Chapter 21 Part 3

“Huh?” The Little Snake slowly tilted her head. “Snakey doesn’t understand.”

Ah Wan pointed at her own neck and coaxed, “Whoever bit it is responsible.”

The Little Snake furrowed her brows, pondering her words. After thinking for a long time, she found it very reasonable. Then she leaned in on her own initiative. Hugging Ah Wan, she asked, “Then can Snakey lick it?”

The warm breath from her words spread against Ah Wan’s neck. Ah Wan frowned, gave an “Mhm,” and replied, “You can.”

As the words fell, the Little Snake didn’t hesitate. She lowered her head and took the spot into her mouth, her snake tongue pressing and massaging the two small scars in circles.

Ah Wan bit her lip and let out a muffled groan. She raised a hand to press against the Little Snake’s head, her other arm wrapping around her slender waist, holding her tightly, without any intention of letting go.

~

After autumn arrived, the weather cooled down quickly. The clothes in the wardrobe changed from short sleeves and shorts to sweaters and long pants.

The eaves were often washed clean by rain, becoming gleamingly bright.

Ah Wan lay under the eaves reading a book. In her hands was the latest edition of the “Snake Encyclopedia.”

Unable to find the Little Snake’s specific species, she simply decided to read about all types of snakes.

The Morning Glory vine on the courtyard wall dozed off. A huge flower right in the middle faltered, shaking so much that the Little Snake curled up and sleeping soundly in its heart slipped outward by an inch. The tip of her tail dangled out, gently sweeping.

“Ahem!”

Ah Wan glanced over, distracted, and gave a light cough as a warning.

The Flower Vine immediately perked up, blooming vibrantly and wide awake. It swayed gently in the wind, like a cradle, lulling the Little Snake to sleep.

On the stove in the kitchen, the Corn and Rib Soup bubbled steadily. Its aroma drifted out, fully cooked.

Ah Wan put her book away and got up to turn off the heat. She ladled a bowl of soup, intending to taste its flavor. But before it reached her lips, she heard a rustling sound from outside.

Turning back, she saw the Little Snake had followed her in at some point, a Morning Glory bloom still curled around the tip of her tail.

“Human.” The Little Snake curled the flower and crawled up along her calf. She eventually settled on Ah Wan’s shoulder, her mouth opening in a huge yawn.

Ah Wan turned her head to look at her, then couldn’t help but glance at that eye-catching flower. She then watched helplessly as, after the yawn, the Little Snake popped the flower curled around her tail into her mouth. She chewed two or three times and then swallowed it whole.

Ah Wan: …

What had she just been expecting?

The Little Snake was completely oblivious. She stretched her body out to look at the bowl in Ah Wan’s hand, flicking her tongue. “What is this?”

“Medicine.” Ah Wan replied through gritted teeth.

“Huh?” The Little Snake raised her head to look at her, then, like a scorpion, curled her tail forward to point at the bowl, asking in shock, “This is medicine?”

Ah Wan looked down at her and sneered. “What else did you think it was?”

“Then let Snakey have a taste.”

The Little Snake, not believing such fragrant medicine existed, propped herself up to drink it. But Ah Wan turned her head and swiftly downed the entire bowl in one go. She then cast the Little Snake a provocative glance.

“Woo~”

The Little Snake scraped the bottom of the bowl with her tail. Not a single drop left.

She then looked up at the human’s mouth, all moist and glistening.

Slowly, she crawled over and hung onto Ah Wan’s ear, pressing against her cheek, right at the corner of her lips. She stuck out her tongue and lightly touched them.

The human’s lips were so soft, and smelled so good!

Ah Wan glanced down at her out of the corner of her eye. Her lip crease suddenly parted slightly. The pink tip of her tongue was faintly visible inside her mouth, beckoning.

Curious, the Little Snake stuck out her tongue and reached inside to test it with a touch. A very strange feeling instantly coursed through her entire body.

“Did you get a taste?”

“Was it good?”

Ah Wan asked calmly, as if she had just been properly feeding the Little Snake.

The Little Snake retracted her tongue and seriously savored the feeling. She answered honestly, “Tasty.”

Then, a slow realization dawned on her—

The human’s tongue was even tastier than her lips!

The Mid-Autumn Festival was drawing near. The Gregorian calendar had already reached the end of September.

The afternoon before, Ah Wan packed all the sun-dried herbs into cloth bags, preparing to take them down the mountain to sell the next day.

Come October, it would often rain on the mountain. She wouldn’t be drying large quantities of herbs anymore. Instead, she’d need to start preparing next year’s Gu Insects.

Spring birth, summer growth, autumn harvest, winter storage.

Gu cultivation was like farming; it followed the laws of nature.

Ah Wan needed to select suitable Gu Seeds during winter. She would raise them after spring began, refine the Gu King in autumn, and collect the Gu before winter.

She hadn’t carefully chosen Gu Seeds last year, so she’d only obtained one Heart-Piercing Gu this entire year.

As Ah Wan watched the Little Snake sleeping in her nest, she made calculations for the coming year. Since the weather had gotten colder, the Little Snake was always drowsy.

Whenever the Little Snake slept, time became incredibly long for Ah Wan. The house was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

It was strange. She had clearly lived like this before the Little Snake arrived, but now each day felt like enduring hardship, seconds dragging by like years.

Ah Wan rested her chin on one hand and poked the Little Snake’s head with a finger. Seeing her sleeping soundly, her pitch-black beady eyes closed, Ah Wan couldn’t resist playing with her tail.

It was soft. Hooked upwards, it would slowly slip from her fingertip.

Bored, Ah Wan fiddled with her, with every intention of waking her up. She used her fingers to roll the round, elongated little body back and forth, like kneading dough.

After more than ten minutes, a pink snake tongue lightly flicked out. The pair of beady eyes gradually became black, bright, and alert. The Little Snake sluggishly lifted her head to look.

“Human?”

The Little Snake called out without any temper, her voice soft and mushy. She crawled over to nuzzle against Ah Wan’s finger.

Ah Wan let her nuzzle for a while before gently flicking her on the forehead. She stood up, looking down, and said, “I’m going down the mountain to sell medicine tomorrow. You watch the house.”

“Huh?” The Little Snake had just woken up; her mind was still sluggish. She took a long moment before replying, “Mm!”

Then she patted her nest with her tail and obediently said, “Snakey will sleep at home and won’t go anywhere.”

Hearing this, Ah Wan’s hand, hanging at her side, clenched. In the end, she said nothing. She just gave a restrained “Mhm” before turning and walking into the house.

The Little Snake watched her silhouette disappear into the bedroom. Her body went limp, and with a splat, she flopped back into her nest. Lying on her back, she started snoring away.

Her tail swept left and right, hooking a corner of the Little Blanket and pulling it up over her body with force, covering herself tightly.

Phew, she slept even more soundly.

In the middle of the night, the bedroom door was suddenly flung open forcefully.

Ah Wan, wearing pajamas, walked out. Gently scooping up the Little Blanket along with the snake inside, she immediately turned and went back to her room.

In the early morning, Ah Wan’s first reaction upon waking was to flip open the blanket and look at the snake inside.

Curled up in a coil, sleeping peacefully.

She finally breathed a sigh of relief. Using her palm, she slowly nudged the Little Snake into her arms and hugged her, falling back into a deep sleep.

After daybreak, Ah Wan woke up slowly. She saw that the Little Snake in her arms had, at some unknown time, transformed into a young girl. She was lying on her stomach on Ah Wan’s chest, breathing steadily in small puffs.

Ah Wan reached out and touched the soft, curved hair by her ear, gently tucking it behind. Then she tenderly tapped the tip of her nose.

The Little Snake was ticklish. She buried her face in Ah Wan’s embrace and nuzzled, mumbling something. Her thick lashes fluttered, as if she was about to wake up.

Feeling guilty, Ah Wan abruptly withdrew her hand and got out of bed, turning her back to the human on the bed and not looking at her.

The Little Snake fell onto the pillow, confused. Propping herself up on her elbow, she looked around. Seeing Ah Wan changing with her back turned, her eyes woke up faster than her brain, looking over brightly and intently as she flicked her tongue with a hiss.

“How did I get here?”

She clearly remembered sleeping in the snake nest outside.

Ah Wan’s voice sounded a bit hollow. She coughed twice before replying, “I don’t know.”

“Maybe you’ve gotten used to climbing into my bed.”

Hearing this, the Little Snake was greatly shocked. She slapped the bed. “Snakey is actually like this?”

Ah Wan didn’t look at her, nor did she answer her question. She finished changing and casually tied up her hair. “I’m going down the mountain today. You watch the house.”

“Where are you going?” The Little Snake instantly cast aside the matter of how she’d ended up in the bedroom. Her mind was solely on Ah Wan. She hurriedly scrambled off the bed to chase after her, asking urgently, “When will you be back?”

Ah Wan pushed open the bathroom door to wash up. Squeezing toothpaste onto her brush, she replied, “Down the mountain. I might not be back tonight. Remember to help me feed the little ones in the house at noon.”

“Feed who?” The Little Snake clung to the doorframe, watching her brush her teeth, curious.

“Every living thing in this house besides you.” Ah Wan rinsed her mouth and answered unhurriedly.

Thinking of the house full of Toxic Creatures, cold sweat immediately broke out on the Little Snake. She flicked her tongue nervously and refused without hesitation, “No.”

“If you don’t feed them, when they get too hungry, the first thing they’ll do is crawl out and eat you.”

Ah Wan deliberately scared her. She finished washing up and turned to leave.

Afraid, the Little Snake frowned and followed her step for step.

Ah Wan stopped and looked at her. She raised her hand and poked her forehead. “What are you following me for?”