Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 374: Do You Want to Let Me Raise You?

Chapter 374: Chapter 374: Do You Want to Let Me Raise You?

Song Lianhe gazed at him with a complex look in her eyes and suddenly gave a self-deprecating smile. The more he acted this way, the more her heart ached.

’Now, I actually don’t want the villain to be so responsible.’

’Even without love, he still does everything with the utmost benevolence. A villain shouldn’t have such a moral compass.’

Her spirits sank. Just then, the small snake on her wrist began to tighten, its body pressing into her skin...

She suddenly frowned. Zhou Cangyan noticed at once and, without hesitation, grabbed her wrist. In his other hand, he held a Willow Leaf Dart, poised to strike the small, deep blue snake...

As if sensing the danger, the snake abruptly raised its head. It shot off Song Lianhe’s wrist, slithered up her arm to her shoulder, and then coiled itself into a ball, becoming indistinguishable from the blue silk flower pattern on her robes!

Fortunately, Zhou Cangyan pulled the dart back just in time to avoid injuring her.

The others were now also captivated by the small snake. They had never seen an Insect Gu before, let alone a Snake Gu that could camouflage itself.

Song Lianhe looked down, examining it closely. Surprisingly, she wasn’t as afraid as she had been before.

She suddenly recalled a passage from an old book of miscellany she had read. It described Gu as something profoundly mysterious. Only the final survivor, after a process of mutual slaughter and consumption among its kin, could be called a "Gu." A thousand Gu have a thousand faces; each form is unique.

’In other words, it’s a process of leveling up by defeating monsters. The Gu itself is constantly evolving, and its final form is far from what it originally was.’

It was just a shame that the book had been so tattered; it seemed half the volume was missing.

’So, who knew what this "snake" that looked like a snake really was.’

But one thing was clear: it was a master of disguise.

Song Lianhe had an epiphany.

’This one has gained sentience.’

Suddenly, a large hand covered her eyes.

She froze, not moving an inch.

When the hand moved away, the small snake was gripped in Zhou Cangyan’s hand, its body still struggling.

Song Lianhe gasped, "You..."

Zhou Cangyan looked at her, his gaze falling on her shoulder. "Any later, and it would have burrowed into your body, entered your Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and then slowly eaten your brain."

Song Lianhe’s eyes widened. "It..."

’Something so small?’

She immediately looked down and saw that, sure enough, something had seared a hole in her clothing!

Without a second thought, she took off her outer robe and threw it far away.

’If the snake’s venom is corrosive, I can’t wear this robe ever again.’

"Don’t underestimate it." Zhou Cangyan pinched the snake at its vital spot, its only weakness. "This is... the King of Ten Thousand Gu."

The little snake suddenly stopped struggling. Instead, it slowly raised its head, its sesame-seed-sized, deep blue eyes staring at him eerily.

"That’s..." The Shadow Guard was stunned speechless. ’That was a close call! Her brain would’ve been eaten hollow!’

Xuan Qi’s eyes narrowed upon hearing this. "How do you recognize it, My Lord?"

"Gu Technique is forbidden in the Nanchen Kingdom. Nanchen borders Sui Ning, and for a time, Witchcraft Masters were severely persecuted. They used the trade routes to come to Sui Ning City."

Zhou Cangyan examined the little creature in his hand again. "When I was a child, my maternal grandfather saved a blind old man in ragged clothes. He gifted me an old book. I don’t know who tore out the first half, but I would flip through the remaining pages to pass the time. I always thought they were just amusing tales. I never imagined the King of Ten Thousand Gu actually existed."

The small snake remained motionless, staring at him with that same eerie gaze.

Song Lianhe was floored.

A blind old man!

Half an old book!

She could almost hear the grinding of the wheels of history. It had all come full circle, the beginning was also the end.

Sensing her stare, Zhou Cangyan raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

"I..."

She opened her mouth, but not a single sound came out.

’Damn it!’

’Whenever it involves the real world, I can’t speak!’

After a few failed attempts, she gave up and waved her hand. "It’s nothing. I just think that thing in your hand is pretty interesting."

"You like it?"

Zhou Cangyan suddenly held the snake up to her face. "Here you go."

"..."

Song Lianhe stared at the small, deep blue snake, now magnified before her eyes. A trace of fear crept into her voice. "You just said it eats brains... I don’t want it..."

"Oh." A slow smile spread across Zhou Cangyan’s lips as he stared at the little snake. "Even she doesn’t want you. In that case, I’ll just have to crush you."

As if it sensed the danger, the small snake began to struggle again. Its body twisted ceaselessly, and it even strained its head to face Song Lianhe...

She had only ever seen such a bizarre display from Chun Hua.

Chun Hua?!

’It hit Song Lianhe all at once. This was the world of a book; anything was possible. If Chun Hua could be a gossip-loving eavesdropper, then this little snake was obviously no simple creature!’

"Wait a minute!"

At the sound of her voice, Zhou Cangyan slowly increased the pressure in his hand. The exhausted snake stopped struggling, its head drooping limply. It was hard to associate the weighty four-word title "King of Ten Thousand Gu" with this pathetic creature.

Still, this gave Song Lianhe a baseline for judgment.

’Sentient or not, it’s definitely strange!’

"How about... I keep you?"

Though she spoke to the little snake, the man opposite her froze. In the next instant, his expression turned even colder for some reason. He glanced at the small snake in his hand, which was clearly "thinking," and his face filled with repulsion and displeasure.

"So, do you want me to keep you?"

Song Lianhe was, at least, being polite.

’It’s the King of Ten Thousand Gu, after all!’

’It has a title!’

The little snake raised its head, looking somewhat proud and haughty. It was genuinely "sizing up" Song Lianhe, its tiny eyes, which one might otherwise overlook, fixed intently on her.

Zhou Cangyan grew inexplicably irritated. He shook the snake by its vital spot a few times, making its head wobble rapidly. "No reaction means it’s a no. I’ll handle it from here."

With barely a moment’s hesitation, the little snake began twisting its body toward Song Lianhe.

Even the Shadow Guard, Xuan Mei, and the others, who couldn’t quite hear the conversation, understood what the snake was trying to say—’Get me out of here!’

Seeing its antics, Song Lianhe found it rather amusing. This book world was truly magical; it could make the impossible tangible.

"Then... come on over?"

She held out her hand to it.

At first, Zhou Cangyan didn’t let go. The creature was too fast; if he released it, he’d have a hard time catching it again.

The little snake looked like it was about to suffocate in his grip. Its head had flopped completely to one side, and its forked tongue was hanging out.

Song Lianhe quickly interjected, "This man is terrifying! He’s the Heavenly Kill Slash, the bane of all demons and evil spirits! Even you, the King of Ten Thousand Gu, can’t hope to escape his blade! Tell me, aren’t you scared?"

Zhou Cangyan’s brow furrowed, and he let out a short, humorless laugh. "Is that really how you see your ’husband’?"

Song Lianhe glared at him and winked pointedly. ’I’m just trying to trick the little snake here!’

Zhou Cangyan abruptly tightened his grip. This time, the snake’s body went completely rigid, unable to move at all.

"Don’t! I think we can still save him~"

’Of course, Song Lianhe didn’t want him to hurt the little snake. It’s the King of Ten Thousand Gu, after all~’

’Besides its impressive title, it also has extremely high medicinal value! A serum made from its venom would surely boost the efficacy of other medicines!’

The little snake looked at her, and perhaps sensing her lack of ill intent, it became docile.

It flicked its forked tongue at Song Lianhe and coiled its tail into a ball.

Zhou Cangyan watched for a moment before slowly releasing his hand.

Not daring to use her bare hands, Song Lianhe found a small branch. The snake obediently crawled onto it and lay there without moving.

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief at the sight.

Song Lianhe held up the branch. "Should I give you a name? Since you’re the King of Ten Thousand Gu, it has to be a magnificent name! How about I call you... Little Lan!"

Everyone: "..."

"My Prince! My Princess Consort~ Why are you two still out here? The guests have all arrived! You... Ah, what happened to your robes? And the Princess Consort’s face..."

Pang Jiliang ran over, slapping his thigh in anxiety. "Da Xi! How could you let this happen to the Princess Consort? You—you can forget about this month’s... no, next month’s allowance!"

The moment he finished speaking, Da Xi burst into a loud sob.

This only made Pang Jiliang even more flustered. "Don’t cry! Oh, dear, I was just trying to scare you. Of course I wouldn’t really withhold your Silver!"

This only made Da Xi cry more pitifully.

Just then, E Jintang also woke up.

"Huh? H-how did I end up asleep on the ground?"

Yin Huan’s initial joy was immediately followed by a sudden slap across his face. "You scared me to death!"

E Jintang chuckled sheepishly. Though he had no idea what he had done wrong, he still said, "My mistake. I won’t ever scare Little Nine again."

The Shadow Guard watched the two of them and couldn’t help but go, "TSK TSK. So sappy~" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Xuan Qi shot him a glance. "...Which is why you’re still a virgin."

"Ah! I forbid you to ever mention that again!"

Xuan Qi turned to walk away. "Whether I mention it or not, you still are one."

"Xuan the Second! Get back here! Today, one of us is going down!"

"PFFT—"

Watching them all, Song Lianhe suddenly burst out laughing, a wide smile on her face.

The man at her side glanced over. "What’s so funny?"

"I was just thinking... if life could always be like this, it wouldn’t be so bad." With that, she smiled and walked over to Da Xi.

He froze, watching her walk away.

"Come on, do my hair and makeup again. Make me look absolutely beautiful. As for your monthly allowance, I, your Princess Consort, will make it up to you!"

"Ah, thank you, Your Highness! You have the beauty of a goddess! You’re stunning no matter what!"

"Such a sweet-talker. This Princess Consort is in a good mood today. You’ll get a reward!"

He didn’t know if the life she spoke of would truly be a good one.

But he couldn’t help but be infected by her smile. He lowered his light brown eyes, and the corners of his lips crept upwards into a subtle smile.