Chapter 4: The Inn’s Secrets and a Golden Ring

“Um, do you offer baths here?”

It was Bai Jiujiu’s first time staying in an inn after descending the mountain. She usually resided in a cave, washing herself with spring water.

“Yes, Miss. Your humble servant will prepare the hot water and bring it up to your room shortly.”

The waiter, entranced by her fragrance and considering her potential status as a young lady of means, believed that a single generous tip for good service could free him from this dilapidated inn and the daily indignities from his boss.

He respectfully handed the room key to Bai Jiujiu, then personally escorted her to the second floor.

As Bai Jiujiu followed the enthusiastic young man, her crimson pupils narrowed into slits where he couldn’t see. The dim surroundings instantly brightened, becoming as clear as day.

*Hiss~*

She instinctively flicked out her serpentine tongue, emitting a faint hiss.

This was her body’s warning signal, instinctively alerting her to a dangerous aura nearby.

“Young man, why are there so many yellow talismans pasted here?”

With her vision piercing through the darkness, Bai Jiujiu clearly saw the stairwell plastered with dense layers of yellow talismans, some new, some old, each bearing different incantations.

Her serpentine tongue confirmed that these talismans contained faint traces of spiritual energy.

“Miss, you wouldn’t know, but our town often hears the cries of children late at night.”

“Our boss believes a demon lurks here, luring travelers to open their doors by mimicking a child’s wail, then devouring them. These talismans were left by passing immortals to ward off evil.”

“Though I don’t believe it myself. I’ve worked here for eight years and never seen a demon. Only charlatans pretending to be demon slayers to swindle money…”

The waiter walked ahead, explaining the situation to Bai Jiujiu, then muttered his disdain under his breath.

Bai Jiujiu heard every word distinctly.

‘Yellow talismans for fending off demons, huh? No wonder these things made my scales prickle.’

Driven by curiosity, Bai Jiujiu cautiously stretched out a finger and touched a talisman. A stinging, burning sensation, more numb than painful, shot through her jade-like digit.

‘It seems they can only deal with minor imps. They have no effect whatsoever on a millennium-old great demon like me.’

Bai Jiujiu’s confidence swelled instantly.

She felt as though she could take on ten opponents at once.

They reached the second floor, where rows of guest rooms stood with their doors tightly shut.

In some areas, broken roof planks dripped foul water downwards.

Since it was late at night, Bai Jiujiu’s room was at the very end. Upon arriving, the waiter hastily opened her door and lit the oil lamp hanging inside.

“Miss, please bear with us for a moment. Once the hot water is ready, your humble servant will bring it up.”

The waiter was determined to curry favor with Bai Jiujiu. Fallen noblewomen were not uncommon, and this one was so beautiful, so fragrant; serving her felt like a pleasure.

“Ah, alright.”

The room itself was cleaner than the corridor. While not as luxurious as her cave, it was acceptably tidy.

Bai Jiujiu flicked out her serpentine tongue, once again vigilantly surveying her surroundings.

She was a wanted criminal now; she needed to be fully prepared.

There were twenty-five rooms in the entire inn. Besides herself, seven people were staying in the downstairs rooms on the first floor, and one person was in the room next to hers.

All were ordinary humans; she couldn’t detect a single trace of spiritual energy.

‘Phew~ That’s good.’

Bai Jiujiu exhaled a relieved breath, glancing at the wooden bed in the room. She casually tossed aside her veiled hat, then untied the knot of her Hanfu behind her back.

With a powerful leap, her pristine white body, like a shedding skin, instantly flew out of the damp Hanfu mid-air.

Her transformation, a feat of contemporary prowess, completed within three seconds, turning from a naked girl of just over 1.6 meters into a white snake barely a meter long.

“Ah! A bed after so long! Blankets after so long!”

Bai Jiujiu, now in her true form, slithered into the bedding, finding a snug spot.

Snakes were cold-blooded, but snake demons were not.

Due to the intense summer heat, the inn had no quilts, only mats woven from straw.

To compensate, Bai Jiujiu used her agile snake tail to curl up a corner of the mat, cushioning herself underneath.

Her body, despite its discomfort, automatically emitted warmth, quickly heating the small space.

However, the snake, immersed in blissful warmth, didn’t notice anything amiss.

‘So comfortable~’

Bai Jiujiu hadn’t slept in a bed or under blankets for a full eight millennia.

On Mount Qianliyunlai, she always slept on hard stone beds, covered by tiger pelts stripped from passing tigers. Sometimes, if she felt cold, she would skin a passing bear for a mattress.

Though equally warm, it never quite felt like a proper blanket.

Bai Jiujiu was clumsy with her hands and didn’t know how to sew a cotton quilt.

As a snake who had slept for eight thousand years, she could guarantee that sleep without a cotton quilt was incomplete!

After lying there for a while, Bai Jiujiu felt something was off.

It felt as if something was constricting her body, specifically blocking her excretory opening.

Bai Jiujiu opened her serpentine eyes, her half-moon, dead-fish eyes turning indignantly to look behind her.

A small golden ring was tightly clasped around her body, a golden ornament adorning her pure white scales.

‘What is this?’

Bai Jiujiu’s small eyes held a big question.

Crucially, it was blocking her… her *that* place.

A blush of shame spread across Bai Jiujiu’s snake face. For some reason, her true form was extremely sensitive; even the slightest change would make her gnash her teeth.

Those bastard disciples often used various small toys on her while she slept, causing her snake body to writhe wildly upon waking.

Though, to be fair, Bai Jiujiu had been the one to tell them about those toys and curiously suggested they use them on her…

But this thing?

‘It looks like that constable’s item… Could it be some kind of tracker?!’

Bai Jiujiu was so startled that her snake body coiled up into a mosquito coil, completely hidden under the blanket.

She wasn’t afraid of demons, but humans were her sole fear.

After a moment, the unremarkable blanket began to bulge, forming a long, thick shape.

Bai Jiujiu, head pushing against the blanket, opened her mouth and gasped for air.

‘Damn it! I almost suffocated in there!’

‘Why is this blanket so airtight?!’