Do You Want a Wife or Not?

Xuan Si never left after that, but occasionally went out to find some mountain fruits for the scholar or to kill a few chickens in the village at the foot of the mountain, bringing them back for the scholar to eat.

Sometimes the scholar would wake up, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself resting on the snake’s tail. Looking along the tail, he would see Xuan Si, who was usually in the process of bleeding a chicken and plucking its feathers. The scholar would slowly sit up and hold his hands, watching this scene. He was slightly startled.

“Wife…” Xuan Si seemed to sense his gaze and turned his head to look at him. “Wife, sleep.”

The snake’s tail wrapped around his body again, pressing coldly against his cheek, signalling him to continue sleeping.

He shook his head and said, “I’ve had enough sleep.”

The snake’s tail then carried him to the fire and let him sit there to warm himself. “Wife, wait.”

.

Xuan Si’s ability to learn was very strong. He could understand many things just by doing them once. When he realized that the scholar’s body wasn’t as strong as before, Xuan Si stopped sucking his essence like he used to and focused more on feeding him instead.

There were even a few times when Xuan Si fed him a lot of snake fluid while the scholar was sleeping. Every time he woke up in the morning and found himself wet, he knew that Xuan Si had taken advantage of him while he was asleep. The scholar would notice fingerprints on his body where Xuan Si had accidentally pinched him, though he didn’t know what he looked like or how he had sounded when Xuan Si nursed him back to health in his sleep, or how he had been held in the demon’s arms, his cheeks turning red from the closeness.

The scholar looked at Xuan Si next to him in annoyance, only to find that the snake was just leaning against the cave wall, arms folded, tail tapping the ground.

He was still a little scared, but not as much as before.

He began to secretly observe Xuan Si’s handsome and distant appearance, studying his half-human, half-snake form. Sometimes, when he looked at Xuan Si’s muscular upper body, he would secretly compare his own size to the snake demon’s, then find that the combined length of his limbs was barely a match for the snake’s tail.

He began to grow curious about the snake demon, wondering why Xuan Si had stayed in the cave for so long without leaving. For some reason, the scholar secretly hoped Xuan Si would stay a little longer.

The winter on Snake Mountain was harsh, and it was difficult for him to survive without the company of any living creatures.

.

It wasn’t until the first lunar month that the weather grew a little warmer.

That day, the scholar took advantage of the sun to hang his clothes outside the cave to dry.

The scholar covered his face and, using the herbs from Snake Mountain, exchanged them for some ready-made clothes at a nearby market. When he returned, he scrubbed himself from head to toe with soap locust. Xuan Si, however, watched him solemnly from the cave wall, as if dissatisfied. Why should he wash away the scent he’d left on the scholar’s body?

In truth, the scholar had wanted to bathe in secret, but once he realized that Xuan Si had followed him to the market in a very conspicuous manner, he no longer dared to go anywhere without the snake demon in tow. It seemed that no matter where he went, Xuan Si could always find traces of him.

“You should leave again soon,” the scholar muttered softly to himself. “Why are you following me now?”

As soon as he finished scrubbing his body with soap locust, he noticed that he had gained a bit of extra flesh on his lower abdomen. It felt soft when he pinched it. The effects of Xuan Si’s care—feeding him, nourishing him with snake liquid—had taken hold. His skin had become softer and more delicate as well.

He rinsed off the scrubbed areas with pool water, feeling a quiet sense of gratitude for Xuan Si. It seemed that leaving him in the village had not been Xuan Si’s original intention, but every kindness he had received was something the snake demon had done willingly. No one had ever been so kind to him, unlike Xuan Si who had roasted a pheasant for him with his own hands.

He didn’t have much time to experience such kindness—always a little bit less than he needed.

“Can you help me boil some more water?” He turned to look at Xuan Si.

Xuan Si stood nearby, still watching him as he bathed. The snake demon had no concept of what “look no evil” meant. As soon as the scholar spoke, Xuan Si’s tail coiled around the wooden bucket, scooping out most of the water, and then he placed it on the fire to heat it.

The scholar sat by the pool with his hands on his knees, watching with a small smile in his eyes.

When the water was sufficiently warm, Xuan Si tested it with his tail, and when it felt just right, he continued to coil it around the scholar’s back, where he couldn’t reach with the soap locust. He poured the warm water over him to rinse him clean.

The scholar knew that the water would wash away the snake liquid’s scent, which Xuan Si had purposely left on his skin. The snake demon didn’t want him to wash it off—it was a kind of silent revenge, though the scholar had no idea why.

“Okay, that’s enough,” the scholar said, suddenly overwhelmed by the showers of water. “That’s enough.”

With a sharp “pop,” Xuan Si’s tail circled him once more, dousing him completely.

“Hiss.” Seeing the scholar drenched, Xuan Si seemed pleased. He crossed his arms and raised his chin, looking down at the scholar.

The scholar, feeling both ashamed and angry, struck the snake’s tail with his fist. But it was no use—his strike was nothing more than a tickle. Xuan Si’s tail rolled him over and slammed him against the demon’s chest.

The scholar let out a soft cry, touching his nose, feeling the strength of Xuan Si’s hold, the way the snake demon held him close and looked down at him.

“Wife…” Xuan Si purred, his voice filled with a sense of endearment.

“What do you want?” The scholar responded without thinking, unaware of how exposed he was, still naked in Xuan Si’s arms, his body wet. He shifted his waist and gestured for Xuan Si to put him down. “Wait a moment. I haven’t finished washing yet.”

“My wife, my wife…” Two unfamiliar objects suddenly appeared below Xuan Si, his tail transforming into a human-like foot, pressing against the scholar’s belly. The joy in Xuan Si’s golden vertical pupils was palpable. “My wife… so cute.”

The scholar was stunned.

He lowered his gaze and saw two strange appendages, which had emerged from the snake scales, hidden until now.

He had never seen such a thing on Xuan Si before. In confusion, he asked, “What is this?”

Xuan Si gazed at him; his eyes full of a deep, contented light.

“My wife,” he purred again, “so cute… very cute.”