Chapter 153

Chapter 153

Su Ying hadn't actually gone far. He left the study, passed by the granary, whose door was ajar, and beside it sat the medicine basket Shen Qichi had hastily set down.

As Su Ying passed the basket, the scent of fresh herbs hit his nose, which, instead of cooling his temper, lit a weird, unexplained fury in him, making him headbutt the stupid bamboo basket over. The freshly picked herbs scattered across the ground, and Su Ying felt a little better.

He slithered into the granary, thinking, 'Shen Qichi loves his grain so much? He'd wreck everything inside, and see if Shen Qichi still dared to ignore him!'

Inside the granary, sacks of grain were stacked against the walls, jars of wine neatly piled, tools uniformly arranged to one side, and various items sorted into categories—showing how carefully the owner kept things.

Su Ying glanced around, but before he could act, the faint smell of wine from the jars hit his nose. He paused, thinking, 'Shen Qichi never lets me drink, so I'll drink all the wine here. If I drink it all and Shen Qichi still doesn't come for me, then I'll destroy the grain too.'

With that thought, he slithered to the wine jars, pried one open, and began to drink. But before he knew it, he had opened one jar after another, his body growing bigger and bigger as he drank. The rich wine fumes made his head spin and his mind hazy. By the time the last jar was empty, he was so drunk he didn't know what day it was, but one thought stuck in his head: had Shen Qichi come for him?

He passed out next to the wine jars, but Shen Qichi's figure never appeared at the door. Staring fixedly, he heard the cheerful chirps of the bird spirit from beyond the wall, and the dying embers of his anger flared up again like sparks hit with wine. He whipped his tail, smacking the grain sacks hard.

The granary had thick walls to stay warm in winter and cool in summer, so the crashing sounds inside were muffled by the time they reached the yard. Lost in his own thoughts, Shen Qichi didn't hear a thing. But the kingfisher spirit, with her sharp senses, could hear everything within a hundred paces clearly. Not only that, she could tell exactly who was making the racket.

Though the old ancestor's behavior was a bit unexpected... the increasingly heavy vibe was undeniable. Afraid he might swallow her in a fit of rage, she quickly warned Shen Qichi.

So when Shen Qichi pushed open the granary door, he saw total chaos.

The grain sacks were ripped apart, with grains and flour all over the floor. Wine jars were knocked over, with pottery shards everywhere. The neatly arranged tools were now scattered all over the floor.

Even Shen Qichi, who'd seen a lot in his time, was stunned silent for a moment.

The culprit, reeking of booze, was happily wrecking the small granary with his big body. It was a while before he noticed someone at the door. He froze, then after a moment, tucked his tail, lowered himself, and buried his head, looking almost pitiful.

Shen Qichi didn't know whether to be angry or amused. He walked over, and the drunk snake, who'd swollen to twice his size, buried his head even deeper. Seeing this, Shen Qichi couldn't muster any anger. He bent down and slung the drunk snake over his shoulder, took a few steps, then noticed a few shiny spots on the ground. Looking closer, he saw a few purple-black scales.

He paused, lifted Su Ying's tail, and sure enough, found bare patches. Some tools were sharp, like rakes, and the broken wine jar edges were jagged too. Su Ying must have scraped himself while messing around, losing a few scales.

In his drunken state, he'd been reckless, and the scales were torn off, leaving some flesh exposed. Though the bleeding had stopped on its own, the wounds still looked nasty.

Holding the tip of his tail, Shen Qichi silently carried him back inside. Having let off steam and now in Shen Qichi's steady arms, Su Ying let the booze take over. By the time he was put on the bed, he was already out cold.

When he woke up, the room was lit only by a dim oil lamp. The kingfisher spirit was perched on a screen, half asleep. Shen Qichi was leaning against the headboard, head slightly bowed, eyes closed, one hand on Su Ying. Su Ying was curled up beside him in the most comfortable position, his head on Shen Qichi's lap, his tail on the soft bedding.

He moved the tip of his tail, feeling something weird. Looking back, he saw it was wrapped in gauze. Uncomfortable, he tried to rub it off, but suddenly felt a quiet stare on him.

Then the hand on him gently stopped him: "Don't move, I just put medicine on."

Though he'd heard this voice just that day, hearing it again felt like forever to Su Ying. He felt like Shen Qichi had ignored him for so long, hadn't talked to him.

Having lived for a hundred years, bossing around the demon world with no one daring to defy him, he'd never been treated so coldly. Now, sober and remembering it, he still felt a deep, weird sense of injustice.

Seeing Su Ying stubbornly refusing to look at him, no longer clinging like before, Shen Qichi was quiet for a moment before saying, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have ignored you."

Su Ying snorted softly, then after a few breaths turned his head back, reluctantly flicking his tongue to lightly brush Shen Qichi's palm.

A faint smile appeared on Shen Qichi's lips, but it quickly vanished.

Sensing the oppression in his heart, Su Ying remembered the mess he had made of the grain and the wine he had drunk, and finally felt a twinge of guilt. After a long pause, he hesitantly spoke: "The granary..."

Shen Qichi was taken aback, then said, "It's fine." He paused, then changed his tone, "This is partly my fault, but you're not entirely blameless either. You ruined so much grain—how do you plan to make up for it?"

His tone wasn't stern, even a bit teasing, but Su Ying could clearly feel the tension still in his heart, as if he was suppressing something deeply. Confused, Su Ying could only attribute it to Shen Qichi being truly angry but holding back, so he rubbed against his legs ingratiatingly: "Then punish me."

"Alright," Shen Qichi said, catching his head with a smile, "Then I'll punish you by making you cultivate an extra hour each day."

Still deeply suppressed.

Su Ying lifted his head, meeting Shen Qichi's calm gaze. But after a long look, he couldn't discern anything. Shen Qichi smiled first, stroking the back of his neck, "Forget tonight, you can start tomorrow."

Su Ying gave a slow "oh."

Shen Qichi placed him on the bed, "Alright, we're both tired today. You go back to sleep; I'll be back soon."

Su Ying refused, wrapping the tip of his tail around Shen Qichi's fingers: "Where are you going?"

"Just to bathe," Shen Qichi said helplessly. Seeing Su Ying still clinging, he compromised by picking him up and cradling him in his arms, "You can come with me, but you can't touch the water."

Su Ying flicked his tongue.

Such a minor wound meant nothing to him, but being treated with such care was something even he could appreciate. Yet he hadn't expected Shen Qichi to be so meticulous about his injury.

"What's this?"

Under the study table sat a two-foot wooden basin filled with a clear, greenish liquid that gave off a faint medicinal scent.

It was now the second night. During the day, the school had held two small exams, and Shen Qichi had just finished grading the papers. Now, holding a carving knife, he was working on a piece of huanghuali wood. Hearing the question, he replied, "A medicinal bath, good for your wounds."

Su Ying looked up at him, recalling how tired Shen Qichi had looked cleaning up the granary during the day. Though reluctant, he obediently slithered into the basin. Shen Qichi glanced over and quickly caught his tail before it submerged, "The wound can't touch water." He then draped the tail over the basin's edge.

The edge had been padded with a layer of soft cloth. Su Ying poked his head out of the water, resting it on the cloth, and watched Shen Qichi with a gloomy gaze as he carved.

It was a bird stand in its early stages. Shen Qichi was patiently carving patterns into it, while the uninvited bird spirit, who had refused to leave, stood brightly on the desk, eyes gleaming as she stared at the stand in his hands.

She was about to become a permanent resident.

Su Ying's gaze drifted to the half-eaten plate of snacks on the desk. In the future, this small table would have to accommodate another plate of snacks, and the already cramped space would have to give up half for this uninvited guest to hop around ridiculously.

Su Ying irritably flicked his tail, but instead of the cold touch of the table, it landed in a warm grasp. He looked back and saw that Shen Qichi, still holding the carving knife, had somehow placed his other hand under the wildly swinging tail.

Shen Qichi gave the snake in the basin a disapproving look. Seeing him stop moving, he withdrew his hand and continued carving. Glancing at the bird spirit beside him, he asked gently, "What's your name?"

"Chirp chirp."

"No name?" Shen Qichi was surprised.

The kingfisher spirit nodded and chirped a few more times.

Shen Qichi paused, then said after a moment, "I can't give you a name."

The kingfisher spirit drooped her head in disappointment.

"But—" Shen Qichi changed his tone, placing a poetry collection in front of her, "You can choose one yourself."

The kingfisher spirit's two black, bean-like eyes lit up. She used the tip of her wing to straighten the book and began flipping through it with intense focus.

Shen Qichi smiled and continued his delicate work. The room was filled with silence, broken only by the rustling of pages and the soft fall of wood shavings. Su Ying soaked in the medicinal bath, his head drooping as he drifted in and out of sleep. The oil lamp's flame dimmed, and Shen Qichi trimmed the wick, letting the warm yellow light gradually fill the small study again.

After a long while, Shen Qichi finished carving the bird stand's patterns, and the kingfisher spirit had finally chosen her name.

The water in the basin was about to cool. Shen Qichi lifted the snake demon out, grabbed a dry cloth to wipe him, and glanced at the page the kingfisher spirit had pushed toward him. "Cui?"

The kingfisher spirit nodded, then flipped to another page with her wing tip, solemnly pointing at another character.

"—Yao. Cui Yao." Shen Qichi smiled. "That name suits you well."

This kingfisher spirit was clearly a small female bird, having chosen "Cui" and then "Yao," a character meaning fine jade—indeed fitting.

The kingfisher spirit—now to be called Cui Yao—held her head high, looking proud.

Honestly, she couldn't read a single character; she just happened to find these two pleasing to the eye.

Shen Qichi lifted the snake spirit with one hand and hung the bird perch by the window. "Try it, see if it suits your feet?"

Cui Yao fluttered her wings and landed on the perch, hopping about cheerfully twice.

Shen Qichi smiled, casually stroking the snake spirit's body. The snake spirit moved sluggishly, and Shen Qichi looked down, seeing him looking droopy and listless, not even flicking his tongue. He asked, "What's wrong?"

Su Ying hesitated for a moment, then rested his chin on the crook of Shen Qichi's hand, slowly shaking his head.

Shen Qichi gazed at him for a while, then said after a moment, "If you're tired, just sleep. I've got everything covered."

Su Ying closed his eyes heavily.