In the dead of winter, Bai Su was gathering herbs when he found a black snake frozen stiff.
The peddler outside clicked his tongue in wonder. "Snake skins are in high demand right now. One can sell for ten taels of silver. Sell it to me, and you'll be set for the winter."
Bai Su rubbed his growling stomach and hesitated, but in the end, he took the little snake home.
What a pity it would be if such a beautiful little snake died.
He returned to his tiny thatched hut and fed the little snake the only food he had.
"Little snake, little snake, are you all alone? So am I. Let's keep each other company from now on, okay?"
The little snake fell asleep without answering.
-
Bai Su was so hungry he fell asleep. In his dream, a breathtakingly beautiful gentleman dressed in a pure-black robe spoke to him.
"I can grant you one wish. Is there anything your heart truly desires?"
Bai Su thought for a moment, then shyly spoke.
"The peddler says that when I grow up, I can marry a wife, and then I won't be alone anymore. But I don't know where to find a wife. Could you help me find one?"
The handsome gentleman smiled faintly, and Bai Su stared at him, entranced.
"Very well. As you wish."
-
After waking, Bai Su put the dream aside and continued going out early and coming home late to gather herbs, working hard to earn copper coins.
He wasn't alone anymore. Now he had the little snake to keep him company, and he would be very, very good to it.
Another winter came. Bai Su sold a lot of herbs, bought two taels of meat, and happily carried it home.
The hut was still the same, but the little snake was gone.
The little piece of meat in Bai Su's hand fell with a soft thud into the snow and froze solid.
He was alone again.
-
Humans were the most devious, cunning, and selfish creatures.
So when the boy before him picked him up, Zhi Shen's first instinct was to bare his fangs and eat him, to replenish his primordial spirit.
But the boy's body was far too warm, his skin soft and fair, carrying a faint herbal fragrance.
...Never mind. He was too thin. He could fatten him up first.
Zhi Shen closed his eyes, thinking that a plumper body would taste better.
The second time Zhi Shen wanted to bite the boy to death was when he heard the peddler outside saying he would find him a match.
He could tell the peddler was only joking, but the boy was delighted. He even began saving money, saying he would buy the finest cloth to make clothes for his future bride.
Zhi Shen felt his teeth itch.
So all that talk about keeping each other company and never parting had just been a passing whim?
Humans really were devious and cunning!
He entered the boy's dreams with his spiritual sense and gently coaxed him until he finally heard the answer he wanted.
Watching the boy, still shy and innocent in the dream, Zhi Shen finally calmed down.
Wait a little longer. I'll eat him next time.
-
In the warm spring, someone knocked on the door of the little thatched hut.
Bai Su opened it and saw a handsome gentleman, as beautiful as an immortal, standing outside. Behind him was a long line of attendants bearing red silk and lacquered boxes.
Bai Su rubbed his eyes and asked blankly, "W-who are you?"
The handsome gentleman smiled slowly, like flowers blooming in spring.
"You've forgotten me so soon, my little groom?"
-
A resilient and adorable outcast who is good at attracting people without realizing it x a fiercely protective snake god, cold on the outside and warm on the inside, whose words belie his feelings
Mainly told from the receiving partner's perspective, one-on-one, both are virgins, happy ending, fictional setting with no historical research.
A sweet, heartwarming story (probably)
Theme: Everything you're meant to have will come to you.
