“I can’t do it with you in snake form. I couldn’t take it.”
You Nian closed her eyes as if facing her own death.
She’d heard that snakes had not one, but two—and that they had barbs, too.
That was one of the traits snakes had evolved to hook out what other male snakes had left inside a female, improving their own chances of passing on their bloodline.
Besides, just look how thick his true form was. It was as thick as a bucket.
If he really took it out, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to handle it.
Fine. She’d just endure it for the sake of unlocking the Azure Dragon bloodline. Once she got pregnant, she’d dump him.
The giant snake gave an almost imperceptible nod, as if agreeing.
The tail coiled around You Nian’s waist suddenly transformed into a pair of long, powerful male beastman arms.
In his human-youth form, the White Snake was tall and slender. The unfamiliar animal hide he wore was strangely translucent, like a layer of white with a faint, pearly sheen.
He was so beautiful he seemed almost divine, with flowing silver-white hair that shimmered softly, every strand smooth and lustrous.
His ethereal appearance and bearing were at odds with his beastly, emerald-green eyes, wild as a primeval forest.
With his baneful, otherworldly eyes set in a face like an immortal’s, he looked like a deadly beauty-snake who would lure innocent scholars astray at night.
You Nian stared at him, dumbstruck.
Well, this was a surprise. If he’d told her he looked like this sooner, she might have agreed right away.
Baixi gently stroked You Nian’s cheek. Female beastfolk were born with skin softer and fairer than males’, and it felt wonderful beneath his touch. The snake couldn’t bring himself to stop.
In a low, husky voice, he asked softly,
“Can we now?”
She had to admit, male beastfolk who’d just discovered sex were terrifying. They seemed to develop an insatiable appetite, and their stamina was frightening, too.
She and Baixi had gone at it from the lake to the shore, back and forth so many times she’d lost count.
Baixi was domineering, too, keeping her trapped and refusing to let them part.
It was as if he was determined to get You Nian pregnant with his snake eggs in one go.
But that suited You Nian just fine. She urgently needed to unlock new bloodline entries and earn more system points.
They kept going until dusk was nearly upon them and their energy was almost spent. Only then did Baixi reluctantly let her go and gradually come back to his senses.
Baixi had nearly believed himself lost in a beautiful dream. He never imagined that when he woke, he really would have mate-bonded with the little female he’d longed for.
“Little female, what’s your name? I’m Baixi, a Six-Stripe Beastman and a male of the White Snake Tribe.”
A Six-Stripe Beastman? You Nian looked at the six silver-white stripes on his left arm and recalled what she knew from the original host’s memories.
Male beastfolk were divided into nine ranks, from one stripe to nine.
Those who broke through beyond that became the legendary Beast Kings. At the very least, only divine beasts or those with ancient bloodlines could achieve it.
Mo Ling, the original host’s male, was the only five-stripe male in the Black Tiger Tribe.
She hadn’t expected that some snake beastman she’d picked up in a lake would outrank Mo Ling.
That cheap ex-husband really wasn’t anything special. Without him, things would only get better.
Still, those obvious beast stripes were a bit of a drawback.
If she were back in the real world, they’d keep her from taking the civil service exam or joining the military. Her whole life might be ruined.
As You Nian was lost in thought, Baixi leaned close, his expression so gentle that he drew her back to the present.
The male snake beastman was tender as water, no longer at all like the terrifying threat he’d been in snake form.
“You Nian, female of the Black Tiger Tribe.”
Only then did You Nian realize she hadn’t answered him. She gave him a brief introduction.
Baixi nodded thoughtfully. Normally, after a male introduced his rank, a female would say which rank she belonged to as well.
Inferior, Ordinary, Superior… Though You Nian hadn’t said what kind of female she was, Baixi had observed her long enough to conclude that even if she wasn’t a Superior Female with a special ability, she was at least an Ordinary Female capable of supporting herself.
You Nian suddenly thought of something and couldn’t help asking Baixi,
“Have you been in this forest the whole time? I heard there isn’t a White Snake Tribe around here.”
Baixi shook his head and explained,
“Snakefolk are different from other kinds. We all live on our own and don’t build tribes. Not long after they’re born, snakes hunt for themselves and look for territory.”
“I only came to this area recently, about half a month ago.”
No wonder she’d never seen Baixi before. He’d probably been staying in the lake, hardly going out to hunt and just waiting for animals to come drink so he could enjoy an all-you-can-eat buffet.
You Nian stood up, feeling a vague heaviness in her lower abdomen.
She had a pretty good idea what it was. With a grimace, she pushed Baixi away.
“Move. I’ve got things to do.”
She went ashore and found the basket she’d brought with her.
She’d brought it specifically to carry clay, and now You Nian set to digging by the river, completely absorbed in her work.
Baixi looked bewildered.
He hadn’t expected the little female, who’d seemed perfectly normal a moment ago, to start digging in the dirt the next.
Thinking it over, she’d also liked digging the soil near her cave before, and she’d gathered some strange-looking plants and left them to dry in the sun.
Poor little female. She didn’t seem very bright.
Had she once been so hungry that she’d had to eat dirt?
Baixi silently vowed that from then on he’d catch plenty of prey, never let her get hungry enough to eat dirt, and put a little meat on her bones.
As he watched her once-fair face quickly become speckled with mud, Baixi felt a surge of tenderness and couldn’t bear to see it.
His long fingers snatched the basket from You Nian.
“Niannian, let me dig the clay for you. How much do you need?”
Niannian? You Nian felt her ears inexplicably warm at the name. It was only an ordinary reduplicated nickname.
Why did it make her heart flutter and feel so irresistibly intimate when Baixi said it in that sexy, husky voice, deep as a cello?
“Just fill the basket. Don’t put too many stones or branches in it. I only want soil.”
You Nian stopped digging and didn’t object. She simply washed her hands in the Black Lake.
Now that she had a male beastman, she might as well put him to work.
Baixi soon filled the basket to the brim with clay. He slung it onto his back without being asked, then took You Nian’s hand in his long, elegant one, its joints distinct and its fingers as graceful as plum branches.
His cool, broad hand suddenly clasped hers, and You Nian was taken aback.
“What are you doing?”
From the way Baixi was acting, it looked as though he meant to go back with her.
Wasn’t he going to stay holed up in the lake?
Baixi glanced back at her tenderly.
“That’s so heavy. How could a female like you carry it, Niannian?”
“You’ve mate-bonded with me, Niannian. You’re my female now. Of course I’ll protect you and live with you.”
You Nian’s heart skipped a beat.
In her previous life, she’d been too busy dealing with exams, and the men who pursued her all had such obvious ulterior motives that their clumsy intentions were plain at a glance.
She’d never been in a relationship. She’d planned to build a career first, then look for someone suitable.
But she’d never gotten the chance.
After she was reborn, the original host’s beast husband had been a scumbag, so she’d had no chance to experience anything like this.
You Nian lowered her eyes. She’d never experienced this kind of attentive tenderness from a man before, and the feelings it stirred in her were complicated.
Love was exclusive by nature. It left no room for a third person.
But she had the System’s mission to fulfill, and she was destined to have more than Baixi as a male. She couldn’t lose herself in his tenderness.
“Then let’s go.”
You Nian had already made up her mind. As long as she didn’t get too emotionally invested, it would be fine.
Even if she treated Baixi as a useful tool to help her through this stage, then parted on good terms when the time came, that would be a decent arrangement.
Having been accepted by the female, Baixi was undeniably happy. His steps were much lighter on the way back.
The Little White Tiger had sensed the scent of an unfamiliar male long ago, when they were still about a kilometer from the cave.
And the scent was growing stronger, drawing closer by the moment.