บท 50: The White Snake is a Vain One

LiangLin had stomped off towards the sleeping quarters, but once he was sure his sisters couldn't see him anymore from the hall, he climbed out of the side window. No way was he staying inside! His sisters were too paranoid. Just a brief walk around the area would do him some good.

The round window was just wide enough for him to fit through, but he still tripped on the frame on his way out and landed face-first on the grass with a groan. Cursed it for having his snake around his wrist at all times, but not in any way helping him be smooth in his motions!

He quickly crawled up, looking around to see if his ungraceful exit caught anyone's attention. He was clear. LiangLin never knew how much his ability to move with lightness and precision were all thanks to his snake.

In his pure human form, LiangLin was, to his own dismay, a terrible klutz. It was cute when his sisters acted like klutzes in front of patrons, but he was a grown-ass man! It was just embarrassing!

Checking his robes, LiangLin sighed with relief. His white robes would be impossible to wash if he got grass stains on them. Liking white was one of his vanity's downfalls. He couldn't help looking the best in white, but white always got dirty.

The jade pendant gleamed under the sunlight, catching his attention. Bright blue gem over the white snake's forehead winked at LiangLin, glowing as it caught the sunlight. The contrast was beautiful, the body of the white snake wrapped tightly around the almost black jade dragon.

The weight of the bracelet around his wrist was comforting, but LiangLin would still rather have his snake back as a part of him. Master She had said that dragon gods could return his zodiac animal, yet YaYun had failed. What now? Would he have to carry his snake around like this for the rest of eternity?

LiangLin walked along the stone walls, kicking the grass and little flowers growing around his feet distractedly. Could he live like this forever? Immortality, he would stay young and beautiful, but there would be no midnight swims in his snake form, no-

A light rustle of leaves caught LiangLin's attention, and he looked up towards the wall but found nothing. The gentle breeze fluttered by him, lifting the hems of his robes. A little shiver raked through him, reminding him that summer was almost at its end. The green of the trees was slowly turning yellow.

In these moments, he missed home. Where he came from, Hei'ang, summer never ended. LiangLin had never seen snow before, only heard stories of a white winter. But even if he wanted to witness it, he wasn't sure if he could handle the cold. Snakes couldn't withstand too much of a drop in temperature, or they would have to go into hibernation.

LiangLin's thoughts halted as something red and warm wrapped over his shoulders in a loving embrace.

"You-!" LiangLin felt his cheeks burn as XueYa stepped before him, his kissable lips spread into a wide smile. Such an irritating sight to see! LiangLin pulled the sorcerer's coat tighter over his body, basking in the warmness. To LiangLin's surprise, there was no scent on the coat or the man before him. How odd… "Why are you here?"

"To see you."

"..." Agh! Why was he blushing harder? LiangLin turned his gaze away. XueYa had said it so bluntly, as if it was an obvious thing to do. He couldn't let a few sweet words distract him! Why was the sorcerer here? Was he after LiangLin's snake, or something else?

Wei KaiJun released XueYa to deal with the fox, not stargaze, and definitely not gaze at LiangLin. Although LiangLin felt a little fluttering in his heart at the words… Damn it, this wasn't good! He was supposed to be kicking some balls in, not feel flustered over this one-eyed piece of shit!

"You saw me, now go away." Yes! This was it! Be resolute, and keep up the cold as ice attitude, LiangLin mentally cheered himself on. As if LiangLin would let this sorcerer get to him this easily!

"So cold. Don't you like what you see?"

LiangLin shot a glare XueYa's way.

Long, slightly curved lashes lined the slanted eye, a gaze that held a pool of emotions. Smooth, cascading raven hair, thin, wide lips, and a sharp jawline added to the overall charm. The red of XueYa's robes complemented his clear skin and the healthy glow that had returned to the sorcerer's cheeks.

LiangLin would be lying if he said he didn't like what he saw - but no way in hell would he admit it either!

"I didn't ask to see you! You should go help YaYun!" LiangLin said, turning away. But he couldn't stop himself from steeling a glance at XueYa from under the curtain of his lashes. The sorcerer was still smiling at him, visibly pleased.

What LiangLin thought was a save from answering XueYa was everything that the sorcerer needed to hear. The snake could have simply said no, and XueYa would have been on his way. But instead, the snake was stealing glances and blushing prettily.

XueYa knew he could be smacked again, but there was always this gnawing need in him that told him to tease the snake. The more flustered LiangLin became, the more XueYa wanted to bully the man. He wouldn't pursue the snake if LiangLin meant it and told him to stop. Yet here they were, LiangLin waiting for him to say something to cut the silence.

He let the silence persist for a while longer to see how the snake would react. XueYa didn't have to wait for long before LiangLin's lips pulled into a little pout, his fingers digging into XueYa's coat as they pulled the fabric tighter around him.

"You- are you going to just stare at me?"

"They say we should appreciate beauty, so I am."

No slap. XueYa let out a subtle breath of relief. LiangLin was glaring at him, but there was a little pleased smile pulling at the pouty lips. A vain one, XueYa would make sure to praise the snake more often, first thing in the morning, and the last thing before the snake fell asleep in his arms. The only problem preventing XueYa from getting to that preferable outcome was YaYun and the stubbornness of the snake.

XueYa rarely had to work this much to bed someone, but he liked challenges. There was a clear attraction between the two, the snake just seemed unwilling to admit it. XueYa just wanted the snake to give him a definite answer. Did LiangLin want to marry YaYun? Did he mean it?

"You are wasting time. Go take care of that fox already so YaYun can be free!" LiangLin grumbled. The longer the fox had his hands on YaYun, the longer QingYu was suffering silently! Besides, the sorcerer could resume his admiration of beauty once he rescued the emperor.

"So impatient," XueYa snickered as he leaned over the nearby tree. "I told you, baby YaYun will be safe. The fox won't kill him so soon."

But QingYu was suffering! Gah, LiangLin bit down on his tongue to prevent him from blurting it out. This sorcerer was testing his patience!

XueYa's smile slowly faltered as he pushed off the tree and stepped over, closing the gap between the two. LiangLin took a cautious step back until his back hit the stone wall and the two stood toe to toe.

"What are you doing?" LiangLin hissed as he pushed at XueYa's firm chest, trying to move the man away, but he didn't budge.

"Tell me honestly, do you want to marry YaYun?"

LiangLin's hand stopped at the words. He could feel the steady heartbeat against his palm, the strain in the deep tone of voice. Their eyes locked and LiangLin found himself lost for words.

They didn't know each other, only met a few times, and on none of those occasions were they on friendly terms. Yet, no matter how much LiangLin's rationale told him to lie and cheat his way out of this man's reach, he somehow felt guilty doing so.