Chapter 185

Chapter 185

This snake looks familiar. Is it the little white snake from the mountain behind their house that has turned into a spirit?

Shen Qiuji directly asked, "Master, is this snake from our backyard mountain?"

"Not that one." Although Xie Yin Xue denied the assumption that Bu Jiuzhao was the white snake spirit, she wasn't sure how to introduce him to Shen Qiuji, simply saying, "He... is not a snake."

Shen Qiuji nodded, giving a look of understanding, as if to say, "You don't have to explain further. I get it," and took over Xie Yin Xue's words to continue, "He's the new cook in our household."

Bu Jiuzhao, with a spatula curled by his tail, was like: "?"

He turned his snake head and stared at Shen Qiuji, saying, "I am not the new cook of your house."

Confused by his response, Shen Qiuji asked, "Then what are you?"

It sounded like an insult.

"Ah Ji, he's your master's, um... lover? Paramour? Frenemy?"

To maintain family harmony, Liu Buhua wanted to mediate the situation, but he realized he couldn't accurately define Bu Jiuzhao's position next to Xie Yin Xue. He tried several terms, each more ridiculous than the last, but they could all be summed up as "someone by her side at night."

"Master, you..."

Shen Qiuji was taken aback.

He always knew his master had a unique fate, and no one could accompany him throughout his life. But he never imagined that his master would stoop so low as to be with a snake?!

"No way!" Shen Qiuji threw his backpack on the dining chair, ran to the table, slapped it, and seriously said, "Humans and monsters are distinct, and I disapprove of this match!"

Xie Yin Xue was about to defend herself when Liu Buhua walked over with a freshly cooked dish and said, "What does it matter if he's human or monster?"

He pulled Shen Qiuji aside and whispered, "Let him be the secondary partner, not the main one."

Shen Qiuji, still young, had his worldview reformed once again. But after some deeper thought... it didn't seem entirely unreasonable.

Bu Jiuzhao: "???"

Bu Jiuzhao used his tail to coil around a piece of ginger, tossing it at Liu Buhua: "Liu Buhua, I can hear everything."

He looked at Liu Buhua with a speechless expression. No wonder Aunt Mary always wanted to tear his mouth; he never says anything nice.

"Bu Jiuzhao, I'm just thinking of your best interests." Despite rubbing his head, Liu Buhua went back to the stove trying to reason with Bu Jiuzhao, "Considering my fate of going against loved ones, if you become my stepmother, you'll have a hard time. Why not start as a lesser stepmother to test the waters?"

Xie Yin Xue: "..."

The conversation was getting more absurd. Listening to it, Xie Yin Xue felt that she might need to take Liu Buhua to a hospital to get his head checked the next day.

Yet, Bu Jiuzhao was drawn into his nonsense. Quickly climbing from the stove to Xie Yin Xue's shoulder, he said in disbelief, "Isn't your society monogamous? And you want me to be a secondary partner?"

"Let's eat first." Xie Yin Xue felt that discussing this matter now, when Bu Jiuzhao wasn't even in human form, was premature. So, picking up her chopsticks, she said, "We can discuss this later."

"Thud—!"

With a flick of his tail, Bu Jiuzhao knocked Xie Yin Xue's chopsticks to the table, preventing him from eating. In a stern voice, he demanded, "You need to clarify this now! I'm almost like your pet, and yet you want me as a secondary?!"

"When did I ever suggest that?" Xie Yin Xue chuckled incredulously, responding, "You might be sent back to the Lock of Immortality at any time. What's the point in discussing this?"

Bu Jiuzhao's understanding of the outside world was limited. It was only through interactions in the Lock of Immortality with spirits and humans that he began to grasp worldly matters. At this moment, he was deep in thought, trying to understand the status of those in love with the masters of large households yet unrecognized, not even as concubines. He hadn't heard a word of what Xie Yin Xue said.

After a while, he finally found an answer, looking shocked and deeply affected: "... I am the mistress."

Xie Yin Xue: "..."

"Bu Jiuzhao, maybe you should go to the hospital with Buhua tomorrow and have your brain checked." Picking up her chopsticks again, Xie Yin Xue felt that their extended stay in the Qing Mountain mental institution had affected everyone's sanity.

After dinner, Shen Qiuji left the dining room to do homework. Liu Buhua stayed to clean up the kitchen, while Bu Jiuzhao coiled around Xie Yin Xue and accompanied him to the bedroom.

Seeing that Bu Jiuzhao had been in a gloomy mood since defining himself as a "mistress," Xie Yin Xue couldn't help but chuckle. The next moment, he felt a gentle bite on his collarbone.

It wasn't painful, but instead, there was a peculiar tingling sensation.

Sensing his discomfort, the little snake hesitated but then seemed to discover a way to "retaliate." It began to slide deeper into his collar, its cold, sleek scales paradoxically feeling a bit rough, inducing shivers as they brushed against his neck.

"Bu Jiuzhao, I apologize." Xie Yin Xue hastily begged, tightening his clothing and trying to pull the little snake out. "I won't laugh at you anymore; please come out."

Bu Jiuzhao remained unmoved, even sticking out his cold, moist tongue, but then suddenly halted.

Xie Yinxue had no time to wonder why Bu Jiuzhao had stopped. Seizing the opportunity to coax him out, he softened his tone and tempted with Bu Jiuzhao's favorite thing: "The electric blanket is ready. Would you like it on medium heat?"

There was a rustling sound from within the robe, and two seconds later, a snake head popped out from Xie Yinxue's collar: "I want it on the highest setting."

He asked Bu Jiuzhao, "Won't this body of yours overheat?"

"No," Bu Jiuzhao replied, "It's already dead to begin with."

It was precisely because the snake was dead that he could infuse a strand of consciousness into it, controlling its movements.

As Bu Jiuzhao spoke, he slid out from Xie Yinxue's collar, leisurely moving to the bed. With his snake head resting on the young man's thigh and his body coiled on the electric blanket, he remarked, sounding a bit cheerier, "This thing is really useful. I want to bring several back to Suo Changsheng."

Thoughtfully, Xie Yinxue pointed out, "Some of the alternate worlds might not have electricity."

Having learned from Xie Yinxue, Bu Jiuzhao already had a solution in mind, "Then I'll get the solar-powered ones."

"What if there's no sun at all?"

“……”

The snake rolled over, feeling his mood sour again, and grumbled, "There's not a single comfortable world in there."

"I thought 'Hel's Dream' was quite nice," Xie Yinxue said, gently stroking the snake's scales and smiling, "Didn't you have barbecue there?"

"How dare you bring that up? I didn't get a single bite of that barbecue."

Suddenly, the snake straightened up, its slate-colored vertical pupils fixed intently on Xie Yinxue. Assuming that Bu Jiuzhao was about to dredge up past grievances, Xie Yinxue was taken aback when he said, "Your hair now... it looks like snow has fallen on it. It's unappealing."

Lifting a strand of his hair that was half black and half white, Xie Yinxue sighed softly, "Yes, I also find it unattractive. But Liuhua told me he's ordered hair dye online. He'll help me dye it when it arrives."

On hearing that hair color could be changed, Bu Jiuzhao promptly suggested, "Dye it golden then. I like that."

"Alright," Xie Yinxue agreed without hesitation, "Liuhua probably ordered black. I'll ask him to get golden dye tomorrow."

Being so compliant made Bu Jiuzhao somewhat uneasy, "You..."

But at that moment, the young man suddenly addressed him, "Bu Jiuzhao."

Bu Jiuzhao responded, "Hmm?"

Xie Yinxue said, "Let's be together."

Moments ago, Bu Jiuzhao could pester someone demanding a commitment. Yet, when the young man sincerely spoke those words, he found himself at a loss for a response. He was deeply fond of Xie Yinxue, so much so that he bore the agony of fragmenting a sliver of his consciousness, solely to catch a glimpse of him outside of Suo Changsheng.

This was something he had never considered before.

And something that shouldn't have arisen between them.

They should harmoniously enjoy the present, no matter how fleeting, so a simple "yes" should suffice as an answer.

But that wasn't what he wanted to say.

Before leaving the Qing Shan Psychiatric Hospital's alternate world, his final words to Xie Yinxue were a hope that the young man would voice his true feelings.

What about himself, then?

At this moment, what did he truly wish to convey?

Bu Jiuzhao realized that instead of simply agreeing, he wanted to ask, "How long do you want us to be together?"

It felt as if all his rationale had given way to this emotion. Even if Xie Yinxue said "forever," he would joyfully consent.

With no response from Bu Jiuzhao, Xie Yinxue simply lay down next to him, gazing into his slate-colored vertical pupils and asked again, "Bu Jiuzhao, will you be with me? Please?"

The young man's voice was deep, slow, and tender, making Bu Jiuzhao feel profoundly cherished in that moment, as if no matter what reckless acts he committed, he'd always be forgiven.

The faintly cold aura that seemed to originate from the tips of Xie Yinxue's hair wrapped and seeped into Bu Jiuzhao, leaving him momentarily transfixed.

Initially, they had been at odds. Xie Yinxue probably never even took notice of him. In contrast, from the moment Bu Jiuzhao saw Xie Yinxue, he had never taken his eyes off him.

Bu Jiuzhao struggled to pinpoint the exact moment when his gaze, which had always pursued warmth and radiance, shifted solely to Xie Yinxue.

Only now did he realize that he was drawn to a particular trait in Xie Yinxue — an unbreakable, relentless determination.

The determination to survive.

For only in living could he protect the very essence of his tenacity.

Such steadfastness in the young man was reminiscent of those who, in order to protect others, vehemently wished for his demise. Despite his deep-rooted disdain for them, he couldn't help but envy and yearn for that commitment. Watching Xie Yinxue protect Liu Buhua, he silently questioned: Would someone ever love him that way?

Even if, like Liu Buhua, he might eventually be forsaken, he would still cherish it.

Bu Jiuzhao met the young man's gaze — this time, he thought he saw his reflection in those eyes.

And so, Bu Jiuzhao replied, "...Alright."

However, the young man changed his statement, "I meant, what can you do when you have a humanoid form? What can you do now?"

Bu Jiuzhao: "…?"

The fervent emotions from earlier suddenly turned awkward. Bu Jiuzhao seriously questioned if he had misunderstood and had been daydreaming about irrelevant matters. He asked Xie Yinxue, "Then, what do you want to do?"

The young man pulled the blanket over himself and, with his eyes closed, responded ambiguously, "I want to sleep."

“……”

"This winter is so cold, Bu Jiuzhao. Can you pull some strings to make the next dungeon warmer?"

"...Understood, I'll see to it."

Xie Yinxue wrapped the little snake entirely with the blanket, hiding his own upturned lips, smiling as he drifted into sleep.

Author's note:

Bu Jiuzhao: "The exterior room turns out to be my own."