Jiang Huai lay on the bed, wrapped in the quilt, staring at the ceiling for a long time.
A sound of the door opening announced the arrival of Bai Li, wearing a white nightgown. She hopped back into the room, then jumped onto the bed, pulling back the quilt and snuggling into Jiang Huai’s embrace.
Jiang Huai looked down at her. Bai Li raised her gaze, and the two of them met each other’s eyes for a moment.
Seeing Bai Li’s expression, Jiang Huai breathed a small sigh of relief. Bai Li had never hidden her emotions from him. Jiang Huai reached out and gently pinched Bai Li’s cheek, asking in a low voice, “What did your mother say?”
“Mother didn’t blame you,” Bai Li replied softly. Jiang Huai lowered his head slightly, burying his face in Bai Li’s shoulder. “Then let’s sleep.”
“Huh? Just sleep?” Bai Li blinked her eyes innocently. Jiang Huai looked into her eyes. “Then what else do you want to do?”
“Wow, you’re being very well-behaved today.”
“I can’t do anything bad to you again,” Jiang Huai said helplessly, embracing Bai Li’s petite body. His fingertips gently traced the snow-white skin on her back. Bai Li rested her chin on his chest and mumbled, “I still have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“Your mother still has one-third of the Scarlet Flame Red Dragon Essence Blood in her body. If she doesn’t refine it soon, it will be a waste.”
“Let it be a waste,” Jiang Huai felt a prickle of alarm in his heart. He looked into Bai Li’s eyes. Bai Li’s finger began to draw circles on his chest. “But Mother will be very disappointed.”
“Oh?”
“She’ll think you dislike her, which is why you don’t want to refine it with her.”
“Of course not,” Jiang Huai looked at her helplessly, lowering his head to gaze into Bai Li’s eyes. “You’ve also been in the Eastern Region for a few years, you understand, right? Dual Cultivating and refining this drop of essence blood with her is ultimately a bit… inappropriate.”
“No one will know anyway,” Bai Li pouted and mumbled.
“It’s not about whether anyone knows. If I really refine that drop of Scarlet Flame Red Dragon Essence Blood with her, I feel like it would be so awkward to see her again in the future.”
“Mother won’t be awkward, only you will be.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“As long as you’re not awkward, that’s all that matters.”
Jiang Huai looked down at Bai Li and suddenly realized he had been led astray by her. He couldn’t think of anything to refute her with. He reached out and lightly patted Bai Li’s tender buttocks. “You were so angry just now, why are you instigating me to do something bad again?”
“This isn’t doing something bad,” Bai Li mumbled earnestly. “This is for my mother.”
“For her?” Jiang Huai was confused.
“Mother was willing to be bullied by you so many times. But when Mother wants you to be obedient, you make excuses about awkwardness, shame, or laws and customs… aren’t you just trying to preserve your image as a gentleman?”
“But but but, even if I don’t refine that one-third of Scarlet Flame Red Dragon Essence Blood, it’s not a loss for your mother…”
“You don’t understand the Monster Clan!” Bai Li reached out and pulled Jiang Huai’s face. “The Monster Clan isn’t like your Human Clan with its male dominance. For the Snake Clan, especially for a Monster Cultivator like my mother, being pinned down and bullied by a stranger of the opposite sex is a very humiliating thing. Mother has always been strong and never yielded to men. Even so, Mother didn’t blame you; instead, she comforted you… But this has truly left a mark of shame on Mother. So… could you be obedient and agree to Mother’s request just once, letting Mother pin you down and bully you back?”
“This…”
“Your Human Clan has its rules. If you follow your Human Clan’s rules, then you bullied my mother, which means you slept with your future mother-in-law. You’re already a heinous bastard. But my mother still forgave you. Now, Mother wants to retrieve her dignity according to the Monster Clan’s rules. Can’t you go along with my mother this once? Double standards!”
“I…”
Jiang Huai was rendered speechless, unable to say anything for a long time. His head felt fuzzy. Bai Li, who usually seemed carefree, was actually very meticulous and thoughtful. Jiang Huai couldn’t find any words to refute her. However, Bai Li didn’t press him further. Instead, she bumped her forehead against his chest. “Forget it, let’s sleep.”
Jiang Huai thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with anything to say. Bai Li in his arms had already fallen asleep. Finally, he let out a wry sigh, embraced Bai Li, and gradually fell asleep.
***
The next day, early morning.
Jiang Huai got out of bed early and started making breakfast. As he walked out into the courtyard, Bai Jin was already sitting peacefully under a tree. A light drizzle misted the courtyard, its fine threads falling upon her.
She hadn’t shielded herself from the rain, sensing the light dewdrops. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, gentle and languid. When she saw Jiang Huai emerge, she slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze towards Jiang Huai held no reproach, only gentleness.
“Awake so early,” Bai Jin said softly.
“Aunt Bai, what would you like to eat?” Jiang Huai scratched his head and asked softly.
“Anything is fine.”
So, Jiang Huai took out the small steamer basket he had brought and began kneading dough in the pavilion to prepare breakfast, making soup dumplings. Bai Li could eat three baskets at once, which was why he had woken up so early, wanting to make more.
Bai Jin watched him quietly from the side. She wore a hazy black gauze dress, its fabric slightly soaked by the rain, clinging to her porcelain-white, smooth skin. Droplets of water flowed slowly down her clavicle. Jiang Huai, while glancing back, was momentarily stunned as he gazed at her in the rain.
Bai Jin wasn’t looking at him, merely leaning back in her chair, gazing up at the grayish, drizzly sky. Jiang Huai saw a faint smile on the corner of her lips, her eyes calm and clear. Jiang Huai suddenly realized that he didn’t truly understand Bai Jin. He only knew a rough outline of her past. Bai Jin had always played the role of a gentle mother-in-law in front of him. He seemed to have never seen Bai Jin’s true self.
The rain made the mist swirl. Bai Jin seemed to sense Jiang Huai’s gaze and suddenly turned her head. After exchanging a few seconds of eye contact with him, Bai Jin said softly, “Did Ah Li say anything strange to you after she went back last night?”
“Sort of… a little,” he admitted.
“Don’t take it to heart,” Bai Jin said softly.
Bai Jin didn’t ask what Bai Li had said to him. She simply told him not to mind it.
Her eyes were gentle and calm, exuding an ineffable sense of peace, like a statue of a saint in the rain. Yet, Jiang Huai’s mind inexplicably recalled that day, with Bai Jin beneath him, her legs tightly wrapped around his waist, holding him like a white python. And the hazy desire in her eyes then was utterly different from Bai Jin now.
She was always so mindful of Jiang Huai’s feelings.
Jiang Huai responded with a very soft “Mm,” and focused on shaping the dumplings. The steamer basket soon produced wisps of steam. Jiang Huai walked over to her, moved a chair, wiped away the water droplets, and sat down. He looked at Bai Jin. “Aunt Bai, why don’t you shield yourself from the rain?”
“I’m not used to the rain yet, so I want to spend some time in it.” She winked at Jiang Huai. “I imagine many children in the Snake Clan are happily playing in the rain right now.”
Jiang Huai suddenly understood. He looked at Bai Jin’s face and a thought struck him. He asked softly, “Aunt Bai, did you want to be the matriarch of the Snake Clan yourself, or were you forced into it?”
Bai Jin gave a helpless smile. “A bit of both. I wanted to be the matriarch because I grew up here. I couldn’t bear to see my people in dire straits. But I’m not interested in power, which is why I left the Snake Clan back then. If all the Monster Clans can coexist peacefully in the future, and Ah Li is by your side, the Snake Clan won’t need me, and I’ll step down as matriarch and travel elsewhere.”
Jiang Huai suddenly realized that if Bai Li were to return with him to the Eastern Region, Bai Jin would be alone again in the Western Region.
Sometimes he felt that being alone was not bad, but sometimes he feared it intensely. However, because he was taking Bai Li away, Bai Jin would also be alone from then on. Jiang Huai scratched his head and asked softly, “After all these years, Aunt Bai, haven’t you had any… friends?”
Bai Jin smiled helplessly, looking at him, and replied softly, “I was cultivating diligently in the Western Region’s Snake Clan years ago. The Monster Clans were all in dire straits. Who had the time to think about friends? Both within and outside the clan, all the demon beasts were restless due to the pressing dangers. Even a small conflict could lead to a fight to the death. Later, I left the Monster Clan and unexpectedly fell into another world. The spiritual qi there was more than ten times that of here, but the cultivators were all terrifyingly powerful. I hid and cultivated until the Ninth Realm. Only after being expelled by the Heavenly Way there did I finally feel a sense of relief.”
“Why are you suddenly asking this?” Bai Jin looked into Jiang Huai’s eyes. Jiang Huai hesitated and said softly, “I’ve been thinking… if Bai Li returns with me to the Eastern Region in the future, then Aunt Bai will be alone in the Snake Clan.”
“This isn’t something you need to worry about.” Bai Jin reached out and gently poked Jiang Huai’s cheek with her fingertip. “Ah Li will grow up sooner or later and leave my side. This is unavoidable. I’ve long been accustomed to being alone and am not afraid.”
Although she said that, Jiang Huai understood that if one had always been alone, they wouldn’t feel lonely. But if someone had briefly accompanied them, loneliness would quietly begin to gnaw at their heart after they parted.
“That… there’s one more thing…” Jiang Huai scratched his head. He had tossed and turned a lot while holding Bai Li last night before finally falling asleep. At this moment, he finally asked, “I’m not too clear on the rules of the Monster Clan… Did, did what I did to you the other day, did it leave a mark of shame on you?”
“Oh?” Bai Jin was stunned for a moment, then covered her mouth and laughed. “It’s not just on my body.”
Her fingertip lightly poked her lower abdomen. She raised her eyes, her jet-black eyes playfully looking at Jiang Huai. “It’s also inside my body.”
