But clearly, Tu Xiao’an’s earnest performance hadn’t gotten through to Su Rushi. A moment later, she returned from who-knows-where with a bowl of minced meat. Holding a piece with her chopsticks, she offered it to the little snake.

"Ah... Xiaoleng, open your mouth."

Tu Xiao’an’s face darkened. He clamped his mouth shut, refusing to eat the meat even if it killed him.

’I can’t set this precedent,’ he thought. ’If I do, this girl will keep trying to feed me meat, and that’ll be a huge pain.’

’It’s so annoying not being able to talk. This girl’s IQ isn’t exactly sky-high, is it?’

"Come on, Xiaoleng, open up. This meat is delicious."

Su Rushi tried to coax the snake to eat the meat as if it were a child. But the little snake just shook its head back and forth like a rattle drum, leaving her completely bewildered.

’Is this a sleepy, vegetarian snake?’

To test her theory, Su Rushi once again took out one of the grape-like Spirit Fruits.

She had barely brought it out, not even offering it yet, when a shadow zipped past. In a flash, the little snake had swallowed it whole.

Su Rushi froze for a second, then it clicked. She beamed happily. "Wow... Xiaoleng, I like you even more now! I’m a vegetarian too, I don’t like meat. We’re a perfect match!"

Tu Xiao’an was speechless. ’This is a Spirit Fruit, okay? Any sane person would like it.’

After that, Su Rushi pushed the bowl of meat aside and focused on feeding the snake fruit. As she fed him, she began to lecture, "Xiaoleng, these fruits are from Brother Bai. He told me to only eat a few each day and never too many. He said my body couldn’t handle it if I eat too much. You’ve already had a lot today. Are you feeling sick at all?"

’Please,’ Tu Xiao’an scoffed. ’This Snake King could eat ten thousand of these and be perfectly fine.’

An ordinary person’s body has a limited capacity. Overeating these Spirit Fruits, which are packed with Energy, would cause an overload. It wouldn’t be out of the question for them to explode on the spot.

But Tu Xiao’an had no such worries.

"Xiaoleng, look at you. You’re greedy, you’re lazy, and you’re so tiny. If you went out on your own, you’d starve easily. From now on, you’ll stay with me. I’ll take care of you. I’ll be your master."

’Master?’

Tu Xiao’an nearly spat out human words. ’What is this girl thinking? Me, a magnificent Rank 3 Snake King, as your pet? In your dreams!’

Seeing the snake in front of her shaking its head like a rattle again, Su Rushi said, a bit peeved, "You still don’t agree? I’m doing this for your own good. Besides, I’m not negotiating with you. I found you."

"I’m usually the only one living in this loft. I’ve been here for over two years. From now on, it’ll be just the two of us, looking out for each other."

After feeding him ten Spirit Fruits, Su Rushi cradled Tu Xiao’an in her palms, placed him on her shoulder, and walked over to the bamboo window.

Through the bamboo window, a thin layer of mist was visible. Every night, the entire Purple Bamboo Forest would be filled with white mist that seemed to drift in from nowhere, creating a breathtaking, dreamlike landscape.

Peering through the mist, she could see the beautiful moon and stars in the sky above.

Su Rushi grew quiet. Tu Xiao’an could feel a sense of melancholy coming from her. He heard her say, "Xiaoleng, I’ll tell you a secret. I’m sick. I’m sick beyond cure. My grandpa only sent me here because he couldn’t bear to lose me, entrusting me to Brother Bai’s care."

"Brother Bai is a good person and takes great care of me. But a few days ago, he suddenly said he wants to marry me and have me live with him forever. It’s really troubling me. I want to go home. I miss my grandpa."

She continued, "Xiaoleng, I’ll tell you another secret. Brother Bai... he isn’t human. He’s a Demon. I heard he’s a very powerful Demon King, and his true form is a hedgehog. How can a human and a Demon possibly be together? Besides, I only see him as a kind older brother."

"So I can’t marry Brother Bai. But I can’t contact my grandpa, and I don’t know what to do."

An unthawable Frost seemed to settle between her brows.

"I’ve been thinking, if Brother Bai really tries to force me to marry him, then I’ll run away. That’s right, I’ll just run," Su Rushi said, as if she had just made a monumental decision.

Tu Xiao’an lay quietly on her shoulder, listening. He tilted his head up slightly. The silvery moonlight spilled onto her beautiful cheeks, making her seem even more pure and lovely. A cool breeze stirred a few strands of her dark hair, adding to her ethereal air.

’Run?’ he thought. ’This girl is a bit naive. Did she really think she could just escape from a Demon King’s territory whenever she wanted?’

’Even if you did manage to escape, you would only die a more miserable death. The Yaoling Mountain Range is full of man-eating Demons.’

’A delicate girl like her wouldn’t last a minute in the Yaoling Mountain Range.’

"Xiaoleng, will you run away with me?"

Su Rushi tilted her head, looking at the delicate little snake on her shoulder out of the corner of her eye. In the moonlight, its body shimmered with several different colors, making it quite beautiful.

’Alright, I promise,’ Tu Xiao’an thought, then gave a sudden nod. ’But I won’t be helping you *run*. I’m going to walk you out of here openly and honorably.’

Once Tu Xiao’an recovered from his injuries, shed his skin, and achieved his breakthrough, he wouldn’t fear the White Demon King at all with his current abilities.

"Xiaoleng, you agreed! That’s wonderful! In a few days, we’ll run away. I really like it here, but I have no choice but to leave."

Seeing the little snake nod, Su Rushi’s smile blossomed like a flower. The snake was so intelligent that she almost saw it as one of her own kind, just one that couldn’t talk.

"Xiaoleng, if only you could talk. Then you could keep me company."

’Heh,’ he thought. ’I’m afraid I’d scare you to death.’

He had to admit, the view outside the window was as picturesque as Su Rushi herself. As Tu Xiao’an gazed out, his thoughts began to drift and wander.

In fact, he and this girl had something in common: they both wanted to go home.

Tu Xiao’an wanted to go home too. Once he achieved his breakthrough and completed his Transformation, he could finally return home and be a filial son to his mother.

He would tell her that her son was still alive.

’Once my injuries heal and I finish molting, I’ll kill the White Demon King and take Su Rushi away from the Yaoling Mountain Range.’

’Oh, right. It’s not just the White Demon King. There’s also that bastard who almost killed me.’

The phantom image of a giant rat’s head appeared in Tu Xiao’an’s mind. Clearly, it was a Rat Demon at the Demon King Level.

If Tu Xiao’an wasn’t mistaken, it had to be one of the five Great Demon Kings of the Yaoling Mountain Range—the Gray Demon King.

Even though he didn’t understand why the Gray Demon King wanted to kill him, it didn’t matter now. Tu Xiao’an was not one to be trifled with; he would repay every grievance.

He had truly been a hair’s breadth from death. How could he not take revenge for that?

"Wow... it’s starting to rain!"

Su Rushi’s voice broke Tu Xiao’an out of his thoughts. She glanced at the quiet little snake on her shoulder, her eyes filled with tenderness. "Xiaoleng, are you cold?"

’You’re already calling me Xiaoleng, so how the hell could I be cold?!’

Tu Xiao’an swore that he hated this nickname. It had none of the dignity befitting a Snake King.

He too saw the fine threads of rain drifting through the hazy moonlight, and he could faintly hear the pitter-patter of the downpour.

Tu Xiao’an looked up and met Su Rushi’s sidelong glance. His heart suddenly skipped a beat. There was something about her gentle gaze that he found captivating.

Human-Demon Love!

’If I find a human girl after my Transformation, wouldn’t that also be a case of Human-Demon Love?’

Tu Xiao’an desperately wanted to complete his Transformation and become human as soon as possible, but even if he did, he would still be a Snake Demon to the bone.

That was something he would likely never be able to change.

And because he understood this, he wasn’t opposed to Human-Demon Love. In fact, he hated sayings like "Different Paths for Humans and Demons."

Suddenly, a strong, cold gust of wind blew in, carrying icy raindrops that brushed against Su Rushi’s beautiful face. A cool droplet slid silently down her smooth cheek. "Xiaoleng," she said, "it’s getting late. Let’s go to bed."

In that instant, Tu Xiao’an’s heart jolted, and a strange feeling washed over him.

Su Rushi carried Tu Xiao’an to her bed, placed him just under her pillow, and then climbed in herself. She pulled up a bright red, festive quilt and said with a grin, "Brother Bai brought this quilt over himself a few days ago. It’s so warm and pretty."

’Isn’t this a goddamn wedding quilt?’ Tu Xiao’an glanced at the blanket, completely speechless.

’That damn hedgehog really went to a lot of trouble. He’s so well-prepared he even sent over the wedding quilt.’

’Only a naive, simple-minded girl like her would fail to notice.’

’The White Demon King probably planned to sleep comfortably in this bed with Su Rushi, under this wedding quilt, after marrying her.’

’Heh heh, but I beat him to it.’

For some reason, Tu Xiao’an felt a strange sense of vindictive satisfaction.

Su Rushi lay down and pulled up the covers. The moment she did, Tu Xiao’an vanished, completely eclipsed by the bright red quilt. He restlessly poked his head out, only to see Su Rushi smiling at him. "Xiaoleng, it’s so nice having you here to sleep with me."

"But if you feel cold in the middle of the night, you should move away from me. I have this illness... my body gets really cold at night."

Hearing this, Tu Xiao’an suddenly remembered what the old Elder had told him.

He had said that Su Rushi had the legendary Taiyin Cold Body—heavy in Yin Qi and overflowing with frigid energy. It was a constitution seen only once in a century, and those who had it were almost certain not to live to adulthood.

Tu Xiao’an was rather curious to see what this Taiyin Cold Body was really like.

As night fell, the young woman whispered to the snake, her words rambling and disjointed. Perhaps it was because she had been away from human society for too long. Living alone in the loft was lonely, and she was happy to have a pet snake to talk to, even if it was a one-sided conversation.

But after less than twenty minutes, she had talked herself to sleep.

Tu Xiao’an, however, was wide awake. This was the first time in his life he had ever slept with a girl, and he felt a strange mix of nervousness and excitement.

With his Snake Gaze wide open, he stared at her tranquil and stunningly beautiful sleeping face, becoming a little dazed as he watched.

That old man had sung his own praises to Tu Xiao’an before, boasting that his granddaughter was like a Nine Heavens Fairy descended to the mortal world.

Now, Tu Xiao’an was starting to agree with him. The girl before him truly was beautiful.

She could even hold her own against that mysterious woman, Luo Ziyun, though the two were different types of beauties.

But both were first-class, peerless beauties of the mortal world.

An hour passed. Due to his injuries and lack of Spiritual Power, Tu Xiao’an also began to feel drowsy. Just as he was about to fall asleep, a wave of cold air inexplicably washed over him.

It jolted him awake instantly.

In a flash, the temperature in the entire room plummeted. Within a few breaths, it had dropped below freezing and was still falling.

Tu Xiao’an instinctively looked at Su Rushi and was shocked by what he saw. A layer of frost had somehow formed on her tranquil, beautiful sleeping face.

Her entire face was covered in Frost, and an extremely cold, Yin-heavy chill was constantly radiating from her body.

’The Taiyin Cold Body really lives up to its reputation,’ he thought.

For someone to be covered in frost like this in their sleep and still be alive was nothing short of a miracle.