Wanxi Rebirth - Chapter 17

Considering the need to maintain a relationship of mutual trust with Qin Suiliu in the future, Yue Tingxi had to try and understand what this young lady’s request of her was.

Due to the experience of being used and hurt in her previous life, she actually didn’t want to rest with Qin Suiliu. As for relaxing and revealing her full snake form to coil on the floor, that was even more out of the question.

In her eyes, receiving an “invitation” from this young lady was, in itself, an incredible thing.

The impression Qin Suiliu gave her was similar to a powerful mountain demon with a strong sense of territory—one who would drive away anyone who dared to approach. That felt more like their style.

But the young lady seemed to genuinely want to invite her to share a room.

Even if the previous excuse was to “supervise” her and keep her close, she had slept just outside the room last night. At that time, the young lady hadn’t said anything and hadn’t woken her up, letting her sleep until dawn. It was a clear sign of silent approval. So why, just a day later, did the young lady want her to come inside to sleep?

Yue Tingxi was completely puzzled. She only knew she had to make a decision quickly to avoid displeasing the other party and jeopardizing their temporary alliance.

After a moment’s thought, she walked toward the soft white fox-fur cushion, sat down cross-legged, took out her thick book, and looked up to tentatively ask, “I have night vision, and if I turn the pages slowly, I won’t make a sound. I also slept well last night, so Miss Suiliu can just rest and recuperate. There’s no need to specially look after me.”

This excuse should be flawless. She had planned to read all night anyway; now she was simply changing locations, as long as it didn’t disturb the young lady’s rest.

Qin Suiliu showed no emotion on her face, but in reality, she wanted nothing more than to immediately snatch the book away, telling Yue Tingxi that everything required a balance of work and rest, and tonight was for sleeping. The book could wait until tomorrow.

But she didn’t dare.

She could sense Yue Tingxi’s wariness toward her, like a cat that had just been brought to a new place, constantly on guard against everything around it—even kindness.

For Yue Tingxi, staying here was probably the greatest compromise she would make, and Qin Suiliu felt she should quit while she was ahead.

“There’s always tomorrow,” Qin Suiliu reminded herself inwardly before smiling at Yue Tingxi and saying, “Alright, I’ll rest now. Please make yourself at home, Miss Tingxi.”

She waved her sleeve to extinguish the spiritual energy lamps in the room but left one lit for Yue Tingxi, allowing the warm, orange light to fall on the book and illuminate every word. She casually made up an excuse: “I can’t sleep soundly without any light at all.”

When she saw that Miss Qin had truly gone to bed, Yue Tingxi breathed a sigh of relief and focused even more on her book.

Based on what the young lady had said, they would be investigating He Shen’s belongings tomorrow and listening to reports from the elders who went to the ghost market residence. They might even have to go there again, which would take up another day. She needed to seize the moment and read as many pages as possible.

For a time, the room became incredibly quiet, with the sound of turning pages and breathing barely audible.

Qin Suiliu had planned to meditate and cultivate, but with the person she cared about most so close, she found it hard to calm her mind. As soon as she closed her eyes, she involuntarily started replaying everything she had experienced with Yue Tingxi in their previous life.

Bloody fragments of memory tried to resurface, but she forcefully suppressed them.

At least for tonight, she wanted their past interactions to be limited to that encounter twenty years ago.

Accompanied by the extremely faint sound of turning pages, she felt a strange sense of peace, and a wave of fatigue washed over her.

Before long, the vague and fragmented images in her mind gradually became clear.

She had fallen into a dream.

A little girl, dressed in an ill-fitting watery-blue robe, was lazily resting her head on a cool, dark serpent’s tail. She also held a section of the serpent’s body in her arms. She would close her eyes for a moment, then quietly open one to curiously observe the snake demon and see what she was doing.

After repeating this several times, she heard the snake demon ask with a laugh, “Why are you still awake?”

“I can’t sleep. I’m thinking about things,” the little girl said, no longer pretending. She simply held the snake’s body and looked at her.

“Such a young age and you’re already burdened with worries?” the snake demon was a little surprised. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

“…No.”

“Then I’ll guess myself,” the snake demon said gently. “You have good bones and spiritual energy in your body, so you must have embarked on the path of cultivation. Are you troubled by difficulties you’ve encountered in your practice?”

Seeing that she didn’t speak, the snake demon continued to guess: “There was also a boy with you. I saw that he was polite and proper toward you, yet he constantly worried about you. Could it be that he is your ‘childhood sweetheart fiancé’? Are you worried about matters of the heart?”

“Absolutely not!” The little girl suddenly flared up like a firecracker. Angrily, she sat up straight. “Even though there’s an engagement, it’s not one I wanted! I only see him as a sworn brother and I’ve already made that clear to him! If he dares to treat me as his wife, I’ll chop off his… anyway, I’ll make him a laughingstock!”

The snake demon hadn’t expected her to get so angry. She was both surprised and repeatedly apologized. After the little girl calmed down, she explained, “I’ve been reading too many romantic storybooks. I apologize for offending you. I won’t bring it up again.”

The little girl let out a soft harrumph and held the snake’s tail tighter: “Then wrap me up, and I won’t be mad at you anymore.”

As soon as she spoke, she felt something cool and slick press against her. The dark serpent’s tail quickly coiled around her, just as she had wished, wrapping her loosely in the middle.

“…I still think you’re a very strange child.”

Just as the little girl was squinting her eyes in enjoyment, she heard the snake demon whisper, “Not to mention humans, even the great demons in the mountains are afraid of being tangled by my demonic body. You’re the only one who enjoys it.”

“It’s because I like you…” the little girl blurted out. Realizing her mistake, she quickly corrected herself, “…’s tail!”

At that time, she remembered the story of “loving the house and the crow” that her mother had told her. She wondered if her situation could be considered “loving the snake and the tail.”

If it weren’t for the ten-thousand-year-old pact between the human and demon races, which forced demons to follow many rules and restrictions when they descended the mountains, she would have truly wanted to take Sister Tingxi home and beg her to coil around her every day.

…

Qin Suiliu struggled to wake up.

She felt something pressing on her body, and although it was a little suffocating, the sensation was so familiar that she forced herself to open her eyes from the beautiful dream.

A tail.

A dark serpent’s tail had somehow settled on her body. It wasn’t coiled, just draped over her.

She really wanted to touch the smooth, cool snake scales, but she didn’t dare, afraid of waking its owner. Instead, she simply lifted her hand and conjured a water mirror, making it hover in mid-air to reflect the current scene.

Yue Tingxi, who had planned to read all night, was already asleep. Her human upper body rested peacefully on the white fox-fur cushion, while her lower half had transformed into a snake’s body. One part was stretched out on the floor, and the other had crawled onto her couch.

However, Yue Tingxi seemed completely unaware of this. The part of the snake’s body draped over her was even wriggling, looking as if it was about to coil around her.

Seeing this, Qin Suiliu immediately held her breath, removed the water mirror, and waited motionless, trying her best to suppress the slight trembling of her body.

She was afraid of breaking the peace of the moment.

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