The last rays of the sunset vanished behind the mountains.
The caravan finally arrived at Yuebai.
In the distance, stilted buildings rose in tiered layers, their eaves interlocking, presenting a spectacular and imposing sight as they etched a jagged silhouette against the twilight. Beneath the eaves and along the corridors, strings of red lanterns were lit one after another.
After traveling the entire day, Chai Xiaomi lay down on the bed in the guest room, utterly content.
"Finally, a proper bed to sleep in!"
She cheered happily, rolling over a few times on the bedding.
True to its reputation as the largest village in the Miaojiang region, Yuebai was clearly prosperous and generous. The guest accommodations provided for visitors were in a magnificent, grand wooden building. Each room was exquisitely furnished, with a pot of orchids placed on the windowsill.
Opening the window revealed a splendid and expansive view: a panorama of warm-colored lights, lanterns hanging among the staggered high and low buildings, illuminating the entire nightscape.
Her room was situated high up. The building, constructed against the mountain, encircled a towering waterfall. Mist from the water drifted and curled around, as the waterfall plunged vertically into a stream below, alongside which more clusters of buildings nestled.
After admiring the scenery for a while, Chai Xiaomi wandered around the room and discovered a wooden tub for bathing. She was so excited she nearly turned into a screaming chicken.
She had sweated so much from yesterday until today, she felt she was starting to smell.
That wretched Wuli, aside from tossing her some food to stave off hunger, paid no attention to her basic living needs whatsoever.
Such as daily hygiene.
Chai Xiaomi locked the door and swiftly took off all her clothes.
She sank comfortably into the wooden tub. The water temperature was just right, feeling like natural hot spring water. Her muscles and bones instantly relaxed, all fatigue washed away.
After her bath, Chai Xiaomi casually washed the clothes she had changed out of.
She had no other clothes to wear, so tonight her only option was to sleep naked and wait for the clothes to dry by morning.
Having finished her tasks, she contentedly burrowed under the covers, wrapping herself in the fragrant, soft quilt with only her head poking out.
Running on empty, she soon fell into a deep sleep.
Wuli, along with his clansmen, unloaded the congratulatory gifts from the carriage and moved them into the storeroom.
The heaviest and most exhausting tasks were naturally handed to him.
By the time he had unloaded the last piece of raw jadeite, everyone else had already returned to their rooms to rest.
When he returned to the guest room, the night was deep, but he found the door locked from the inside.
Wuli frowned, leaning against the door panel for a moment, yet he didn't call out to the person inside.
The corner of the young man's mouth lifted slightly, his mischievous urge to tease surfacing again.
Chai Xiaomi's sleep was not peaceful; she had a nightmare. In the dream, she was back in front of the sacred tree.
The scene was bizarre and kaleidoscopic, constantly shifting and changing.
An extremely beautiful woman appeared tied to the sacred tree, flames consuming her. Moments later, the person being burned to death transformed into Wuli's likeness. Then that face kept alternating, changing into her parents, classmates, friends, and even herself.
Chai Xiaomi felt she was sweating profusely from the dream-fire, wanting to pluck a leaf to wipe her sweat, but instead pulled down a giant red-patterned python, its forked tongue flicking against her face, sticky and ice-cold.
Chai Xiaomi jolted awake instantly.
Her eyes flew open, and she gasped for breath.
Her wide, almond-shaped eyes met a pair of cold, gleaming emerald-green orbs.
A reddish-brown patterned snake was lying on her chest, flicking its tongue at her!
"Ah!"
"Wuli!"
It was obvious who was behind this.
Chai Xiaomi looked up and indeed saw the handsome youth leaning casually against the wooden bedpost, arms crossed, a smug, triumphant smile playing on his lips.
She couldn't stay calm anymore.
Why did this pervert enjoy using others' fear as his amusement!
"How did you get in?" Chai Xiaomi bristled. "Didn't anyone tell you not to just barge into a girl's room?!"
Upon hearing the question, Wuli lowered his eyes and fell silent for a few seconds, as if seriously considering it. Then he looked up and replied, "No one has told me that."
"However, this is my room. In the eyes of outsiders, you are a medicine person I keep, no different from a pet. You are not entitled to a guest room," he continued. "If you beg me, I'll let you sleep in the room, but you sleep there, and I sleep here."
He first pointed to a long bench on one side, then pointed to the bed.
His meaning was clear: she was to sleep on the long bench; the bed belonged to him.
"Go on, beg me." A lazy smile always lingered at the corner of Wuli's lips, hinting at mischief.
He seemed in a very pleasant mood, as if teasing her was a source of enjoyment for him.
Chai Xiaomi's heart, still racing from the fright, hadn't calmed down. This guy showed not a shred of remorse and actually wanted her to beg him? And for what? A long bench!
Hah.
She was practically so angry that she laughed.
Forget about him being some villain, pineapple pie, or strawberry pie!
It was the first time in her life she had met a boy with such awful manners and not a shred of gentlemanly decorum.
Chai Xiaomi hardened her heart. "I won't beg. I'll sleep outside then." This lady isn't serving you.
Wuli stared at her, the curve of his lips gradually fading slightly. He was displeased. "No, you can't sleep outside. Beg me."
So he just wanted her to beg him? What kind of sadistic quirk was this?
Chai Xiaomi's backbone stiffened. "I won't beg!"
Wuli's voice turned cold. "One more chance. Say it again."
Chai Xiaomi: "I still won't beg!"
Wuli: "Very well."
The snake's twisted body suddenly lunged forward; its speed was terrifyingly fast!
Its head reared up, as if trying to force its way past her lips and teeth, thrusting inward.
Chai Xiaomi, terrified, shot up from under the covers, trying to shake the snake off with the quilt.
As the cold air brushed her exposed skin, she realized with a start that she had been sleeping naked.
Chai Xiaomi frantically gathered the tangled quilt to her chest, immediately turning to face the wall, her back to the outside.
Her face was flushed beyond belief. "Turn around! Don't look!"
That fierce-sounding voice, tinged with embarrassed annoyance, carried no menace whatsoever. It was more like a kitten that hadn't yet grown sharp claws—unable to hurt, only scratching an itch.
Wuli froze in place. Even that previously malicious smile vanished instantly without a trace.
He was completely dumbfounded.
Had he just glimpsed two pale, plump... steamed buns?
It was just a flash.
Her hair was thick, smooth, and glossy, cascading over her chest.
Those two round buns were hidden within the hair; he hadn't actually seen them clearly.
"Hongjiao, return!"
Seeing the snake about to burrow further into the quilt, Wuli suddenly barked an order.
It was the first time its master had yelled at it.
Hongjiao trembled violently, even losing its grip, and tumbled off the bed.
It then, flustered, climbed up its master's leg from the floor and slithered into his sleeve.
Wuli turned his head and spotted the clothes Chai Xiaomi had washed and hung to dry on a wooden rack in the room.
Only then did he realize that she had no change of clothes; no wonder she was sleeping stark naked under the covers.
"Troublesome," he muttered under his breath.
He turned and leaped out through the window.
His movements were light and agile, his silver ornaments jingling as he jumped.
After being gone for a short while, Wuli jumped back in through the window, holding a stack of clothes in his arms.
Wu Li tossed the clothes onto the bed and left with a parting remark, "Get dressed. I'll come back in when I count to one hundred."
With that, he unlocked the door and stepped out.
He had raised snakes, insects, scorpions—every kind of venomous creature—but never a person before.
Besides keeping her fed, it brought a heap of unforeseen troubles.
Wu Li pursed his lips, leaning idly against the wooden railing of the corridor. Crossing his arms, he gazed at the moonlight and began his count: "One, two, three..."
