Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Wanting a Snake Zaizai

"We can’t leave unless we hand over... what?"

Yu An stroked her chin. After scrutinizing it for a while, she found that the character was too blurry to make out.

"Hand over what, though? Money? Goods? An exchange? A friend?"

She muttered every possibility she could think of, but the stone chamber remained utterly silent, without the slightest response.

"Mo Yan, you think about it too. Seriously, aren’t we just the unluckiest? This is the second time we’ve randomly fallen into a place like this."

As Yu An grumbled, she tapped and knocked on the stone walls, trying to find a way out.

Mo Yan pondered for a moment. His gaze swept over Yu An as he whispered something under his breath.

Yu An didn’t hear him clearly. "What did you say?"

Mo Yan pressed his lips together, then raised his voice slightly. "Mate."

His voice was still quiet—softer than the buzzing of a bee—but this time, Yu An heard him loud and clear.

"Ahem," she said, her gaze flickering about, refusing to land on Mo Yan. "Is... is that it? Couldn’t it be something else..."

"You’re unwilling?"

The light in Mo Yan’s eyes dimmed instantly. His lashes lowered, and that familiar, distant chill returned to him. "Forget it. Perhaps that’s not it." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"You’re right," he said with a self-deprecating smile. "To you, I was only ever the second-best option. Now that you have someone else, I’m naturally not important anymore."

At night, his Female Master belonged to him. The affection she refused to admit during the day was laid bare in the darkness.

He committed every passionate entanglement to memory. The heart encased in ice had gradually begun to melt, but before his inner turmoil could be fully resolved, someone new had appeared by Yu An’s side.

Yu An sensed something was off with Mo Yan’s mood. She explained, "Mo Yan, I promised to set you free, so we shouldn’t have any more intimate contact. It’s for the best, for both of us..."

"Then why do you cling to me every night as we sleep in each other’s arms?"

Mo Yan strode in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders, his presence looming over her. "Don’t tell me it’s for warmth. I don’t believe you."

’Should I tell you it’s for the Origin Core Fragments?’

Of course, that was just a thought. Yu An had no intention of actually saying it.

"Then what do you think it’s for?"

Yu An tilted her head, tossing the question she didn’t know how to answer back at him.

Mo Yan opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say.

’What *is* it for?’

’It couldn’t possibly be because she likes me, because she wants me to stay, could it?’

Yu An secretly observed his expression, then lowered her eyes. "It’s just as you think. But I know my place. If it weren’t for me, you would have had a brilliant future."

"When I found out I hadn’t given birth to a snake Zaizai, I was actually a little relieved. It means you still have a way out. You won’t be dragged down by me, trapped in this exiled land forever."

Mo Yan’s mind went blank. The fingertips of the hand hanging at his side trembled slightly. "You... you like me..."

Yu An replied softly, "Who knows."

She felt Mo Yan’s hands tighten on her shoulders. When she looked up, she saw an unreadable emotion swirling in the depths of his eyes.

Before she could decipher that emotion, Mo Yan slammed a hand against the wall, trapping her in his arms. The instant the icy stone pressed against her back, a chilling kiss fell upon her lips.

The kiss was not gentle. It was utterly aggressive. Yu An was kissed until she couldn’t breathe. She wanted to push Mo Yan away, but he pinned her hands above her head, rendering her completely immobile.

"You like me... My Female Master likes me... right?"

When he finally released her lips, the man lowered his head to her neck, his sharp fangs catching a small patch of skin and nibbling gently.

Beasts were bloodthirsty, but all Yu An felt was a gentle, delicate kiss and waves of ticklishness.

"Wait—"

Yu An grabbed the hand that was about to explore an unknown region. She panted slightly, her chest heaving with each breath. "That night was my fault for dragging you into this, but if we continue... you..."

"I’m not leaving," Mo Yan said, reaching out to touch her cheek. "I’ll stay. I’ll stay by your side, alright?"

"An’an... I’ve wanted to call you that for a long time. Do you know why I hated you?"

Mo Yan really had hated her—you could even call it loathing. After that night, when he learned he was going to be exiled along with this deposed, vicious Princess, Mo Yan had nearly strangled her to death.

Memories flooded back. Yu An remembered that on the road to exile, there had been several nights when she would have been choked to death by an ice-cold snake tail if she weren’t such a light sleeper.

She had struggled with all her might. Of course, Mo Yan had always released her at the last second due to their contract, allowing her to escape death.

Yu An subconsciously touched her neck, the terror of suffocation still lingering in her heart.

"Because you wanted to stay in the Imperial City..."

"The enemy who exterminated my clan is in the Imperial City, so I had to stay to take my revenge."

"But now," Mo Yan chuckled softly, "An’an, I’m so glad you chose me that night."

He had already confirmed his enemy’s identity back then. They were in the Beast Emperor Palace, and he couldn’t wait to avenge his family and clan, even if it meant risking his own life.

But Yu An’s sudden appearance had disrupted his plans. After a wild night, he was sent out of the Beast Emperor City the very next day, without even having time to pack.

The cold wind outside the city walls instantly cleared Mo Yan’s head. When he remembered his parents’ dying wish for him to live a good life, he felt a sense of relief.

As the words he had kept hidden in his heart came pouring out, Mo Yan felt a sudden clarity. The inner turmoil that had plagued him for so long vanished in an instant.

Yu An murmured, "So you never tried to kill me because you were always torn between hating me and thanking me?"

Mo Yan nodded silently. "After spending all this time together, you’re nothing like the vicious Princess from the rumors in the Imperial City. Sometimes I even wonder if you were sent by the Beast God to save me."

"There were clearly more outstanding males, yet you chose me..."

"Not true," Yu An corrected him rigorously. "There was also Feng Xuan and that fish."

"Don’t you dare mention them," Mo Yan’s voice was thick with possessiveness. "From now on, you’re only allowed to say my name."

"It’s such a shame there was no snake Zaizai, but it was within my expectations."

"Huh? What do you mean? You knew all along I wouldn’t give birth to a snake Zaizai?"

Faced with Yu An’s question, Mo Yan nodded slightly. "I come from the Ink Serpent clan of the Extreme Cold Land. Both males and females of my clan can only conceive during their mating season."

"That time in the Beast Emperor City was not my mating season."

"What about now?"

Mo Yan ruffled her hair and gazed into her eyes. "Female Master, do you want a snake Zaizai?"

A flash of greed flickered in his amber-gold, slitted pupils. In an instant, his legs transformed into an inky black snake tail that coiled around his lover’s waist.

As the cold scales pressed against the female’s warm skin, Mo Yan let out a soft sigh of contentment.

From Yu An’s perspective, the man had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and tight, powerful muscles. Below his waist, hidden beneath the snake scales, was...

Yu An’s face flushed instantly, and she hurriedly averted her gaze.

But in the next second, Mo Yan took one of her hands and, leaving no room for refusal, pressed it against his hard scales.

"Female Master, you can touch, you can feel. You like this, don’t you?"

"My Female Master was so passionate that night. Hold me tight. Let’s relive that dream, shall we?"