Chapter 75: Not a Disguise

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Not a Disguise

Qiao Suluo saw Chu Moyuan stop walking. Her eyes lit up, revealing a look of pleasant surprise.

She thought to herself that this bastard wasn’t too bad. Even though the previous owner of her body had committed countless vicious acts, and despite all his harsh, hateful words, he hadn’t actually left her to die. The simple fact that he had stopped for her meant everything right now.

Chu Moyuan looked down at Qiao Suluo, meeting her bright, pleasantly surprised gaze. A playful smirk curled the corners of his lips. He noticed how expressive her eyes were—as if they could speak—a stark contrast to the woman she used to be. He wondered exactly what her motives were and what secrets she was hiding.

"Are you going to stay on the ground? Do you want to be eaten by wild beasts?" he asked. "There are quite a few wild snakes in these woods."

At the mention of snakes, Qiao Suluo’s body instinctively erupted in goosebumps. She didn’t know where the strength came from, but she scrambled to her feet and sprinted straight toward Chu Moyuan. When she reached his side, she cautiously reached out and tugged at his sleeve. It was as if holding onto him gave her a sense of security, a shield against the surrounding dangers.

Chu Moyuan looked down at the pair of chubby little hands tightly gripping his clothes. If this were the past, he would have flicked his sleeve and thrown her off. He never would have allowed her to touch him, not even the fabric of his garments. Yet, inexplicably, he didn’t move a muscle this time.

Watching her look around in fearful vigilance, Chu Moyuan suddenly seemed to remember something. He let out a low chuckle, his lips curving up. "Qiao Suluo, you might have forgotten, but my true form is also a snake."

With that, Chu Moyuan transformed into a massive Ink Snake right in front of her, its head facing her directly.

It happened so abruptly that Qiao Suluo was completely unprepared. Terrified out of her wits, she passed out on the spot. The moment she fainted, Chu Moyuan reverted to his human form and caught her in his arms, preventing her from hitting the ground.

Looking down at her, the look in his eyes shifted. "She really is afraid of snakes. It wasn’t an act." The shift in her eyes and expression just now hadn’t escaped his notice. A person’s reaction in a moment of pure terror was purely instinctual.

"Heh, I wonder who gave you the nerve to come looking for me here," he muttered.

With pale, slender fingers, Chu Moyuan brushed her hair aside, revealing her entire face. He scrutinized her carefully, running his fingertips along her cheeks, jaw, and neck, but found nothing amiss. "It seems there’s nothing wrong with this face." However, as he inspected her, a dark glint flashed through his eyes. "She really has lost weight, and her skin is a bit paler."

Qiao Suluo’s dreams were filled entirely with snakes. Feeling the icy chill, her body trembled instinctively. Gradually, she felt her surroundings grow warmer. The snakes in her dreams seemed to vanish, allowing her to settle into a peaceful, tremble-free sleep.

When she woke up again, she had been coaxed from her slumber by an enticing aroma. The sky was pitch-black when she opened her eyes; the only source of light was the campfire burning in front of her. As she moved, she realized she was wrapped in an animal hide, which took her by surprise.

"You’re awake?"

At the sound of the cold voice, Qiao Suluo turned to Chu Moyuan. The memory of what had happened before she passed out came rushing back, and she couldn’t help but glare at him. She was furious that the bastard had deliberately frightened her. However, during the time she was unconscious, he hadn’t left, nor had he abandoned her. For that reason alone, she couldn’t bring herself to truly blame him.

Moreover, the animal hide draped over her couldn’t have appeared out of nowhere; he must have been the one to cover her with it. She vaguely recalled being freezing when she first fell asleep, only to feel warmth later on. That warmth had to have come from both the hide and the campfire.

Qiao Suluo’s feelings suddenly became very complicated. Chu Moyuan had been abused and injured so horribly by the previous owner of her body, and even sold off to the point of near-death. Yet, not only did he spare her life, he even showed her a shred of care. It proved that he was inherently a good person. The thought that a man like him was destined to become the dark villain the system had warned her about made her heart ache. In that moment, she felt a sudden urge to change this outcome—not for the sake of her mission, but because she truly wanted to save him.

"You still have the energy to glare. Seems you’re fine," Chu Moyuan noted.

Qiao Suluo pouted. "You did that on purpose to scare me."

A dark, shimmering light flickered in Chu Moyuan’s profound eyes. "Didn’t you use to love it when I transformed into my true snake form?" he asked softly. "You said you liked my true form."

Hearing this, Qiao Suluo suddenly had no idea how to explain herself. The original owner had grown up in the Beast World and was accustomed to all kinds of beast forms. But Qiao Suluo was from a technological era; back home, she only saw animals in a zoo. Her fear of snakes was purely biological, an instinct she couldn’t change no matter how hard she tried.

"Ah, well, I... I..." She tried to find an excuse to explain, but nothing came to mind.

As he roasted meat over the fire, Chu Moyuan’s voice took on an eerie calm. "You loved binding my snake form in iron chains. You loved lashing my body with a barbed whip, carving off my scales with a knife, and watching me bleed..."

He spoke slowly and methodically, as if recounting something completely trivial. But these were the realities of the abuse he had suffered, and what he described was merely a fraction of it. Following his words, Qiao Suluo couldn’t help but picture the scenes of the previous owner torturing him. Just imagining it made her feel sick, let alone what Chu Moyuan must have endured living through it. A throbbing pain began in her head.

"Stop... stop talking," she pleaded. "I was wrong in the past. I was terrible, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have treated you like that. I was poisoned, and I couldn’t control some of the things I did. It won’t happen again."

Even though it was the original owner who committed those atrocities, she now occupied this body. In the eyes of others, they were one and the same. If apologizing could bring Chu Moyuan even a sliver of comfort, she was more than willing to do so.

Chu Moyuan locked his gaze on her, his eyes burning like a dangerous flame threatening to reduce her to ashes. He found it hard to believe that this vicious female was actually saying such things and offering an apology.

"Don’t think a few words of apology will convince me you’ve truly changed," he sneered. "Forget it. The only reason I didn’t let you die here is that letting you die so easily would be letting you off too cheap."

After he finished speaking, he resumed roasting the meat. Once it was ready, he began eating at a leisurely pace.

Qiao Suluo’s mouth twitched. She knew it would be incredibly difficult to earn his trust. The original owner had simply been far too vile. However, she noticed that every movement he made while eating was elegant and refined, as if excellent breeding were ingrained in his very bones. Seeing him eat also reminded her of her own hunger.

A sudden GRUMBLE from her stomach echoed through the night, leaving Qiao Suluo terribly embarrassed. She stared at him longingly. Taking food out of her spatial inventory right in front of him would expose her secret. Given how much Chu Moyuan despised her, it was best not to reveal her trump cards just yet.

Still, watching him eat was pure torture, and her stomach continued to GRUMBLE. The bastard acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing, though there was still a whole chicken roasting over the fire in front of him.

After a while, seemingly satisfied, he unhurriedly wiped his hands, appearing exceedingly fastidious about his cleanliness. His fingers were long and jade-like, with well-defined knuckles. Illuminated by the firelight, they glowed with the lustrous sheen of white jade, exceptionally beautiful to look at.

Only after wiping his hands did he turn back to her. His eyes were cold and murky as he asked, "Want some?"

At that moment, Qiao Suluo was at a loss for words, terrified that saying the wrong thing might anger him again. Just then, a massive, ferocious bird beast appeared out of nowhere. With a deafening screech, it dive-bombed straight toward Qiao Suluo.