Xin Hexue scattered realgar powder around the front and back of the house. If it were mixed with white wine, the effect would’ve been better, but there was no white wine in the temple, so he only used dry powder.
In fact, there was pinellia growing in the courtyard behind the temple. Generally, snakes avoided places covered in pinellia and would deliberately take a detour. The reason was that the sap of pinellia was extremely irritating and pungent to snakes.
Just in case, Xin Hexue hung sachets made of realgar and garlic balls at the four corners of his bed.
But compared to these, the best method was the Five Poisons Talisman.
These were crafted by the nuns in the nunnery, who cut five-colored materials into the shapes of the Five Poisons; toads, lizards, spiders, snakes, and centipedes. Donors who received them would paste them on doorways or in bedrooms to ward off poisonous insects.
Every year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, people would use Five Poisons Talismans and Evil-Repelling Pills to dispel evil and drive out toxins.
But now it was already October.
A fine snow fell last night, piling up on the dead branches and withered grass behind the temple.
Bamboo fences and pine bamboo forests surrounded the area. Beneath the bamboo, the ground was wet and muddy, the melted snow soaking into the soil.
Just a few dozen steps down the small path from the back of the temple was a wild mountain spring, shaded by the bamboo forest. At the bottom of the hot spring pool were smooth stones. Geothermal heat bubbled up and steam rose faintly, with a light scent of sulfur in the air.
Xin Hexue was already completely immersed in the pool. He scooped up a handful of water and poured it over his face.
His face and jet-black hair were dripping wet, the clear water sliding down the smooth curve of his jaw.
His lips were pursed, the lip bead pale from the pressure, while the edges of his lips darkened from faint pink to a deeper hue. In the hazy mist, the light red gave his lips a touch of inexplicable allure.
His fair, almost colorless skin was steamed faintly pink by the hot water, and the usual distant, cold aura around him faded. His breath was so soft and light, and it felt like one could reach out and touch the milky white skin, then roughly knead or kiss it, turning that faint pink into a chaotic flush.
Leaves rustled in the wind.
Blood-red vertical pupils quietly watched from within the bamboo trees.
Xin Hexue leaned back against the stone wall, a frown on his face, clearly not in a good mood.
He was just thinking of his past life.
When he was young, he was locked in the Five Poisons Room, but his memory of it was blurry, as he had been delirious most of the time and couldn’t recall the details.
He only knew he had been locked in for two days and one night, and was later found by his mother.
After coming out, he had a high fever for half a month.
A small detail had just resurfaced in Xin Hexue’s memory. After the fever finally subsided, his mother had plastered many Five Poisons Talismans from the royal temple in his room. He remembered what she had said…the imperial physician diagnosed him with recurring high fever caused by fright.
That Five Poisons Room was used to punish palace servants who made mistakes. It was filled with many poisonous insects and snakes…
But there was no reason he didn’t show any symptoms of poisoning. Not even a trace of a snake bite on his skin.
‘Just fright?’
Xin Hexue found this memory strange, but since he couldn’t recall what exactly happened in the Five Poisons Room, he had no way to find the answer.
The rustling of footsteps through the grass pulled him back from his memories.
Bu Jincheng turned the corner of the path and called out, “Dinner… is ready?”
Before he could finish speaking, he abruptly stopped and sucked in a breath, then immediately stood at attention and turned around. “I…I’m not a pervert. I just thought you were taking a walk over here.”
Bu Jincheng had never walked this far and didn’t even know there was a hot spring behind the bamboo forest.
He took several deep breaths and squeezed his eyes shut.
But the image from earlier refused to leave his mind.
The thin white shirt was soaked completely, clinging tightly to the slender curve of Xin Hexue’s spine. The smooth, delicate back tapered inward at the waist, which was narrow like a supple willow branch, and the two curves extended into the water.
After hearing footsteps, the young man turned his head toward him. His wet black hair clung to the sides of his face, and the damp, fragrant skin beneath his shirt glistened and glowed.
He was like a water demon that bewitches people.
Bu Jincheng pressed a hand to his temple, his voice strangely hoarse. “Dinner’s almost ready.”
Xin Hexue: “Mm.”
Then came the sound of water splashing, and the rustle of wet clothes being removed and dry ones put on.
Xin Hexue put on a cloak. “Aren’t you going to wash up? Be careful with your fractured hand, though.”
Bu Jincheng was still wearing yesterday’s clothes, the fabric stained with herbal juice and blood. Though it wasn’t too visible on the dark indigo robe, the patches of medicinal and blood stains could still be seen.
But Jincheng looked flustered. The chivalrous air he had when they first met was now completely gone, and his ears were bright red like an inexperienced boy.
Xin Hexue cast him a faint glance, curved his lips slightly, and walked away.
Bu Jincheng hesitated for a moment.
As he stepped into the water, the image from earlier still lingered in his mind. This water…
This water smelled fragrant too.
[Bu Jincheng love value +10]
But for some reason, despite being in a warm, heated pool, Bu Jincheng suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
As if something was locking onto him with a sinister malice.
………
“Bu Jincheng?”
Xin Hexue came over holding some clothes.
These were a change of clothes meant for the other party’s bag. He had casually picked them up from a ready-made clothing shop in the capital, and the size was based on a tall adult male.
Xin Hexue: “I’ve left the clothes here for you.”
He draped them over a tree branch near the hot spring.
Not hearing a response, Xin Hexue walked two steps closer. “Bu Jincheng?”
Bu Jincheng reacted as if waking up from a dream. “Here, I’m here.”
Xin Hexue repeated, “I’ve hung clean clothes on the branch for you. Change into them later and see if they fit.”
Bu Jincheng turned his head and nodded. “Alright, thank you.”
Xin Hexue: “What was wrong just now? I called you but you didn’t respond.”
Bu Jincheng explained, “I thought I heard something earlier, like the sound of snake scales scraping the ground. I was trying to listen carefully and didn’t notice you calling me.”
Xin Hexue frowned. “Was there a snake?”
Bu Jincheng reassured him, “It must be my imagination. The wind at dusk was strong, so it was probably just bamboo leaves falling to the ground.”
Xin Hexue let out a slight breath of relief and glanced at Bu Jincheng.
Unlike a frail scholar, the other party’s body was tall and broad, wrapped in strong, wheat-colored muscle.
The shifting light and shadows from the bamboo leaves intertwined and poured over the defined lines of his abdominal muscles.
Xin Hexue turned his head slightly and noticed faint scars from small scratches on Bu Jincheng’s body, the most noticeable one crossing diagonally from his back and across the external oblique muscle on his abdomen.
He asked, “How did you get that?”
Bu Jincheng had never revealed his body to others before. Fortunately, he hadn’t removed his undergarments when entering the water. He touched the back of his neck awkwardly. “It was when I was a teenager traveling in the mountains and rivers, and I accidentally fell off a cliff. A sharp rock edge left that cut.”
Xin Hexue didn’t ask further, just noted that it was getting dark.
Winter days always ended quickly.
………
That night, Xin Hexue dreamed again.
He fell into complete darkness, and was unable to even see his own fingers.
He subconsciously took a step forward, and someone next to him grabbed his hand tightly.
Xin Hexue realized his hand was very small, clearly still that of a child, and was wrapped in a slightly larger hand.
A hoarse, grating voice like one damaged by poison and barely saved rasped out, “Don’t run around.”
Xin Hexue stepped on something. It made a brittle crunch like the sound of insect limbs breaking, and the dark room reeked of blood.
He heard the faint sound of a snake hissing and the croaking of toads.
He realized what kind of place this was, and felt a chill of terror.
Xin Hexue found that he couldn’t control his body. Otherwise, he would’ve immediately thrown up.
It didn’t feel like a dream, but more like a memory.
He could only observe this pitch-black world through this childhood body, which moved according to the memory.
They hid in a corner, and he felt the older boy shielding him protectively.
All the noise came from the corner of the wall opposite them, and the poisonous insects and snakes looked hesitant to cross over.
Xin Hexue realized what they feared; the ground around them was circled by dead bodies of insects and snakes the boy had killed.
Back then, he was still in a state of idiocy because his soul was incompatible with the world.
He found himself raising a small hand and handing the jade pendant in his palm to the boy, speaking clumsily, “Thank you, gege.”
The boy felt it and, realizing it was a double-fish-shaped jade disc, pushed it back. “A jade pendant? Which palace are you from? Were you sent to the Five Poisons Room for stealing?”
Xin Hexue found that he didn’t speak again. Perhaps the long question confused him.
It was unknown how long had passed in the dark, but suddenly, the boy beside him collapsed into the mud. Xin Hexue pushed him and felt his burning temperature and shallow breathing–he had been poisoned for a long time.
The boy was on the brink of death.
Just when Xin Hexue almost forgot the fact that it was a dream and was feeling anxious, the door was opened.
White light burst in, and his mother embraced him and carried him away from the Five Poisons Room.
Xin Hexue looked back. The boy was still lying there in the dirty, dark room. But because his face was buried in the shadows, he couldn’t see it clearly.
Soon, he fell into a second dream.
………
The young man lying on the bed was clearly asleep, but his expression was uneasy, with a hint of fatigue and uneasiness between his brows, as if caught in a nightmare.
Hen Zhen stared at him for a long time.
His snake body slithered in through the window. The realgar powder was like child’s play to the giant snake, it had no effect whatsoever.
His snake body shrank in size, becoming as tall as a person now, which was enough to coil onto the bed.
Xin Hexue’s frame was too slender. Though he stood out tall and elegant among the crowd, he had narrow bones, so he was easily wrapped and bound by the blue-scaled snake.
The extremely soft body trembled slightly.
Hen Zhen lowered his head to Xin Hexue’s stomach.
He nudged up the hem of the underclothes, revealing the snow white waist and abdomen.
The red forked tongue flicked out and repeatedly probed the area. Whenever it touched, Xin Hexue’s light breathing would deepen, and the slight trembling of his skin would intensify.
Hen Zhen finished his test.
He made a good discovery: Xin Hexue was not pregnant with that scholar’s bastard child.
But there was also a bad thing…
Xin Hexue seemed very afraid of snakes.
For a moment, the candle flame flickered wildly, and the snake’s shadow vanished from the wall. A naked man appeared on the bed, with broad shoulders, long legs, and a muscular and powerful build.
The young man was soon hugged into a strong and warm chest.
Perhaps because of the warmth, the young man moved closer. The fearful look on his face gradually faded, and he quietly drifted into deeper sleep, half his face buried in the soft quilt.
Hen Zhen took Xin Hexue’s hand, brought it to his lips, and gently nibbled at the fair wrist. He then licked the curled fingertips over and over until the pale, bloodless hand flushed pink from his actions.
The pleasant and tempting cool scent leaking from beneath the thin shirt grew thicker and more intoxicating.
Hen Zhen’s appetite exploded.
He was starving, and the blood-red covered his eyes completely.
Eat him…
Eat him…
Start by biting through that slender neck, let the blood spray from his veins…
He gripped Xin Hexue’s wrist tightly.
Then…
He quietly moved Xin Hexue’s hand, and very slowly, used it to slap himself across the face.
Hen Zhen’s scalp tingled, and the sharp pleasure made his fangs scrap his tongue, filling his mouth with the taste of blood.
He remembered the time Xin Hexue had wrapped his long legs around his neck, his thighs tense and trembling.
His expression was cold, even a little fierce. But the fluid between his legs flowed down to his chest…
Hen Zhen’s vertical pupils contracted.
The two snake whips stood at full attention.
