The garden burst with blooming flowers, layers of pink and white overlapping in beautiful patterns etched against soft whiteness, a sight too captivating to look away from.
Dark red marks etched deeply into the delicate, trembling petals. From the dense clusters of blossoms, glistening dew drops fell, warm crystalline droplets rolling slowly down the skin onto the bedsheets.
The moist heat soaked through the sheets and drenched the mattress. Ye Xi subconsciously touched her arm, feeling as if it had been spritzed with a few drops of desire-enhancing perfume.
It seemed Shen Mingjin had gotten it wrong from the start. She wasn’t some aggressively dominant snake that wounded her lover by mistake; Ye Xi wasn’t some frail, easily bullied little white rabbit. On the contrary, Ye Xi was the complete dominant one. She loved seeing Shen Mingjin bloom under her fingertips, trembling faintly.
She loved Shen Mingjin’s vulnerability and soft moans even more, and she especially loved the double-layered pleasure from their shared sensations.
Even in deep sleep, Shen Mingjin’s alluring beauty didn’t fade. Freshly washed by the “rain,” her entire body was damp, fine teardrops clinging to her lashes, red marks at the corners of her eyes proclaiming her utter defeat and well-ravaged state. Ye Xi leaned in and kissed Shen Mingjin’s moist eye corner, a sly smile flickering in her eyes. “Sister.”
Shen Mingjin couldn’t resist her schemes. One “compensation” payment after another piled up, and her debt didn’t lighten—instead, it grew heavier.
Of course, Shen Mingjin might have known she was being shameless but simply couldn’t bear to refuse.
After all, Shen Mingjin always indulged her.
It was an indulgence that tempted one to sink into depravity, like honey wrapped in thick fragrance—sweet to the scent, even sweeter to the taste.
Thinking of Shen Mingjin’s tolerance and pampering, the laughter in Ye Xi’s eyes grew stronger. It was the sly rabbit’s glee and satisfaction after thoroughly savoring what seemed like a ferocious snake.
She gently embraced Shen Mingjin’s body, still struggling in the afterglow of heat. Her naked form pressed against Shen Mingjin’s back, shifting her chest away from the bedsheet that had slipped during their intense movements and pressing it firmly against the soft mattress.
Her chest felt the softness of the peaks and the delicate skin of Shen Mingjin’s back at once. The surging pleasure nearly overwhelmed her mind.
So soft.
Ye Xi tightly hugged Shen Mingjin’s waist, planting gentle kisses on the back of her neck. The warm breath startled Shen Mingjin awake from her dreams. Dazed, she pushed away Ye Xi’s hands locked around her waist and let out a faint protest. “Tired…”
The Wanling Tree was truly miraculous, its vast life force seemingly endless.
As a snake demon, Shen Mingjin had been exhausted by their lovemaking, her body wrapped in drowsiness and fatigue, her breaths growing weaker. Yet Ye Xi, as a human, was still full of energy. She continued to disturb Shen Mingjin’s sleep and even had the presence of mind to count how many of Shen Mingjin’s seals had come undone.
Shen Mingjin’s back pressed against Ye Xi’s chest. She shifted backward slightly and turned her head a bit.
Her head instinctively burrowed into Ye Xi’s neck hollow, her soft breaths brushing Ye Xi’s neck. Her low, weak voice betrayed her exhaustion. “Tired.”
It felt like Shen Mingjin was acting spoiled.
Ye Xi was a person with multiple personality masks. In their relationship, she was the one who showed weakness, pursued passionately, pressed step by step, played pitiful—and even acted spoiled. This was the first time she felt Shen Mingjin’s delicate weakness.
Should she remind Shen Mingjin that acting spoiled in bed didn’t seem like wanting to stop? It felt more like adding fuel to the rising desire.
That was what Ye Xi thought, but the hand at Shen Mingjin’s waist still loosened. She wiggled her fingers, pruned white from prolonged soaking, and tried to get up to take Shen Mingjin for a bath. But as soon as she sat up, pain shot through her neck as if it might snap off her head.
She grabbed the new phone Shen Mingjin had prepared for her and shone it on her neck.
Clear strangulation marks covered her pale neck. The red mole on the side had been bitten until it swelled with blood, and the surrounding skin was scraped raw with faint blood threads.
The marks weren’t just on her neck—her waist and abdomen bore traces of tail constriction too.
Her memory jolted awake from the pleasure. She recalled Shen Mingjin’s recent excesses. Shen Mingjin was inherently reserved and introverted; her passion required unlocking seals. But unlocking too many led to side effects—like the Shen Mingjin who blushed while talking to her one moment suddenly biting down the next.
It felt like Shen Mingjin’s body was starving beyond endurance, needing to be stuffed full before the desire would stop. Animals seemed to have side effects when climaxing—for instance, Shen Mingjin would reveal her snake tail amid the aftershocks, instinctively wrapping around Ye Xi’s body in a strangling motion.
Even with extreme restraint, marks were left behind.
The stronger the desire, the tighter the instinctive coils, the harder the bites on her neck.
Shen Mingjin repeatedly bit only the skin near that red mole on her neck, as if it held some fatal allure for her. If Shen Mingjin hadn’t lost herself without her sanity shattering, Ye Xi would have thought she’d gnaw the mole right off.
Ye Xi quietly inhaled, her fingers subconsciously opening a search page. The query: Do snakes eat people?
[Snakes can eat people, but mainly large pythons.]
[Pet snakes have no aggression.]
[]
Ye Xi skimmed the page hurriedly and measured Shen Mingjin’s slender body with her hand. Hmm… Shen Mingjin probably didn’t eat people. She was just starved, her desires overriding reason—and that was understandable. After all, Ye Xi bullied her even when she was visibly exhausted.
Pain could be ignored; pleasure lingered in memory.
Of course, she still needed to talk to Shen Mingjin about it.
She loved Shen Mingjin deeply, but she wanted to love her while alive. She really needed to have that talk.
Hmm, in bed.
If it was an action born from starvation, wouldn’t thoroughly satiating her fix it?
Once all the seals were unlocked, Shen Mingjin wouldn’t need to rely on them for passion anymore.
Ye Xi scooped Shen Mingjin up from the bed and carried her toward the bathroom, lost in wild thoughts as she walked.
When Shen Mingjin coiled her tail around her, couldn’t she coil back?
Block the life-threatening tail while taking her fill?
Ye Xi didn’t have such a long tail, but she had other things…
Sinful ideas came easily.
With a slight flicker of intent, fresh green leaves sprouted from behind Ye Xi. As more leaves grew, a small tree appeared at her back. The swaying tree shook down supple, resilient branches that extended toward Shen Mingjin’s body, slowly wrapping around her.
The instant her wrists were bound, Shen Mingjin opened her eyes.
Her eyes didn’t fully open—half-lidded with shimmering moisture, fragile thin red at the corners.
Shen Mingjin said nothing, but Ye Xi surrendered. “Sister, I won’t do anything.”
She soothed Shen Mingjin, obediently retracting the branches and tree. She gazed tenderly at the fragile woman nestled in her arms. Her actions stopped, but her naughty thoughts didn’t.
Shen Mingjin weakly reached out, draping her arm over Ye Xi’s shoulder. Her fingers inched forward to hook Ye Xi’s neck. Using the leverage, she lifted her body slightly, her lips nearing Ye Xi’s ear. In an extremely faint, hoarse whisper: “Tomorrow… then…”
It was like negotiating to postpone their pent-up affection.
Exhausted, Shen Mingjin spoke slowly and unclearly.
By the time she finished, Ye Xi had carried her into the bathroom. She stood before the vanity mirror, examining her own features. Ye Xi’s features weren’t strikingly stunning individually, but together they exuded a unique beauty. Unlike Shen Mingjin’s face with its extreme stylistic bias, this allowed her to don new masks freely.
She lowered her brows slightly, instantly gaining a soft, harmless look.
Ye Xi nodded to herself in the mirror and said in a subdued voice to Shen Mingjin, “Sister, look how obedient I am. How could you imagine me as a beast? You’re so worn out—I definitely won’t bully you anymore. I just want to give you a bath. It’ll feel better to sleep after.”
Half-truths, half-lies—Shen Mingjin’s foggy mind couldn’t discern them.
Ye Xi tugged at her nerves, guilt rising in her chest, when Ye Xi’s voice sounded again: “Sister misunderstood me. You’ll have to pay me compensation later, okay?”
Shen Mingjin looked up in surprise, meeting Ye Xi’s smiling eyes. She bit her lip. “You… shameless.”
The soft murmur brimmed with coquettish reproach—a side of fragile, petulant Shen Mingjin rarely seen. Ye Xi itched to capture those swollen red lips and savor if she tasted sweeter now.
But considering Shen Mingjin’s depleted stamina, she restrained herself.
She turned on the bathtub faucet, letting water fill it, while pondering inwardly.
She really needed to remind Shen Mingjin: if you’re out of energy, don’t act spoiled randomly—or she’d be the one bullying her.
Only admire, no touching.
That was torment too.
Ye Xi mentally tallied another debt, gaining yet another reason for compensation.
Shen Mingjin didn’t yet know her debts were mounting. She only knew Ye Xi’s overflowing stamina had finally spared her, letting her breathe a silent sigh of relief.
Ye Xi did behave more properly, gently and patiently washing her. But she inevitably brushed sensitive spots.
Even as Shen Mingjin bit her lip tightly, faint, soft gasps escaped.
Her slightly open eyes grew mistier, red marks accumulating at the corners. She teetered on the edge of being swallowed by desire again, climbing another peak of pleasure with Ye Xi. Suddenly, she felt annoyed that her drowsiness wasn’t deeper—her body utterly spent, yet her mind remained clear.
Amid the annoyance, there was relief too. Good thing she hadn’t closed her eyes.
She saw Ye Xi’s gentle gaze, the meticulous care lavished on every inch of skin.
Eyes wrapped in love were moving enough. Her hazy mind hadn’t robbed her of appreciating her lover’s devoted stare. In truth, Shen Mingjin’s experiences of pure love were scarce. Born at a bad time, her childhood coincided with the Spirit-Devouring Snake Clan’s rapid collapse from demon poison invasion.
Back then, her family wasn’t a haven but a land encircled by bloodshed and fanaticism.
The only love she felt came from Shen Minghuan. Then Si Ruoling arrived, skewing her sisterly bond with Shen Minghuan into tangled love and hate, costing her the last pillar of home—her sister.
Si Ruoling’s love for her mixed guilt and Shen Minghuan. Shen Shuyun’s mixed status and Spirit-Devouring Snake Clan interests. Even the Embracing Snow Clan loved her with strings of status and Shen Minghuan attached.
The pure love Shen Mingjin truly received spanned only those years trailing behind Shen Minghuan. That was why she and Shen Minghuan couldn’t return to the past yet couldn’t fully sever their sisterly bond.
Ye Xi offered her pure, fervent love.
Though Ye Xi wasn’t entirely sincere by nature, she chose to believe Ye Xi’s heart for her burned purely hot.
In Ye Xi’s palms, Shen Mingjin was the finest artwork, worth the long effort to wipe away the last traces. Fatigue fled her mind; grim future fantasies dropped away. She let herself briefly drown in pure affection.
Unable to resist, she hugged Ye Xi’s waist and leaned in to kiss Ye Xi’s eyes.
There lay warmth belonging solely to her.
The sudden kiss stunned Ye Xi briefly, but her adaptability shone. She pointed to her other eye. “Sister, no favoritism. You have to kiss this one too.”
She closed her eyes slightly, awaiting the kiss.
A demon’s fine recovery kept bedridden exhaustion at bay, but fatigue and soreness seeped into every bone. Without Ye Xi’s support at her waist, she’d collapse into the tub and drown in the foam. She couldn’t risk reigniting Ye Xi’s desire, yet she couldn’t refuse the request.
Shen Mingjin kissed Ye Xi’s other eye—a dragonfly-touch, withdrawn swiftly.
Ye Xi opened her eyes and examined the shy, embarrassed Shen Mingjin.
The flush on Shen Mingjin’s skin hadn’t faded. Hot water surged her blood, deepening the red marks—her skin glowed even redder now.
The diffused crimson resembled sunset glow, captivating one to watch until it fully ebbed, eyes glued fast.
Ye Xi’s throat bobbed. She pointed at her eyes. “Sister, you kissed my right eye a bit more. My left eye will protest. Hurry up and make it up to it.”
Shen Mingjin shot Ye Xi a reproachful glance but still slowly leaned closer.
Ye Xi did not fully close her eyes. She watched Shen Mingjin’s approach. In the instant Shen Mingjin’s lips were about to touch her eye, Ye Xi slightly propped up her upper body and swiftly captured Shen Mingjin’s lips, swallowing all her sounds into her belly and greedily sucking on her sweet nectar.
When Shen Mingjin began to gasp for breath, Ye Xi released her. “Sister, actually, I think you won’t wake up tomorrow.”
Flushes of red floated on Shen Mingjin’s neck and cheeks. “Rogue.”
Her chest heaved dramatically, her soft white breasts trembling lightly with the motion, capturing Ye Xi’s gaze.
Ye Xi’s tongue tip felt slightly dry. Unable to hold back, she leaned toward Shen Mingjin. “Sister’s insulting me again. I’m going to get mad.”
Before Shen Mingjin could defend herself, Ye Xi bit her lip. Only after the kiss did she say, “Then, as punishment, Sister has to pay me another round of compensation.”
Shen Mingjin nervously shifted backward. “Ye… Ye Xi.”
The moment her waist left Ye Xi’s palm, it sank downward. Ye Xi promptly pulled Shen Mingjin back into her embrace. Looking at Shen Mingjin’s swollen lips, she refrained from kissing again and gently coaxed her. “Sister, why don’t you call me Xiao Xi? If you call me Xiao Xi, I won’t bully you anymore.”
“Xi… Xiao Xi.”
“Sister, you’re the best!”
For twenty-two years, only Ye Tan had called her Xiao Xi. Ye Xi only called the pink fur rabbit Xiao Xi.
To her, Xiao Xi was a name for family.
And she had placed Shen Mingjin in her family.
Shen Mingjin did not understand the significance of the name. She did not know this was Ye Xi’s highest honor for her, nor did she realize that uttering it meant she had tacitly joined Ye Xi’s family.
Ye Xi hugged Shen Mingjin tightly. Tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes, dripping onto Shen Mingjin’s back. “Sister’s not bad. I’m the bad one.”
The warm teardrops rolled along her skin, sliding down her spine and melting into the bathwater.
Shen Mingjin’s heart softened once more. She panted in small gasps, trying her best to speak a complete sentence. “Xiao Xi, your Demon Power will slowly recover, and your Demon Body will get better too.”
?
Did Shen Mingjin mean that as the Seal opened more, not only would her Demon Power recover, but her body would also become more resilient?
Ye Xi could hardly believe her ears. Realizing Shen Mingjin was coaxing her, she could not help but kiss her.
Shen Mingjin’s swollen lips hurt a little when pressed. She pushed at Ye Xi and murmured softly, “No more kissing.”
Ye Xi’s eyelashes trembled, crystalline tears spilling out. “Sister.”
“Not today.”
Shen Mingjin always yielded easily. She was forever this gentle, forever indulging Ye Xi.
Ye Xi’s instincts had never been wrong. Being Shen Mingjin’s lover was pure happiness.
Shen Mingjin had not received much love, but she truly knew how to love others.
Having gotten her way, Ye Xi grew a bit sweeter. She leaned against Shen Mingjin and acted cute. “Sister, I’m very obedient.”
Shen Mingjin’s eyes lowered. She examined Ye Xi, who was suppressing her desires and had become gentle and attentive again, exceptionally eager to please. Her lips moved slowly. “Little liar.”
“Sister, I don’t lie to you.” Ye Xi took Shen Mingjin’s hand and placed it over her heart. “Sister, I love you so much, and I’ll only ever love you.”
Shen Mingjin did not pull away, nor did she think it was a lie.
She had always known Ye Xi’s lies outnumbered her truths, but so what?
Shen Mingjin willingly lost herself. She was happy to sink into Ye Xi’s deceptions, to adapt to her whims and half-truths.
She did not need a flawless lover. She only needed the one holding her to be Ye Xi. If it were not Ye Xi, she would not mind breaking them…
The gradually obsessive thoughts sent out dangerous signals. Shen Mingjin promptly suppressed the improper notion. Guilt made her instinctively speak. “Xiao Xi, I won’t hurt you.”
She was admonishing herself and giving Ye Xi a promise.
Seeing Shen Mingjin still worried about the future, Ye Xi shook her head. “Sister, I’m not afraid of you hurting me. I’m only afraid that if you hurt someone, it won’t be me.”
Shen Mingjin gazed into Ye Xi’s earnest eyes and read a single sentence there:
Please love me deeply, without reservation, without regard for consequences.
