Chapter 148 Night Visit

As night deepened, moonlight cascaded like water onto the window lattice.

Cheng Ge lay sprawled on the bed, but suddenly frowned in his sleep, a fine sheen of cold sweat on his forehead, his fingers unconsciously gripping the blanket.

His breathing grew rapid, his lips slightly parted, showing a faint ominous purple tinge.

A very soft "tap" came from the window frame, and a figure drifted into the room like a wisp of mist.

When his toes touched the ground, they didn't even disturb the dust.

Star Frost, originally coiled around Cheng Ge's neck, suddenly raised its serpentine head, eyes glowing in the darkness.

Recognizing the intruder's scent, its slender body slowly uncoiled, scales shimmering like pearls in the moonlight.

He touched its forehead with a fingertip, and Star Frost obediently lowered its head and slithered to the pillow to wait quietly.

At the foot of the bed, Dahuang pricked up its ears, its wet nose twitching nonstop.

Just as the first whimper rumbled from its throat, Star Frost shot toward it like a silver arrow.

The little white snake raised its head, flicking its tongue, its vertical pupils narrowing to a slit, its scales slightly flared.

The snake's tongue nearly touched the dog's nose, with a sharp "hiss—" as a warning.

Dahuang froze, its tail stiff in the air, and only dared to lightly scratch the bedding with its paws, making a faint rustling sound.

The figure sat down on the edge of the bed, moonlight outlining his slim silhouette.

He reached out and gently stroked Cheng Ge's hair on his forehead, his fingertips trembling almost imperceptibly at the touch of that warmth.

Cheng Ge unconsciously nuzzled into his palm in his sleep, his brow tightly furrowed in discomfort.

He drew a short blade as thin as a cicada's wing from his waist, the blade gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

When the blade cut across his wrist, it made no sound at all.

A thin line of blood trickled down his pale skin, shimmering with a strange luster in the moonlight.

The path of the falling blood drops seemed to slow down, each one drawing a long crimson thread in the air, giving off a faint, unusual fragrance.

One hand pried open Cheng Ge's jaw, while a slender wrist hovered above.

The red blood drops fell onto Cheng Ge's lips, and seeped in automatically, as if alive.

As the blood flowed in, Cheng Ge's tightly knit brow gradually relaxed, and the purple on his lips faded at a visible speed.

Star Frost writhed uneasily as the purple on Cheng Ge's lips gradually faded.

The wrist slowly withdrew, and a fingertip lightly brushed across Cheng Ge's lips, wiping away the last drop of blood.

Cheng Ge suddenly coughed violently, a wisp of blood-red spilling from the corner of his mouth, which he quickly wiped away.

He undid the gauze on his wrist, and Star Frost immediately slithered to Cheng Ge's wrist.

The slender body coiled around the wound burned by poisonous sand, its cool tongue gently licking the blackened flesh.

As Star Frost's saliva seeped in, the purple-black color on the wound gradually faded.

He took out a snow-white handkerchief and carefully wiped the remaining bloodstains on his wrist.

When the moonlight shifted onto Cheng Ge's face, he had half-opened his eyes in his sleep, his hazy gaze reflecting the moonlight and the man.

“Mm... it hurts.” Cheng Ge mumbled groggily, lifting his hand with heavy drowsiness, his fingertips brushing against a sleeve corner.

A faint breath circulated in the air, as he watched the hand fall limply back onto the brocade quilt.

Cheng Ge's breathing quickly became deep and steady again, his eyelashes casting delicate shadows on his face.

After completing its task, Star Frost obediently slithered back to the pillow, coiling itself into a crescent shape.

Then the figure gently leaned down, his lips barely brushing Cheng Ge's brow, like a snowflake landing on warm tea, vanishing in an instant.

“Sleep.” The voice was so soft it was barely audible, as his fingertips last brushed across Cheng Ge's brow.

As he left, his hem brushed against Dahuang's moist nose, and the dog's paws instinctively clawed at the air but ultimately didn't dare to pounce.

Outside the window, bamboo shadows swayed. Before melting into the moonlight, the figure looked back at the silhouette cast on the window paper.

Star Frost coiled back into the hollow of Cheng Ge's neck, and Dahuang buried its nose in its tail.

The next day, Cheng Ge forced open his heavy eyelids, staring at the bed canopy for a full twenty minutes.

He felt sticky all over, a bitter, iron-like taste in his mouth, and a tightness in his chest.

Frowning, he pushed himself up and found the back of his undergarment soaked with sweat, clinging unpleasantly to his skin.

“Sister Lvrou—” he called hoarsely, his throat burning with pain.

The door creaked open, and Lü Rou hurried in carrying a brass basin.

Seeing Cheng Ge's condition, she gasped in shock: “Young master, what happened? Your face looks terrible!”

Cheng Ge was about to speak when he suddenly coughed violently, spitting a mouthful of black blood directly onto the brocade quilt.

Lü Rou was so startled that the brass basin clattered to the ground, splashing hot water everywhere.

Lü Rou was almost speechless with fright, then rushed out in a panic to call for help.

Cheng Ge lightly patted his chest; after coughing up that blood, he immediately felt much lighter.

Soon, Lü Rou practically dragged a doctor in, who even stumbled and fell upon entering.

But there was no time to care about that; he scrambled up and rushed to Cheng Ge.

“Physician, please check on my young master quickly. He just coughed up blood again.”

The old doctor placed his withered fingers on Cheng Ge's wrist. He felt the pulse three times and examined the black blood Cheng Ge had spat out.

Finally, he hesitated, stroking his beard: “The young master's pulse is stable. This black blood… seems to be stagnant poison being expelled from the body.”

He looked up at Cheng Ge: “Young master, did you… feel unwell last night?”

“No, I slept well.” He even yawned widely, then turned to Lü Rou. “Sister Lvrou, is there anything to eat? I'm so hungry.”

Lü Rou quickly replied, “Yes, I'll go prepare it for you right away.” She hurried out.

The old doctor gave Cheng Ge a few more instructions to rest well, then also left.

Cheng Ge leaned against the headboard, fiddling with Star Frost's tail.

The little white snake was listlessly coiled into a ball, and when its tail was pulled, it only looked back weakly.

Its once silver-gleaming scales were now covered in a layer of dull ash, while the top of its head was pitch black, as if it had been dipped in black soot.

"Damn! You’ve gone dark again!" Cheng Ge sat up in bed, grabbed Star Frost's head and shook it.

Star Frost flicked its tongue and let out a feeble hiss.

Cheng Ge felt a headache coming on. Could the snake have secretly licked his blood again? He really couldn’t afford to let it die on him.

But after observing for a while, he found that aside from being a bit lethargic, there didn't seem to be anything seriously wrong with it.

Just as Cheng Ge turned over, he felt a cold, slippery sensation at his neck.

Star Frost had somehow slithered into his collar, nestling its head affectionately against his collarbone.

The little snake’s cool scales rose and fell gently with its breath, surprisingly soothing in the summer heat.

"Here we go again..." Cheng Ge poked the small lump bulging under his collar in exasperation. "Are you a snake or a dog? Why are you so clingy?"

Star Frost poked half its head out of his collar, flicked its tongue, and then rubbed its nose against Cheng Ge’s chin as if acting spoiled.

Cheng Ge reached out to pick it up, but Dahuang at the foot of the bed let out a dissatisfied whine.

Star Frost immediately poked its head out from his sleeve, flicked its tongue at the big dog, then burrowed back into the hollow of Cheng Ge's neck, rubbing against him proudly.

Cheng Ge was so tickled he couldn't take it. "Tsk! So clingy—are you a little female snake? Coveting this handsome guy's looks, huh?"

With a mischievous grin, he pinched the back of Star Frost's neck. "Come on, come on, let Papa see if you’ve got a little Junior Frost..."

Star Frost: "!!!"

Instantly, Star Frost's tail curled into a tight ball, absolutely refusing to let go.

"Don’t be shy, Papa’s just going to take one look. Even if it’s small, I won’t laugh at you to your face.

Dahuang doesn’t even hide it. What are you afraid of? Your snake mindset is way too conservative..."

But just as the man and snake were in the middle of their tug-of-war, Zhou Zhan’s slightly irritated voice rang out from afar.

"Cheng Muyu!!! You’d better give me an explanation."