The staff at the custom shop all had Spiritual Entities related to automobile manufacturing, making them highly efficient. After signing the contract, they told Yin Mo to come back in five days to pick up the car.
"Where to now?"
Sitting in the Phantom, Yin Mo asked the "supervisor" beside him.
Qibao pointed to the base navigation map built into the car's dashboard and told him to drive outward in circles, starting from the innermost streets of the inner ring. She could sense the Demonic Aura of the seven Great Demons, but only within a certain range—beyond two or three hundred meters, she couldn't detect them at all.
Yin Mo frowned. "You don't trust me? I told you, they've all left long ago."
Qibao said, "Maybe they're deceiving you? Haven't you heard the saying—the most dangerous place is the safest place? They guessed that after I came out of the mountain, I'd head straight to Tan City first, and they assumed the Ox Demon would stay here. So they deliberately told the Ox Demon they'd left, using him to pass on misleading information to me. They're playing a game of hiding right under my nose."
Cultivators kept their distance from the mortal world, but they still schemed and deceived each other over treasures. As a Magic Treasure, Qibao had witnessed countless such examples.
Yin Mo found himself unable to refute her. After all, for over three thousand years, he and those six Great Demons had been imprisoned in different tower levels, isolated from any communication. They'd only caught a glimpse of each other when they first emerged from the tower here. They weren't familiar with one another at all.
He dutifully served as Qibao's professional driver without complaint.
They had lunch in the inner ring, then continued driving through the middle ring afterward. Qibao also moved from the front seat to the more comfortable rear seat, lowering both windows halfway to better sense the Demonic Aura.
It wasn't until around three in the afternoon that Yin Mo could no longer drive through the outer ring—the roads there were too narrow, and Qibao wouldn't allow him to plow through recklessly.
Qibao asked, "Do you have one of those two-wheeled vehicles in your spatial storage?"
Yin Mo: "…"
He had collected every luxury car that could show off one's status.
Putting away the Phantom, Yin Mo produced a black Ducati. There might be better motorcycles elsewhere, but this was definitely the most luxurious one among the motorcycles that hadn't yet been scavenged from the Waste Cities he'd visited.
He swung his long leg over the seat, settled in with both feet easily planted on the ground, then gripped the handlebars and turned his head to look at Qibao beside him.
Qibao was puzzled. "What are you smiling at?"
Yin Mo: "…Nothing. Get on."
Qibao pressed one hand against his back and swung herself on. Before settling in, she adjusted her long skirt, which was getting in the way. Yin Mo tilted his head, and seeing that both the front and back of her skirt were tucked securely, leaving only two fair, slender calves exposed, he simply reminded her, "Motorcycles have a lot of inertia when they first start moving. Hold on tight to my waist."
Qibao had learned many eating techniques from him, and in such matters of human behavior, she trusted him more now. She cooperatively scooted forward and wrapped her arms around his waist—which looked slim and indeed felt slim. Slim as it was, the moment her arms touched him, she felt his taut muscles. And thinking about how his serpentine body moved entirely by twisting, his waist strength was naturally extraordinary.
As for his shirt, it had probably been washed last night too, carrying the same laundry detergent scent as her skirt. There wasn't a trace of sweat odor.
Yin Mo felt the small motion of her nose pressing against his back and gripped the handlebars tightly. "Does my Demonic Aura smell bad?"
Qibao explained seriously, "Demonic Aura isn't something you smell. It's a kind of soul aura that you demonic beasts, humans, and even those Aberrant Beasts in the mountains each possess. Members of the same race can't sense it, but those of different races—especially those who understand such things—can easily detect it. It's like when you see a human body, you can immediately tell whether the person is truly human or a demon cultivator transformed into human form."
Yin Mo: "…Then do I have any scent on me? You're practically radiating Spiritual Qi."
At his question, Qibao pressed herself against his back again and sniffed, then described honestly, "There's a very cool, refreshing scent, like the river water deep in the mountains."
She had bathed in that river water for a whole month; the memory was very clear.
Yin Mo glanced at the rearview mirror and saw his own lips curved upward in the reflection. Water element of the five phases contained the purest essence of heaven and earth—Qibao's description was definitely a compliment.
"Hold on tight. We're off."
The next second, Qibao heard the roaring thunder of the motorcycle engine, and the bike indeed lurched forward with a sudden surge.
"Slow down. Don't hit anyone."
Yin Mo obediently reduced his speed.
The two of them circled the outer ring for over three hours like this, but found nothing.
Yin Mo drove the motorcycle back onto the main road leading to the middle ring, picking up speed. Qibao disliked the wind blowing into her eyes, so she kept her cheek pressed against Yin Mo's back.
At seven in the evening, Yin Mo brought Qibao to that breakfast street in the middle ring again—except now, the stalls were all selling dinner and snacks.
At the restaurant, Yin Mo treated Qibao to chopped pepper fish head, stir-fried yellow beef, sauce-marinated duck, and spicy crayfish. Qibao was at her most ravenous, splitting nearly every dish evenly with Yin Mo.
When they walked out of the restaurant, both were quite full, but Yin Mo still bought a serving of barbecue and a serving of stinky tofu.
Qibao wrinkled her nose and refused the latter, covering her nose in disgust. "That smells terrible. You eat it yourself."
Yin Mo: "This is the most famous snack here. In the past, tourists who came to this area would definitely order it, and it never stopped even after the apocalypse. You can tell how much the locals love it. Try it—if you really can't stand it, I'll compensate you with a dress."
Even the Snake Demon, who was extremely stingy with Credits, had said this much. Only then did Qibao, following his hand, try a small bite. Her teeth gently closed, and her tongue immediately tasted the tender tofu inside—a bit salty, a bit spicy, truly delicious.
Yin Mo could see her fondness from her surprised dark eyes. He stopped walking, holding the box in one hand and raising the stinky tofu with the other to feed her.
Qibao was too full, so after finishing one piece, she didn't want any more.
Yin Mo quickly finished the rest.
With food and drink taken care of, it was time to rest. This time, Yin Mo brought Qibao to the best mercenary hotel in Central, booking a deluxe room.
Qibao showered first as usual, while Yin Mo washed clothes outside. When Qibao came out after her shower, he dried her hair for her.
Tonight, Qibao wasn't as tired and stayed awake.
Yin Mo: "Want to watch a movie together later?"
Qibao: "What do you mean?"
Yin Mo told her to turn on the wristband's projection screen. He opened a video app and picked the classic film Green Snake to play: "It's a mythological story imagined by the humans here."
At first, he'd only wanted to search for snake-themed movies, but all that came up were films about giant pythons eating people. This one had the most views and the highest rating, but unfortunately it was about two female snake demons. Just as Yin Mo was growing drowsy, the white snake was actually pressed beneath a tower, which instantly made him feel a deep resonance—burning with anger and chilled to the bone.
By the time Yin Mo came out of the shower, Qibao was already leaning against her millennial spirit wood bunk bed, her eyes fixed intently on the projection, completely ignoring him.
Yin Mo went to put the washed clothes into the dryer.
After finishing his tasks, he transformed into his snake form and tentatively coiled around one of the bedposts of the bunk bed.
Qibao shot him a sideways glance.
Yin Mo: "I want to watch it again too, and this angle is the most convenient."
Considering how obedient he'd been all day, Qibao didn't chase him off.
As the movie neared its end, when the two snakes triggered a flood that devastated the mortal world, Qibao sighed: "See, it's because you only care about yourselves, causing countless innocent people to die, that the righteous cultivators had to subdue you."
Yin Mo didn't argue with her over a fictional movie. He turned his snake head and looked straight at her: "The white snake acknowledged her mistake and willingly entered Leifeng Tower. Though I wasn't willing back then, I was suppressed inside your body for three thousand years. Even human prisoners have a release date unless they're sentenced to death. Now that I've repented and reformed, can you stop treating me like a prisoner?"
Qibao: "You say you've repented and reformed just like that? How do I know you're not lying?"
Yin Mo: "Then tell me, when will you be willing to set me free? You can't imprison me for a lifetime."
Qibao fell silent. She was just a tower—the one who had subdued the seven Great Demons was that female cultivator. Unfortunately, the immortal-demon war broke out not long after. She had fallen asleep after entering the spatial rift, and even the fact that three thousand years had passed was something Yin Mo had told her. The evidence was that he had shed his skin three times inside the tower, and a snake demon of his strength shed once every thousand years.
"Just not now. Once I've gathered all seven of you Great Demons, I'll properly consider this question."
Turning off the projection, Qibao placed the pagoda on the unused bedside table. Before entering, she asked Yin Mo: "Inside or outside?"
Yin Mo: "…Outside, I guess. At least I can absorb a bit of Spiritual Qi to keep my strength from deteriorating further. Don't you need to cultivate?"
Qibao: "My defense is an innate magic treasure divine ability. It doesn't rely on Spiritual Qi to maintain, so cultivation has no meaning for me."
Yin Mo pointed at her physical body: "This body of yours has no magical power at all—even eating burns your mouth. Didn't that woman leave you any human cultivation techniques?"
Qibao: "There were a few spirit slips, but they're all ruined. Even if they weren't, they'd probably be useless—the Spiritual Qi here isn't even enough for me to reach the entry level."
Yin Mo's expression turned serious: "Then aren't you just like an ordinary person, slowly growing old?"
Qibao: "I can hold out for a hundred or two hundred years. If I get old, it's fine—I'll just find a new Contractor and still be able to supervise you all."
Yin Mo: "…"
Thinking he had nothing more to say, Qibao brought the bunk bed with her into the tower.
Yin Mo brought out his own two-meter-wide bed, sat on its edge, and stared at the golden pagoda diagonally across from him.
He didn't know how long he stared, but eventually the dryer finished its cycle.
Yin Mo snapped back to attention, took out the clothes, and shook each one flat before folding them. Hers he placed separately beside his pillow.
Turning off the lights, Yin Mo transformed back into his snake form on the bed. He lay flat for a while, then coiled up. Perhaps the noise from the corridor and the street was too loud—the more he lay there, the more awake he became. He simply stretched out his body, used his tail to pick up the pagoda from the bedside table, placed it in the middle of his large bed, and coiled around it layer by layer.
Qibao was almost asleep when an unusual sense of constriction came from the tower. Instinctively, she spread her Spiritual Sense across the entire tower.
This time, the constriction was even more pronounced—as if her physical body were being wrapped by Yin Mo.
Displeased, she released her defensive divine ability.
The mutated boar slammed into the golden light barrier around the pagoda and was sent flying back whole. Yin Mo had coiled around the pagoda several times, and when the golden light barrier appeared, it nearly snapped him into several pieces and flung them apart. Fortunately, he remained vigilant at all times and enlarged himself just in time, loosening his serpentine body to put some distance between himself and the pagoda.
Qibao appeared and controlled the pagoda to hover above his head. "Looking for death, are you?"
Yin Mo slithered under the bed, leaving only half of his serpentine head exposed. "Don't misunderstand. I couldn't sleep because of the noise outside, and I was afraid it would disturb you, so I wanted to use my body to block out the sound for you."
Qibao said, "I can't hear anything when I'm asleep, but if you touch my pagoda, I'll feel it no matter how lightly."
Yin Mo nodded repeatedly. "So that's how it is."
What a foolish snake. Qibao ignored him and guided the pagoda to land on the desk far away from him, then went back to sleep.