The white-haired man hugged me enthusiastically.
I caught a faint scent of pine on him.
“Uh… who are you?” I asked, a bit overwhelmed.
The white-haired man let go and looked a little hurt.
“Me? I’m Qi Liao!”
“You’re Qi Liao?!”
I honestly couldn’t remember what Qi Liao looked like—definitely not a handsome guy, and certainly not with white hair. All I remembered was his sharp tongue.
“You’re still as clueless as ever, huh? You already forgot me.”
“Well, that’s because you look totally different now…”
Qi Liao stroked the white snake on his shoulder. The snake obediently slid down to coil around his arm, its red eyes fixed on Lin Feng and me, flicking its tongue at us now and then.
“I was enlightened by an immortal and have been cultivating these past years. This white snake is one I tamed on Lingxue Peak.”
I was surprised—Qi Liao had changed so much in just a few years.
“What about you? How have you been?”
Qi Liao’s gaze shifted to Lin Feng behind me, curiosity in his eyes.
“And this is…?”
“Oh, he’s…”
“I’m Mei Chen’s boyfriend,” Lin Feng cut in, wrapping an arm around my waist and fixing Qi Liao with a cold stare.
That one sentence stunned everyone—two humans and a snake.
I leaned close to Lin Feng and whispered, “What are you doing?”
The next second, Lin Feng kissed me, and I felt him breathe something into my mouth.
Suddenly, I lost control of my body. I found myself hugging Lin Feng and nuzzling his neck affectionately, my mouth blurting out nonsense.
“He’s Lin Feng, my handsome boyfriend!”
Lin Feng patted my head, clearly pleased.
Qi Liao looked at us strangely.
“How is that possible? Your mom said you were single…”
“Our Mei Chen is just shy. Besides, we only just started dating, so we haven’t told her parents yet,” Lin Feng replied smoothly.
“I see,” Qi Liao said, though he still looked a bit suspicious.
Suddenly, the white snake on his arm seemed to sense something off and lunged at me, tongue flicking.
“Whap!”
Lin Feng smacked the snake onto the table.
Me: “?”
Qi Liao: “?”
Poor white snake: “!”
Lin Feng casually patted my hair.
“Sorry about that. Mei Chen’s afraid of snakes.”
Qi Liao scooped up his white snake, looking both worried and angry.
“Hey! That’s a rare white snake—how could you?!”
Lin Feng just snorted.
“Afraid? Why would I be?”
Suddenly, he grabbed Qi Liao by the collar and lifted him up with one hand.
“Take your limp little rope and get lost!”
Only when Qi Liao scrambled away in a panic did I regain control of myself.
At that moment, Lin Feng was sipping the coffee the waiter had brought over.
“What the heck did you just do to me? Why couldn’t I control myself? And why did you kiss me?!”
Lin Feng frowned and put the coffee down.
“We’ve kissed before, haven’t we? What’s the big deal… Also, this black water is disgusting.”
“It’s not the same! And what did you do to me—why did you make me hug you?!”
Lin Feng stood up and gave me a cool look.
“Let’s go home.”
“That Qi Liao isn’t anything special. And that snake on his arm is barely fifty years old. That idiot probably got tricked by some so-called immortal.”
I stared at Lin Feng, confused, as we walked out of the café together.
“How can that be? He really does look different—his hair’s all white now.”
“That’s because some so-called immortal cast a spell on him. The immortal is actually draining his life force, which is why his appearance changed.”
“There are always monsters in this world who pretend to serve humans, but really just use them for their own gain.”
Lin Feng gave a bitter laugh.
“Wait, so will Qi Liao die?”
Lin Feng shot me a dark look and grabbed my hand.
“Yeah, but he’s got a little time left.”
“You’re not suddenly feeling sorry for that idiot and want to save him, are you?”
I shook my head stubbornly.
“I barely know him. I only came because my mom made me…”
Suddenly, Lin Feng shoved me hard, and I crashed into the café’s glass door.
A flash of cold light—
A massive guillotine blade slammed down between Lin Feng and me, splitting the ground with a deafening crack.
Terrified, I stared at the blade as a group of people in black cloaks appeared before us. Each wore a strange mask, and I could feel the thick aura of demonic energy radiating from them.
The bystanders scattered in panic.
The leader of the group easily hefted the guillotine, pointing it at me.
“What’s your relationship with him?” he demanded.
Lin Feng stepped in front of me.
“I didn’t expect you people to show up here.”
I quickly hid behind Lin Feng.
The masked man ignored Lin Feng and peered at me.
“The woman behind him—who are you?”
Lin Feng’s tail shot out, aiming straight at the masked man.
“Are you ignoring me?”
But Lin Feng’s tail passed right through him without leaving a scratch.
“Hmph, coward. You only dare to show up as puppets?”
The masked man sighed.
“Lord Lin Feng, you sure talk a lot.”
He waved his hand, sending a wave of black energy rushing at Lin Feng.
Without thinking, I shoved Lin Feng aside and took the hit myself.
Agonizing pain exploded in my chest, and I coughed up a mouthful of black blood.
My limbs went numb, and I collapsed to the ground.
Lin Feng stared at me in disbelief, shouting something I couldn’t hear.
With the last of my strength, I reached for his hand.
Chapter 05
*