Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Sihun’s eyes were bloodshot, and his body was burning hot.

He seemed deeply aggrieved, pressing his forehead against my collarbone, lingering there as if refusing to leave.

“Sihun, don’t be like this…”

I tried to push him away, but he held me firmly against the edge of the Immortal Pool.

“Clearly… I was first…”

His voice held resentment, struggle, and perhaps a hint of… vulnerability?

I reached out to comfort him, but I froze the moment my hand touched his back.

While his front was burning hot, his back was ice-cold.

No… that wasn’t skin. It was a layer of fine, cold scales.

Scales? I was stunned.

As soon as I touched the scales on his back, a low, hoarse growl escaped Sihun’s throat.

He looked up, staring straight at me.

Those peach-blossom eyes of his, which were always rippling with gentleness and a carefree, harmless charm, were now slowly glazing over with a layer of fine ice.

I watched as his deep, ink-colored pupils gradually transformed into the vertical slits of a serpent-cold and dangerous.

Beneath his pale skin, dark scales faintly wound their way down from his left cheek to his neck.

The piercing chill in his eyes was like a poisoned dagger, ready to hunt me down.

I was paralyzed with shock.

Wasn’t it said that Immortal Sihun was a relative of the Empress of Heaven, a celestial body cultivated from a human form? Then this demon before me… who was he?

In the pursuit of immortality, lineage and origin were of the utmost importance.

First, naturally, were humans-the leaders of all living things.

Second were high-ranking clans like Cangyu’s. They were born in the Ninth Heaven, far removed from the Seven Emotions and Six Desires of the mortal world, avoiding the internal strife of lesser spirits. As long as they dedicated themselves to cultivation, becoming an immortal or a god was merely a matter of time.

The hardest path belonged to us spirits and monsters. We had to endure a thousand years in secluded places far from the human world to temper a true form that would not decay. Then, we spent ten thousand years cultivating a sliver of spiritual consciousness. Finally, after settling all debts within the Six Paths of Reincarnation, we had to survive the heavenly thunder that could obliterate a demon’s soul just to catch a glimpse of the threshold of the Heavenly Dao.

The Path of Immortality itself was a journey that betrayed one’s very nature.

For humans and noble clans to become immortals, they had to shed the Seven Emotions and Six Desires inherent to their nature. But for monsters, we had to cultivate the love, hate, and obsession that the Heavenly Dao never gave us. After being ground down by the mortal world, we had to carve our own flesh and strip our own bones to return to a state of being emotionless and desireless.

For us monsters, falling in love was too bitter, and becoming an immortal was too difficult.

“Ruogui…”

Before me, Sihun closed his eyes in pain, hiding his Snake Eyes.

He furrowed his brows, gathering his immortal power, trying over and over again to maintain his human form.

But he failed, time and time again.

What was happening to him? Why couldn’t he even maintain his transformation?

Sihun wanted to push me away, yet he seemed afraid he wouldn’t be able to control his strength, leaving us in a tense deadlock.

“Sihun, what’s wrong?”

His soaked immortal robes had already slipped down, and only then did I see that below his waist, he had already turned into a snake body. His ink-colored scales were like sharp, dark ice.

It was a terrifyingly beautiful sight.

“Don’t look at me…”

Sihun had never been this vulnerable.

He hurriedly raised his hand to cover my eyes, but even his trembling fingertips were cold.

There was none of his usual warmth or playfulness.

His body shook as he clutched his head in pain, struggling to push me away.

The Immortal Pool surged with waves as his restless serpent tail thrashed about. Chaotic demon aura rampaged through Sihun Hall. The blood-red coral ornaments, once intricately branched, were swept into dust, and two large Osmanthus Trees outside the hall-each thick enough for three men to link arms around-were snapped in half.

“Sihun, don’t… don’t be like this.”

I pulled him into a full embrace, trying my best to soothe his emotions.

How frightened was he? With every breath, even the scales on his back were trembling.

“…You’re not afraid of me?”

Sihun buried his head in the crook of my neck; even his breath was cold.

“I’m not afraid.”

How could I be afraid of a Sihun who had blocked a Heavenly Tribulation for me, nurtured my bloodline, and saved me from fire and water time and time again?

A long silence followed.

Until I felt two cold drops on my collarbone.

Sihun… he was…

“…Ruogui, don’t be so good to me.”

His voice was hoarse.

“If you want to run, I’ll give you one more chance.”

His expression turned cold.

“If you don’t run this time, don’t even think about escaping ever again.”

Despite his words, his serpent tail wrapped tightly around me, as if he were deathly afraid I actually would run.

It was the first time I had seen such a childish side of Sihun.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Was this a case of his body being more honest than his mouth?

Before I could say anything more, I heard a flurry of footsteps outside, accompanied by the crisp clinking of blades.

This was bad.

Looking at Sihun in his serpent form, my heart skipped a beat.

I couldn’t let anyone see Sihun like this!

“Why is the demon aura so heavy? Where is Immortal Sihun?”

A squad of Heavenly Guards, responsible for maintaining order in the palace, had rushed over after hearing the commotion. They stood outside the Immortal Pool of Sihun Hall, hands warily on their hilts.

“Hmm? What’s all the noise?”

I lazily raised my head from the Immortal Pool, which was covered in peach blossom petals.

Strands of wet hair draped over my bare upper body. I released my demon aura without restraint, my eyes filled with lingering lust.

“What is it…”

My voice was still thick with the moisture of the pool.

“Demon aura?”

“It’s… your subordinate detected a soaring demon aura coming from Sihun Hall, so…”

The Guard Captain looked around. I knew what he was thinking: if the demon aura was this strong, why was Immortal Sihun nowhere to be seen?

“Immortal Sihun didn’t want to disturb you. But Ruogui likes it a bit rough, and he couldn’t say no, so…”

The Guard Captain didn’t dare look at me; he turned red from his ears down to his neck.

“So, does Ruogui need to explain things to Brother Guard…” I looked at the Guard Captain suggestively, then winced and frowned. “Mm, Brother Sihun, don’t bite there…”

The leading Guard Captain was still just a youth. My soft, flirtatious cry made his entire body go stiff.

“I… I am sorry. This subordinate has intruded.”

“Sir Guard Captain, won’t you come down and take a look? Just in case the one down here isn’t Immortal Sihun…”

I leaned against the edge of the Immortal Pool, tilting my head back to invite him.

I looked frivolous and wanton, the very image of a demoness.

The young guards didn’t dare glance my way, keeping their eyes fixed firmly on their toes.

“No, that won’t be necessary! We have disturbed you. We hope Immortal Sihun and Fairy Ruogui will forgive us!”

Watching their retreating backs as they fled in a panic, I finally leaned back against the edge of the Immortal Pool and exhaled a long breath, my heart only just beginning to settle.