Do You Want a Wife or Not?

However, the scholar had only run out for a few hours.

He had first washed the snake sap from his body by the stream, picked some wild fruits from a tree to fill his stomach, and then sat under the tree, not knowing where to go. Winter nights in the mountains were the most unbearable, plagued by snakes, insects, rats, and ants. What was truly unbearable, though, was the cold that penetrated deep into the bones.

The sun had just set, and it was already growing cold in the forest. The wind howled loudly, and it felt like needles stabbing his body. He had only a long gown on and nothing else to shield him. The scholar’s joints turned a little red from the cold. He squatted under the tree, trying to pull his gown down further, but to no avail.

He couldn’t enter the village, and he was too afraid of the Snake Immortal Temple. The only place left was the cave, which offered shelter from the wind and a place to light a fire for warmth. He had nowhere else to go.

Perhaps the snake demon had already left, assuming he wouldn’t return. When he could no longer endure the cold, the scholar decided to risk heading toward the cave.

By then, it was completely dark. The dead branches on the ground crackled under his bare feet, and his feet were so cold they had almost lost feeling. The scholar rubbed his hands together as he cautiously approached the dark cave. He picked up pebbles from the ground and threw them inside.

The stones rolled around, then stopped as if they had struck something foreign. The scholar knelt, picked up a few more stones, and threw them inside again, though he felt some fear.

Still, there was no movement.

He thought the snake demon might have left, so he gathered his courage and picked up a dead branch from the ground to use as a pathfinding tool.

The cave was pitch black, and the scholar staggered inside, waving the branch as he went. However, he was startled when his foot tripped on something foreign, and he let out a scream.

The next moment, the snake’s tail suddenly curled around his legs and dragged him inside. The dead branch fell to the ground as he was pulled onto a hard chest. Before he could cry out, he felt familiar hands encircle his lower back.

“Ugh!”

“Wife…”

The voice sounded again, making the scholar’s scalp tingle. The snake demon, however, seemed only to recognize that he had returned of his own accord and patted his feet with its tail in apparent joy.

The scholar hastily shrank back. He wanted to hide, but the cave was so dark he couldn’t tell where the snake’s tail lay or where it might strike. He truly couldn’t understand why the snake demon insisted on staying in the cave, refusing to leave. Now it held him tightly in its arms, treating him like a treasure it refused to let go.

Although the snake demon’s body temperature was very cold, it was still warmer than the night wind outside. While the scholar was still in shock, he felt the hand holding him tighten further.

“Wife, cold.”

“…”

Of course, he was cold. If it weren’t for this hateful snake demon, how could he be in such a miserable state? But he didn’t dare to refute, or even speak. If he left the cave now, he would definitely not survive the night. He could only succumb to this obscene snake, not daring to move.

When he didn’t respond, the snake demon tried again with its tail, attempting to feed him more snake fluid as it had during the day.

“No, please don’t…”

He grabbed the snake’s tail, which was pressed against his thigh, and opened his eyes with fear. The cold, indescribable sensation almost made him faint. He knew the obscene snake had no good intentions in holding him. The long night stretched endlessly, leaving him in a helpless dilemma. He could only hold onto the snake’s tail, trying to restrain it with his body.

“Hiss…”

This was the first time the scholar had reached out to grab the snake’s tail, and the snake demon seemed delighted. The scholar clutched the tail tightly to his chest, fearing the tip of it would act up again and embarrass him further. After a while, the snake’s tail stopped moving and simply rested in his arms.

After some time had passed, he felt the snake demon’s hand stretch out again, patting his back repeatedly.

Was it trying to put him to sleep? The scholar was slightly stunned.

He didn’t feel like he could sleep, but strangely, the faint heat coming from the tip of the snake’s tail made him more and more drowsy. The scholar leaned against the snake demon’s chest, hugging the tail tightly. Everything felt absurd and suffocating, but his eyelids grew heavier until he felt himself drifting off.

Eventually, he fell into a deep sleep. The snake’s tail began to move again, slowly emerging from his arms and slipping into his clothes. He hummed softly in his sleep, his body warming as if something was wrapping around him, drawing him in deeper and deeper.

In the darkness, his brow furrowed slightly, but the snake demon patiently stroked his head and held him even tighter.