The Myriad Snake Queen snapped irritably, “I didn’t bring you out to play so you could possess him! Hurry up and give control of the body back to your Father Emperor.”
Yan Yan crossed her arms over her chest and declared righteously, “Uh-huh! I’ve already gotten Father’s permission to borrow his body for a little activity…”
“This is outrageous!”
The Myriad Snake Queen facepalmed with a sigh. Yan Yan just giggled.
“By the way,” she continued, “Father’s body feels so different from Mother’s. The chest is super light, but there’s this extra dangly bit between the legs that’s all wedged in there—kinda uncomfortable.”
With that, she looked down at herself, her hands waving vaguely in the air as if she had no clue what to do next.
After all, what girl knew the first thing about handling a stiff shaft?
The sight of her fumbling made both the Myriad Snake Queen and Yun Xiu flush red with embarrassment.
“Yan Yan!” The Myriad Snake Queen felt like this dead lass had utterly ruined her dignity. “Don’t mess around with your father’s body! Get back to Mother’s sea of consciousness right now!”
“Are you jealous, Mother?” The Little Princess covered her mouth with a mischievous grin. “Jealous of your own daughter? You’re such a big ol’ vinegar jar, hee hee~”
With her Father Emperor backing her up, Yan Yan had grown a bit bolder—even daring to tease her own mother.
The Myriad Snake Queen glanced at Yun Xiu and caught her watching with a strangely subtle look. She felt mortified.
Just moments ago, she’d been proudly showing off her daughter in front of Yun Xiu. Now here the girl was, playing the fool and turning her into a joke.
She Ji fumed with embarrassment, her blood-red vertical pupils glaring sharply at her foolish daughter. “This Queen will count to three. If you don’t come back, then don’t ever come back—three!”
Eh? Yan Yan hadn’t expected her mother to blow up like that.
“Mother, nooo! I still wanna go play with Father later…”
“Two!”
“Mother~ Just a little longer, pretty please?”
“One!”
“Aiya, fine, fine! I’m coming back~”
Yan Yan closed her eyes and handed control of the body back to Yan Zhen. Then, she transformed into a cluster of flame-like consciousness that shot out from between his brows before fleeing guiltily back into the Myriad Snake Queen’s sea of consciousness, where she hid.
Yan Zhen staggered for a moment, nearly tumbling over. Yun Xiu rushed forward to steady him.
“Are you alright, Yan Zhen?”
He shook his head. He just wasn’t used to switching consciousness like that—it left him feeling disoriented when he regained control of his body.
“Good, as long as you’re fine.” Yun Xiu spoke softly. “That really is your daughter with She Ji?”
Yan Zhen scratched his cheek awkwardly. “Well… I’m not entirely sure.”
He glanced toward the Myriad Snake Queen, who noticed his gaze and immediately turned her head away.
“Don’t look at This Queen like that,” she huffed. “The future is the future. The present is the present.”
“Oh.”
So awkward.
He and the Myriad Snake Queen weren’t even that close yet. And suddenly, they were being told they had a daughter—one who’d traveled back from the future, no less!
Thank goodness his sweet daughter had no idea how her mother had gotten pregnant with her. The Myriad Snake Queen probably didn’t know about the messy entanglements yet to come between them either. If she did and started guarding against it, that could throw the whole plot off course.
The Myriad Snake Queen didn’t have many scenes in the script, and her interactions with him were few and far between—but they were all pivotal.
A faint air of ambiguity suddenly hung between the two of them, like a pair of shy young sweethearts who secretly crushed on each other but were too scared to confess. Yun Xiu, standing off to the side, felt like a total third wheel. A trace of bitterness welled up in her heart, and she quietly tightened her grip on Yan Zhen’s hand.
Yan Zhen picked up on Yun Xiu’s low mood. He secretly traced a couple of lines on her palm with his finger and sent her a spiritual power transmission: “…You’ll have one of your own after thirty~”
Yun Xiu’s cheeks heated up at his words. She thought back to these past few days—him holding her legs apart and filling her over and over while she “occasionally” “forgot” to refine it away. It was entirely possible…
No, no, no! That wouldn’t do!
She ducked her head shyly, but her mood lifted anyway. Her small hand even took the initiative to interlock fingers with his.
The Myriad Snake Queen spotted their little exchange and let out a cold snort. “Since you promised Yan’er you’d take her out to play, don’t go back on your word. This Queen has plenty of free time every day too!”
Yan Zhen thought for a moment. “Then… how about we head out now? Where do you want to go, Yan’er?”
Yan Yan had been born in the City of Water and lived there with the Myriad Snake Queen for several years, so she knew all the best spots.
The Myriad Snake Queen fell quiet for a beat. Then Yan Yan’s spiritual fluctuations emanated from between her brows. “I wanna go to the Snake Fighting Arena with Father to watch some snake fights!”
Snake fighting was a unique spectacle exclusive to the City of Water.
The city’s people were mostly descendants of the Snake God, born with the innate ability to communicate with snakes and control them effortlessly.
In a snake fight, two handlers pitted their snakes against each other. The outcome largely depended on the snakes’ grades and talents, though the handlers’ tactics played a role too. The defeated snake would be buried with respect.
The City of Water’s army boasted elite snake handlers known as the Snake Cavalry. A rider and their serpent made for an incredibly mobile and deadly combination—one of the city’s greatest points of pride.
Beyond that, snake fighting had inspired a wave of popular creative works, including hot-blooded combat novels like Fighting Snakes in the Firmament. Yan Zhen and Yun Xiu had even picked up a copy while out shopping.
The trio left the teahouse, with two snake guards trailing discreetly behind.
There was only one major Snake Fighting Arena in the City of Water. The Myriad Snake Queen produced her royal waist token, and they were immediately ushered in with utmost respect—straight to a luxurious private box with a perfect view.
They settled onto the wide sofa, with Yan Zhen in the center, the Myriad Snake Queen on his left, and Yun Xiu on his right.
Yan Zhen felt a twinge of pressure. On one side sat his future wife, complete with their future daughter. On the other was his current girlfriend—the one who’d boldly claimed to be his “secret lover,” though there was nothing secret about it. There wasn’t even a hint of a harem battlefield vibe, which somehow made it even more nerve-wracking.
“Ahem… Yan’er, can you see the show from inside the sea of consciousness?”
“I can see it,” Yan Yan’s spiritual fluctuations replied, “but there’s zero thrill of being there live. Mother, I wanna possess you~”
The Myriad Snake Queen sighed. “Fine, you can possess me. But no running off.”
Yan Yan fired off a rapid string of affirmatives.
The Myriad Snake Queen closed her eyes and relinquished control to her daughter. When she opened them again, the vertical pupils were gone, and her hair bore a faint reddish tint.
“Woo-hoo! Out again!”
Yan Yan stretched her limbs, then turned to Yan Zhen with a beaming smile. “I wanna sit on Father’s lap~”
Before he could respond, she hopped right onto it and grabbed his hands, wrapping them around her own waist.
“Yan’er?”
Yan Zhen felt a generous backside settle squarely onto his lap. His thighs sank into the excessively plush cheeks, while his hands ended up gripping that sinuous water-snake waist. It was intoxicatingly alluring.
The Myriad Snake Queen was already taller than Yan Zhen to begin with, so her sitting on his lap looked a bit odd. Yan Yan sensed something was off too—it didn’t feel as comfy and secure as when she’d done this before. So she wriggled her hips to adjust.
“!”
The transformed Second Master stirred faintly at the stimulation. Yan Zhen inwardly groaned.
Good daughter, this is your mother’s body—not yours!
