Chapter 27

Bai Ying circled around his own tail.

He realized a serious problem—his phone had been tossed into the room by Liu Qingzhang, and he had lost his only means of communicating with the outside world. Although he was now full and well-rested enough to transform back into human form, his clothes weren’t here either!

Liu Qingzhang propped up his cheek and watched the little snake chasing its own tail on the dining table. He couldn’t help but think again: so cute.

Were all young ones this adorable?

Bai Ying was a snake in his twenties, so he shouldn’t have anything to do with the term “young one” by rights, but who could help it? The other was a great demon nearly a thousand years old. When looking at the little snake, a layer of affectionate filter naturally overlaid his view.

Liu Qingzhang reached out a finger to tease the little snake’s tail. The scales were smooth and cool. The thickest part of the little snake’s body was no thicker than a baby’s wrist, narrower than his phone. When it coiled into a ball, Liu Qingzhang could cup it in one hand.

The tip of Bai Ying’s tail wrapped around Liu Qingzhang’s finger.

His head swam over too, bumping against the back of Liu Qingzhang’s hand. The little snake hissed and flicked his tongue, trying to convey to the great snake his longing for his phone.

It was about time for him to go back to Qin Juanshu. Qin Juanshu would really worry!

“Full now? Want to go back?” Liu Qingzhang asked him.

The little snake nodded its head.

Liu Qingzhang placed him back on his shoulder, and the shadow-like attendants respectfully saw them off. Bai Ying lifted his head and glanced behind Liu Qingzhang, thinking that the great demon really had quite the entourage.

He had truly brought shame to the demon clan…

Liu Qingzhang brought Bai Ying back to the bedroom. When he had left, he had opened the window to disperse the cloying sweet scent that demons released during estrus to lure others of their kind, but the air still lingered with a sweet fragrance. Liu Qingzhang’s cultivation was profound, and his expression remained composed, but Bai Ying bashfully buried his head into his coiled body.

The scent was strongest around the bed and wardrobe. After retrieving his phone, Bai Ying opened the notes app and typed with a stiff upper lip: [Sorry for the trouble.]

Liu Qingzhang tapped his head. “You’re a junior of my clan. It’s only natural for you to trouble me.”

So demons were this united and friendly after all. Bai Ying, who had only ever seen Liu Qingzhang as another demon from childhood to now, gained some new insight. Thinking back to how he had resisted the great demon when his mind was unclear, Bai Ying felt it was quite improper. But the great demon held no grudges and had helped him immensely. Bai Ying felt deeply moved. If not for fear of lowering the great demon’s status, he might have even wanted to swear brotherhood as foster father and son… cough, that was an exaggeration.

What he didn’t know was that Liu Qingzhang had never shown any friendliness to others of his clan in the past.

Back then, they stayed in their own territories, never interacting until death, their scents clashing upon encounter, evoking only disgust. But when Bai Ying first appeared, Liu Qingzhang felt he was different from other demons—like a flower blooming on hard stone. Demons repelled intruders from their territory, and those with similarly aggressive and destructive auras should have felt the same toward their kin. Yet he couldn’t help cherishing this miraculous little flower that had bloomed in the End of Dharma Era.

Bai Ying buried his head and continued typing with the tip of his tail, mimicking how the Zhong Family addressed Liu Qingzhang: [Mr. Liu, could you trouble yourself to get me a set of clothes?]

Liu Qingzhang remembered the clothes dropped in the wardrobe.

In this era of thin spiritual energy, the little snake couldn’t cultivate and thus couldn’t learn the spells that demons of old all knew—to make clothes part of the body when transforming back to original form.

It seemed the little snake was about to change back to human form.

Liu Qingzhang agreed. He tugged on the thin cord hanging by the bed, connected to a bell on the other end. Willow Mansion still used this ancient method to summon attendants internally. Soon, a Zhong Family member hurried over. Mr. Liu gave his instructions, and the man immediately departed, returning shortly with a perfectly fitting set of clothes for Bai Ying.

It was basically a replica of the set Bai Ying had worn before, down to the smallest accessories like the shirt clip.

Liu Qingzhang politely turned around, though he remained in the room.

Bai Ying didn’t mind. First, they were both men; second, Mr. Liu was his senior! He quickly dressed, hesitating only briefly with the shirt clip before deciding against it— the banquet should be over by now anyway.

The spot where he had previously worn the shirt clip had chafed a faint red mark on his flawless snowy skin, soon covered by clothing.

Once fully dressed, Bai Ying sat awkwardly on the bed and said softly, “Mr. Liu, could you give me a bag for clothes too?”

Woo, those soiled clothes definitely couldn’t stay in Liu Qingzhang’s wardrobe.

Liu Qingzhang nodded and had someone bring a paper bag.

Bai Ying opened the wardrobe and saw the mess inside. He awkwardly stuffed his own clothes into the bag, but Liu Qingzhang’s neatly hung or folded garments had been turned into a jumble by him.

Bai Ying tried to hang them back, but the once ironed-flat clothes were now wrinkled and rumpled, looking out of place if hung up.

“No need to bother.” At that moment, Liu Qingzhang’s voice came from behind. “Someone will clean it up.”

Bai Ying hung his head dejectedly. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize to me.” Messing up a few pieces of clothing was no big deal, and even if he had truly erred, Liu Qingzhang wouldn’t have thought much of it. “It’s getting late. Want to rest? I can have someone prepare a room, or you can stay here.”

Bai Ying was stunned for a moment before shaking his head. “I should go back.”

Liu Qingzhang paused slightly.

He suddenly realized that the little snake had only accidentally fallen into his arms tonight. That flower blooming on hard stone did not belong to him.

The smile in Liu Qingzhang’s eyes faded a great deal. He subconsciously wanted to keep him, but great demons had never done such a thing. Liu Qingzhang frowned slightly. Demons always lived alone; he couldn’t find a reason for Bai Ying to stay, nor a reason for himself to ask him to.

“Alright, I’ll have someone send you off.” Liu Qingzhang finally said. “But wait a moment.”

Bai Ying watched as Liu Qingzhang pulled a phone from a drawer, along with a charger. Great demons naturally had modern communication devices; he just wasn’t interested, but the Zhong Family would prepare them for him anyway. This phone, worth several months of Bai Ying’s salary, was no different from a brick in Liu Qingzhang’s hands—it had been left to drain for months.

He plugged it in, powered it on, and flipped through the interface to find the green app. Though he had barely used it, the great demon figured it out in under two minutes. He beckoned Bai Ying over, had him scan the QR code, and added him as a friend.

“Done.” After noting the little snake’s contact, the phone wasn’t pitifully tossed back into the drawer this time but placed in Liu Qingzhang’s pocket. “If you run into trouble, come to me directly.”

Bai Ying earnestly noted his new friend as “Mr. Liu.”

“One more thing,” Liu Qingzhang’s fingers rested on Bai Ying’s wrist, a gesture that didn’t feel forceful, “your name?”

He had actually learned it from others, but an inexplicable insistence welled up, and Liu Qingzhang wanted to hear it from Bai Ying’s own mouth.

“Bai Ying,” the little snake said. “White as in the color white, Ying as in to wind around.”

“Good name.” Liu Qingzhang smiled in praise.

White matched the little snake’s scale color, and Ying evoked winding. The orphanage director who named Bai Ying had no idea of his true form, but by coincidence, it was a name more fitting than any other.

Zhong Qian, summoned by Liu Qingzhang, soon led Bai Ying away. After Bai Ying left, Liu Qingzhang sat alone in the chair by the window. In the now empty room, his expression gradually turned cold, and his smile finally vanished.

The night breeze wafted into the room, carrying away the last traces of the little snake’s scent. The fragrance Bai Ying left behind grew fainter and fainter.

Liu Qingzhang suddenly stood and walked to the wardrobe.

He opened the door. Bai Ying’s clothes had been taken by him, but Liu Qingzhang’s were still piled in disarray. Yet the great demon sensed something. He reached in, peeled away the messy garments, and pulled out a black shirt clip.

It was the one that had tangled around the little snake’s tail. When the little snake struggled free, it had flung it far away and forgotten it.

Liu Qingzhang gazed at the strap in his hand, lost in thought for a moment.

It seemed to still hold the little snake’s warmth.

Liu Qingzhang didn’t have someone take it away for cleaning. Instead, on a whim, he tucked it into the bedside cabinet.

***

Zhong Qian walked ahead, holding a lantern, as Bai Ying followed him through the inner courtyard garden.

The flowers filling the courtyard slumbered deeply at night, their petals folded, branches swaying gently in the night breeze. At the center stood a marble pavilion with a domed roof, surrounded by a pond from which clear water sounds occasionally rang out—the splash of koi.

As they neared the exit, Bai Ying couldn’t help glancing back. The snowy gauze curtains on the long corridor fluttered in the wind, Liu Qingzhang’s room out of sight.

But Bai Ying thought he saw a figure behind the swaying curtains. He wasn’t sure.

Zhong Qian stopped to wait for him.

Bai Ying quickly turned back and gave him an apologetic smile.

Zhong Qian lifted the lantern and continued lighting the path ahead.

He actually wanted to get to know Bai Ying a bit. At the banquet, he had caught a glimpse and thought of checking the front hall after leaving Mr. Liu to see if he could spot him again. He hadn’t expected to meet him—not in the front hall, but in Mr. Liu’s arms.

The other was someone Mr. Liu cared about—or more precisely, a demon Mr. Liu cared about. The etiquette ingrained in Zhong Qian over years with the Zhong Family taught him to maintain reverence and silence toward anything connected to Mr. Liu. He could only harbor a vague melancholy as he escorted Bai Ying out of the inner courtyard and through the Central Courtyard.

“Your companion is waiting ahead.” Zhong Qian stopped at the end of a long corridor and bowed slightly. “This is as far as I’ll see you.”

Bai Ying awkwardly bowed in return. “Thank you for the trouble.”

Zhong Qian quickly steadied him. “No need for that!”

Bai Ying looked up, and Zhong Qian saw eyes clearer and gentler than tonight’s moonlight. His heart stirred slightly, but he immediately withdrew his hand to avoid further impropriety.

From the corner of his eye, he glimpsed someone running this way. Zhong Qian stepped back a bit. He should report back by rights, but he lingered a moment longer. When he saw the man who caught up panting and grabbing Bai Ying’s arm, he subtly frowned.

So rude. Zhong Qian recognized him—the eldest young master of the Qin Family, of prominent background, young and accomplished with considerable status in human society. But compared to Mr. Liu, he was negligible.

Qin Juanshu’s eyes were red-rimmed with burst blood vessels. When he saw the obviously changed clothes on Bai Ying, his breath hitched as if struck on the head, ears buzzing.

Xie Jin, who caught up a step behind, also looked grim.

Qin Juanshu clenched his molars. He stared at Bai Ying, who looked somewhat at a loss with his arm gripped, and suddenly said, “Bai Ying, I brought you here. I’ll take responsibility.”

Bai Ying was baffled. “Huh? Responsible for what?”

Bai Ying didn’t understand at all.

Seeing Bai Ying’s utterly innocent and pure expression, Qin Juanshu suddenly realized things might not be what he thought.

No signs of struggle, no suspicious marks under the collar—Bai Ying seemed… not to have been taken advantage of.

Zhong Qian cleared his throat lightly and stepped forward to explain for Bai Ying. “Mr. Qin seems to have misunderstood. After taking the antidote, Mr. Bai simply rested in the inner courtyard for a while. The Zhong Family did nothing to harm Mr. Bai. Of course, regarding the drugging, since it happened at Willow Mansion, the Zhong Family will investigate to the end.”

As he spoke, Zhong Qian glanced at Xie Jin, giving his senior classmate an explanation too.

Bai Ying nodded vigorously, vouching for Zhong Qian’s words.

Qin Juanshu’s brows remained furrowed. “Why didn’t you pick up when I called earlier?”

Bai Ying said innocently, “I felt really unwell, so I didn’t hear it.”

“Then who was the man who answered for you? Why did he say…” Why did he say you were in his bed?

Qin Juanshu found the latter half too embarrassing to voice.

But Bai Ying said quite naturally, “A kind person I met. He gave me the antidote. I was resting on his bed at the time!”

That phrase, so ambiguous to others, came from Bai Ying without a hint of romance.

To him, being drugged into estrus by villains, picked up by a kind great snake, resting on the great snake’s bed for a long time, and even treated to a midnight snack by the great snake—it was all just a simple matter from start to finish.

Bai Ying was too candid; Qin Juanshu was momentarily speechless.

“Qin Juanshu, is the banquet over?” Bai Ying gently tugged his sleeve. “Should we head back?”

“…Let’s go back,” Qin Juanshu said.

He suddenly felt that he shouldn’t have brought Bai Ying here tonight. He wanted Bai Ying to stay within his sight at all times, but it seemed this hadn’t made him hold onto Bai Ying any tighter.

Bai Ying thanked Zhong Qian once more, but before he could follow Qin Juanshu away, someone stepped forward.

Xie Jin looked down at Bai Ying. “Do you still remember me?”

Bai Ying froze for a moment.

Memories slowly surfaced: a rainy day, the flower shop, the transparent raincoat.

The man before him was just as tall as the one from his memory. The raincoat that had been too big for Bai Ying fit him perfectly. The man in his memory had worn a mask, so Bai Ying had no idea what he looked like—but the eyes were the same, like cold stars in the night sky.

Bai Ying’s eyes lit up. “It’s you! The kind stranger!”

Qin Juanshu’s temple twitched.

Just how many kind strangers have you run into?