Strange Tales from the Deep Mountains (Part Thirteen)

The air in her lungs grew thinner and thinner. Li Su struggled desperately, but her lips were pressed against something, and then her lips were forced open without warning.

Li Su's struggles gradually subsided.

It turns out He was giving him breath.

My ears were filled with the gurgling sound of water, making it muffled and hard to hear clearly.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Su heard a voice again.

"Open your eyes."

Li Su was initially a little angry. This person... no, to be precise, should be a demon, who dragged him into the water despite his struggles. Although he was given a boost, Li Su was still a little angry.

He didn't want to open his eyes, as that would make him seem obedient.

Li Su remained silent.

But then a very low chuckle reached her ears: "Don't want to open your eyes? Then I'll..."

Li Su could feel "He" slowly approaching, "He's" cool breath brushing against his neck, and the hairs on his skin instantly stood on end.

His thick eyelashes trembled nervously twice, and the next second the boy's clear eyes finally opened.

Li Su looked at "He" warily, but "He" was clearly just lying and didn't seem to have any intention of doing anything to him.

Li Su pursed his lips, feeling wronged. He was a little angry that "He" had lied to him, but also a little relieved that "He" hadn't actually done anything to him.

Seeing the changing expressions of the person in front of him, "He" could hardly hide the smile in his eyes, and his eyes curved into a beautiful arc.

Li Su hurriedly looked away, as if looking at it for even a second longer would cause her to be bewitched by "It".

"Tsk tsk, that snake's laugh is utterly worthless."

"My God, I'm frantically taking screenshots! What a beautiful person! Ugh! What a beautiful snake!"

"Baby, why are your ears red??? You cunning snake!"

"Um...I have a question (raises hand)"

"Since I happen to keep snakes, I'll answer this: yes, some brothers, yes."

Before them was a room that looked no different from any other building in the village.

The only difference was that the room in front of me was bathed in a glowing green light, and was filled with various plants and vines, obscuring the original walls and giving it an extremely eerie feel.

Can there be buildings in water?

Is he still in the water? Why can't he feel the cold anymore?

If it weren't for the fact that water was still dripping from his hair, Li Su would have even doubted whether everything that had just happened was just his imagination.

It wasn't until she was placed on the soft couch that Li Su reacted. She trembled and tried to hide inside, but He grabbed her ankle.

Li Su's eyes were red, and she tried to move her legs slightly, but they didn't budge.

"He" seemed somewhat displeased with Li Su's resistance, tightening his grip on his ankle and whispering, "Where to?"

Li Su puffed out her cheeks and glanced quickly at "He," asking, "Who...who are you? Where is this?"

Hearing Li Su's question, "He" curved his thin lips into a beautiful smile, and his cool palm slowly moved upwards along the smooth and delicate skin.

Li Su shivered involuntarily from the coldness of "His" body temperature, hurriedly reaching out to press "His" hand, which had reached up to his knee, her voice weak: "So cold..."

"He" paused slightly, looked at Li Su, and said in a soft voice, "So delicate."

Even so, "He" gently stroked the skin beneath his palm with his fingers, as if to soothe it, before reluctantly removing his hand.

Li Su: "..."

The guilty party is accusing others first! It's clearly because "He" is too cold, yet they're calling him delicate!

Li Su gritted her teeth, but dared not resist. She quickly glared at "Him" and immediately changed her posture, carefully tucking the entire hem of her skirt under her legs.

"My name is Qi Wujin." Qi Wujin's smile deepened as he watched the little figure on the soft couch move.

Li Su watched him approach the soft couch little by little, then lay down on it in a very relaxed posture, propping his cheek up with one hand, and said with interest, "This is our home."

Li Su: "???"

"??? Dude, you're not even going to act anymore?!"

"Huh? Whose house? Say it again? (Evil Big Grimm raises gun.)"

"They've kidnapped the baby, waaaaah..."

"Hiss! A half-naked beauty and a perfectly dressed cutie! (GIF of starry-eyed drooling)"

Li Su blinked blankly, then subconsciously repeated, "Us?"

Because of his posture, his long, smooth, black hair cascaded down his bare shoulders onto the soft couch. Qi Wujin casually picked up a strand of hair, tucked it into his hand, and played with it. His narrow eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Li Su with interest: "Us."

“You are my bride, so this is naturally our home.”

The heat instantly spread to her neck, and Li Su awkwardly looked away. "Who is your bride...?"

Li Su muttered under her breath, "Then why do you change brides every day..."

"Exactly!"

"My baby spoke my mind!"

"Who says we're family? Don't try to get too friendly!"

Before Li Su could finish speaking, she felt a chilling aura wash over her.

Qi Wujin's cool nose lightly touched Li Su's flushed earlobe, his deep, mellow voice drawing out: "Oh, so my bride is jealous now?"

The breath entered my ears, sending a shiver down my spine.

Li Su instinctively leaned back, her pale hands slapping her ears, her face flushed red, and her watery eyes glared at Qi Wujin: "Who, who's jealous!"

His ears were already very sensitive, and after this ordeal, they became even hotter.

Qi Wujin chuckled softly, his handsome eyes narrowing into slits, leaving Li Su momentarily stunned.

"Okay." Qi Wujin's voice carried a hint of coaxing, "My bride isn't jealous."

Li Su sensed his deliberate agreement, frowned angrily, and pressed her lips down, earnestly correcting him: "I wasn't jealous at all!"

Qi Wujin suppressed the upturned corners of his lips and said seriously, "Yes, my bride is not jealous."

Qi Wujin's attitude was impeccable. Li Su snorted and said nothing more.

"No! No! Isn't the point 'my bride'?!"

"As expected of a treacherous and cunning snake demon, all it knows is how to use petty tricks."

"This man... this male demon is so skilled, it's really deadly..."

"Baby, you've been tricked by this man! He's a cunning man!"

Thinking of those brides who turned into female ghosts, Li Su suddenly felt very heavy.

Why would anyone send such vibrant lives to their deaths here?

Suddenly, a cold finger lifted her chin. Li Su slowly raised her head, her gaze unexpectedly meeting a pair of deep green eyes.

"I have no one else, only you as my bride."

Qi Wujin's overly affectionate gaze made Li Su a little dazed. He opened his mouth, but after a long while, he could only utter a single syllable: "...Hmm."

After staring at him for a moment, Qi Wujin lowered his eyelids. Li Su couldn't see his expression, and the strange atmosphere made him inexplicably want to change the subject. Li Su swallowed and asked, "Um..."

Qi Wujin raised his eyes and looked directly at him: "Call me by my name."

Li Su: "Qi...Qi Wujin?"

"Hmm." Qi Wujin gently rubbed Li Su's chin with his fingertips, as if scratching a kitten's chin, and said in a good mood, "Why are you calling me husband?"

Li Su: "..."

Li Su suppressed her urge to argue and obediently raised her chin to make it easier for Qi Wujin to move.

Li Su tentatively asked, "Is Xia Liqiao outside alone? Is she in danger?"

He also remembered that there were many small snakes outside, and... Jiang Yue's corpse.

Li Su carefully observed Qi Wujin's expression. He didn't seem to care, still supporting his cheek with one hand and casually rubbing Li Su's chin with the other.

Li Su felt his chin was almost rubbed red, and this person still wouldn't answer his question properly, so he raised his chin away from Qi Wujin's cold fingertips.

"Li Xue and Gu Qingyan are still in the village—"

Cool fingers gently pressed against his lips, lightly caressing them as if in warning, but Qi Wujin's deep green eyes remained unmoved.

"Sweetie, your husband doesn't want to hear you call other people's names." Qi Wujin's voice was devoid of any emotion.

“But, they…” Li Su tried to explain, but the next moment a cold finger slipped between her lips.

Li Su's pupils dilated, "You—"

While they were talking, she slipped her fingers in and pressed them against his teeth.

Qi Wujin gently rubbed his teeth again and again, his eyelids drooping as he stared at the lips pressed against his finger, his voice low and deep: "Be good, don't talk about them."

Li Su felt his teeth were being ground sore and soft. He subconsciously tried to push his fingers out, but his tongue was pressed down instead.

Li Su: "Hmm?"

"Wasn't someone trying to harm you just now? He pushed you next to the female ghost." Qi Wujin sat up halfway, pressed his free hand against the back of Li Su's neck, gently touched the tip of his nose to the tip of Li Su's nose, and then slowly closed his eyes.

Li Su opened her eyes wide, forgetting even to avoid Qi Wujin, and just stood there dumbfounded.

How did Qi Wujin know?

Did Qi Wujin know that Lin Ran was a man?

Did Qi Wujin know he was a man?

Has he already been exposed?

No, no, if he had already been exposed, the system would have alerted him long ago. Since the system hasn't alerted him yet, it means these NPCs still don't know his gender.

After a brief moment of panic, Li Su quickly calmed down, grasped Qi Wujin's large hands, and easily pushed his fingers away.

Some saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth along his fingers, and Li Su blushed so much that his cheeks burned. Before he could reach out to wipe it away, Qi Wujin's cool knuckles brushed against him again, wiping away the saliva from the corner of his lips.

Her long eyelashes trembled, and Li Su looked up, only to meet Qi Wujin's gaze.

My heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Was it just his imagination? Otherwise, how could he have seen such sadness in the eyes of an NPC?

For no reason at all, Li Su felt very sad, as if she had been infected by Qi Wujin's emotions.

"No, Lin Ran was just an accident." Whether to defend the other players or to ease Qi Wujin's sadness, Li Su explained, "Everyone is fine, really."

Looking at the person earnestly defending the players, Qi Wujin felt a sense of knowing calm within him.

That's how his Su Su is—kind but easily fooled.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have happened in the first place...