The well-prepared stir-fried greens were burnt to a mush, but Xiao Shan ate every last bit.
The home-raised chicken was tender and flavorful, stewed to a soft consistency. Though it lacked excessive seasoning, its original taste was even more delicious. Potatoes, freshly dug from the cellar, were added to the stew.
It turned out that the well outside, covered with a stone slab, was used to store uneaten potatoes and sweet potatoes, along with some air-dried wild game.
Xue Niang ate a considerable amount. If Xiao Shan hadn't stopped her, she might have even had another bowl.
"Did you really drive away the rats? I heard noises again yesterday afternoon!"
Xue Niang pouted and questioned him. She no longer wanted to sleep in the bedroom; when Xiao Shan was in the house, there was no disturbance. But as soon as he left, those things would come and cause trouble. It was too much!
"I did. I blocked all the holes. There shouldn't be any more."
Xiao Shan was puzzled. He had even put out rat poison, killing a whole family of rats. He had also listened carefully at night and heard nothing.
"You must be fooling me."
"Who dares fool you? Wait, I'll go and check again."
Xiao Shan grabbed a stick and went into the bedroom. He emerged a short while later. "There really aren't any, not even an ant hole."
Xue Niang was relieved.
"I want to take a bath." Xue Niang looked at the water缸 in the kitchen; it was only half full. After using it, she would have to fetch more water.
"Alright, you go rest in the room first. I'll call you when the water is ready."
Xue Niang lowered her head and said softly, "I can heat it myself."
But Xiao Shan pretended not to hear. He efficiently scrubbed the large pot clean and scooped water from the缸, ladle by ladle. His movements were so fast. If Xue Niang had done it herself, it would have taken half the day just to scoop the water.
Moreover, the splinters from the firewood always pricked her hands, and she had to handle them with great care.
Feeling drowsy after eating, Xue Niang decided to take a good nap after her bath. The water should be ready soon. Xue Niang went into the bedroom to find clothes.
When Xiao Shan had heated the water, he went to the room to call her.
"Xiao Shan... Xiao Shan..."
The small window was open. Xiao Shan heard Xue Niang's trembling call. Her voice was soft, as if she were desperately suppressing it, and it carried a hint of tears.
His heart tightened. He leaned in to look and saw Xue Niang standing stiffly in the middle of the room, wearing only a pink bodice and lantern pants. Her fair, jade-like body trembled slightly.
"Help, snake, Xiao Shan... Xiao Shan!"
Xue Niang's trembling, delicate voice startled Xiao Shan.
A snake? There was a snake in the house?
All thoughts of romance vanished, and Xiao Shan quickly entered the room.
"A snake? Where is it?"
Since Xue Niang's back was to the door and her face was towards the bed, Xiao Shan assumed the snake was on the bed. He rushed to the bedside and, with a "whoosh," flipped the quilt up and shook it.
"On me..."
Xue Niang's lips trembled, turning pale, and her eyes rolled downward in terror.
There was no snake on the bed. Hearing Xue Niang's words, Xiao Shan turned and looked at her body. Where was the snake? There was nothing.
Was Xue Niang hallucinating from being scared by rats? Her full chest rose and fell, and her peaches seemed to have grown much larger.
Xiao Shan's eyes reddened, and he swallowed hard.
Her shoulders were as if carved, her beautiful collarbones like a pair of butterfly wings. Her flesh was soft and her bones delicate, her waist slender. Her two jade arms were fair and luminous, her sensuality naturally formed.
"Xiao Shan!"
Seeing him motionless for so long, with his eyes fixed on her body, Xue Niang gritted her teeth in anger.
She disliked being looked at by him like that. To be precise, she disliked that gaze from all men, like hungry wolves, aggressive, as if they would strip her bare and devour her at any moment.
A cool sensation slithered across her body, attacking her from both inside and out. Every hair on her body stood on end.
"I hate you!"
Tears welled up in Xue Niang's eyes. He was just like those other disgusting men, only wanting to humiliate her!
"Huh?" Xiao Shan was startled. Seeing her teary-eyed and looking away with disgust, he stammered, "I... I was looking for the snake..."
His voice trailed off. His tiger eyes suddenly widened as he noticed the strange movement of her chest.
The snake had actually crawled into her bodice?
How despicable!
What kind of perverted snake was this!
"Xue Niang, don't move!" Xiao Shan stepped forward and quickly reached out, accurately pinching the snake's head through the bodice. Then, with one hand, he untied the knot of the straps. The bodice came undone, and he removed it along with the snake.
The moment he pinched the snake's head, its tail struggled and thrashed against her. Xue Niang was frozen as if under a spell, unable to move.
"There, it's a gray rat snake. It's not poisonous, don't be afraid."
A gust of cool air blew, and Xue Niang shivered. Her blood seemed to finally start flowing. She wrapped her arms around her chest and shakily put on her clothes.
Xiao Shan had already gone out to deal with the snake. The bodice, of course, could not be kept. When he came back in, he saw Xue Niang sitting on the bed, covering her chest and looking down.
"You must be scared, right?"
She was definitely scared. Girls were timid, let alone encountering something soft and slippery like that. How could it have gotten into her bodice?
What was going on with this house? He hadn't seen any of these things before, but now that Xue Niang had arrived, they were all appearing.
"Xue Niang, what's wrong?"
"It hurts..."
"Did it bite you? Let me see!"
Xiao Shan had grabbed the snake and hadn't had a chance to examine her body. Hearing her say it hurt, he assumed the snake had bitten her.
"Get away! It didn't bite!" Xue Niang pushed his hand away. Her face was extremely pale. She rubbed her chest with her own hand. It was just that she had been too frightened, her heart had constricted, and when she recovered, it ached a little.
"I'm going to take a bath."
Even now, that crawling sensation lingered. She felt extremely uncomfortable, wishing she could take off her clothes again and check.
"The snake fell from the roof beam. Go and check if there are any more!"
"Wait a moment!" Xiao Shan grabbed Xue Niang, who was about to leave, and his gaze locked onto her deeply. Without warning, he leaned in and sniffed her neck.
"What are you doing! You smelly man!" Xue Niang shivered all over and abruptly pushed his head away.
Xiao Shan's head tilted to the side, looking somewhat disheveled.
"I may be a smelly man, but you are fragrant, Xue Niang. Don't you know you have a scent about you?"
He suspected that all these creatures were attracted by Xue Niang's body fragrance. It made no sense that he had lived there for half a year without incident, yet Xue Niang encountered them one after another. Moreover, logically, rats were most fond of the kitchen. And that gray rat snake preferred bamboo forests, so how did it end up in the house?
"You lecher! Such sweet talk, Xiao Shan, I hate you!"
Xue Niang's pretty face was frosty. She glared at Xiao Shan and walked past him out of the room.
She was very angry.
Angry that he had gotten close to her.
"It's really not easy for me."
She was clearly his woman, yet he could only look but not touch. No, he couldn't even look. He had only glanced a few times just now, and look how angry she was.
Alas, she was like a hedgehog. If he hadn't been concerned about her body, he would have been more gentle and considerate. Having lived so many years, he hadn't even tasted the flavor of a woman!
He climbed onto the roof beam and searched every nook and cranny.
There was nothing.
This was truly strange!
Even these lowly creatures from the gutters knew how to bully the weak and fear the strong!