear before her, she found it hard to let go. She had seen all of Xie Yin’s hard work over the past thousand years, and it was a lie to say her heart didn’t ache for her.

Rather than having her constantly chasing behind someone else, it was better to let her remain the unique Little Overlord of the Snake Den. No matter what, her mothers would always be behind her to catch her.

But this was ultimately just a fleeting dream, Xie Chu knew. Soul damage was no small matter. No matter how reluctant she was, she had to let Xie Yin repair her soul and recover her memories. Those lunatics were still watching from the shadows.

“Xiao Ji.” Xie Chu called out. Seeing Ji Yunfei look up in surprise, her complex, heavy thoughts suddenly lightened. She crinkled her eyes and teased: “I heard you’ve been getting the cold shoulder at A-Yin’s place these past few days?”

The moment she said this, the eyes of everyone present gathered on Ji Yunfei. Braving the curious gazes of the “gossip squad,” Ji Yunfei whispered: “Does news travel that fast? But it’s true, she was avoiding me.”

“But today I spoke clearly with her… she seemed quite accepting?”

Under the “interrogation” of the group, Ji Yunfei recounted everything that happened today. Upon hearing that Ji Yunfei told Xie Yin about the amnesia, Xie Chu frowned slightly, not entirely approving: “You were a bit too impulsive. What if A-Yin couldn’t accept it and had an extreme emotional reaction?”

“No, I know her…” Ji Yunfei shook her head. She was certain there was no problem. Xie Yin had never been someone whose emotions were easily pushed to extremes; even with amnesia, that wouldn’t change.

“Besides, she had to find out sooner or later, didn’t she?”

Xie Chu couldn’t find a reason to argue with that. Finally, she waved her hand helplessly: “Fine, since you’re the one chasing your wife, you handle it your way.”

“Just… don’t let her get hurt or triggered.”

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