Chapter One: Death Is at Hand

“Mmm—!!!”

Ling Yinyin was close to suffocating to death.

The man gripped her neck tightly, his gaze cold as he watched her writhe in agony.

“Let—let go…”

Ling Yinyin’s face was turning purple, her feet dangling off the ground kicking desperately, but the man held her aloft with one hand as easily as picking up a chick.

From the darkness came an aged voice: “Your Majesty, she trespassed into the forbidden domain and stole a Fruit of Desire.”

As soon as the words fell, the hand around her neck tightened.

Damn it? Didn’t he see she was about to die?! If you have nothing helpful to say, just stay silent!

“Oh? And she’s female.”

The man squinted, lips curling slightly, but his heaving chest betrayed the fury burning within him.

He studied Ling Yinyin’s beautiful face carefully, and only when she was on the verge of losing consciousness did he leisurely release her. His thick, sinewy serpent tail wrapped tightly around her slender body.

“Cough—cough—!”

At last, breathing fresh air, Ling Yinyin clutched her throat, coughing and gasping, a few crystalline tears spilling from her reddened eyes.

Suddenly, she was yanked forward, caught off guard by a pair of mesmerizing violet slit pupils.

Their noses nearly touched, breaths mingling.

“Speak. Which tribe are you from? Who sent you?”

The man lifted her pointed, delicate chin abruptly, his cool breath brushing across her face.

Ling Yinyin stared back, wide-eyed and innocent, lips trembling as she stammered, “I—I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

Which tribe? What female?

No… Can someone tell her why this guy has a human body and a snake tail?!

Just days ago, she and her team had entered the deep mountains to collect rare blue gentian for a new product, only to accidentally fall off a cliff and end up here.

To conserve strength while awaiting rescue, she’d plucked an apple to stave off hunger and taken a nap, only to be rudely awakened by the man choking her.

“Is that so?”

He smiled mockingly, a hint of bloodlust flickering across his wild, unrestrained face.

“Don’t think just because you’re pretty and female that I won’t kill you.”

He raised his hand, and from his slender fingertips burst a cluster of dark red flames, searing her pale chin until it was flushed.

“If you won’t speak, then you’ll die for your transgression. I’ll roast you first, then eat you. I imagine you’ll be quite the delicacy—”

This lunatic!

Ling Yinyin was on the verge of tears. With death looming, she hurriedly cried, “I—I’ll talk! I’m human, I don’t know what tribe you’re talking about, nor what a Fruit of Desire is…”

She was just a lost, innocent soul!

“Still pretending?”

There were no humans on the Sacred Beast Continent. Did she really think he was so easily fooled?

Mo Yin’s mating season was approaching, and this female had coincidentally appeared in the serpent tribe’s forbidden domain, eaten his Fruit of Desire, and now claimed it wasn’t intentional?

Go to hell!

The young Serpent King’s patience evaporated. With a wave of his hand, Ling Yinyin’s clothes were instantly ignited by crimson flames.

“I swear it’s all true!”

Seeing the fire rage upward, she couldn’t help but shout, her mind on the brink of collapse.

“Still stubborn at death’s door.”

---

The man didn’t believe a word she said.

Ling Yinyin couldn’t take it anymore, so she cursed, “You filthy, perverted snake man! May you never—”

Before she could finish, the man extinguished the flames on her body.

“Female, you’ve got guts,” he said, almost laughing in anger. “In that case, I’ll just have to oblige you!”

In the next instant, the man transformed into an enormous jet-black serpent.

Ling Yinyin was instantly terrified; this thing was at least ten meters tall!

The giant serpent lowered its head, murderous slit pupils reflecting her frail figure.

In that moment, their gaze pierced Ling Yinyin’s soul with a terror she’d never known.

“Please… don’t!!!”

She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to withstand the horror, her body trembling like a leaf in the wind.

“Your Majesty,” the old man who had watched silently finally spoke, “devouring her outright would be a waste.”

The serpent paused, glanced at him, signaling him to continue.

“Since she’s eaten the Fruit of Desire, it will alter her constitution. If you mate with her tonight, it may help you break through to the sixth rank.”

What? Mate?

Was it the kind of mating she was thinking of?!

Ling Yinyin’s vision went black.

She knew it—the old man lurking in the shadows never had anything good to say!

“Your mating season and breakthrough period coincide, making it exceptionally dangerous. Right now, only she can help you.”

Hearing this, the serpent reverted to human form, reluctantly releasing Ling Yinyin.

“What about alternatives to mating?”

The man’s expression was cold; unable to vent his anger by killing Ling Yinyin, he was deeply displeased.

“Mating is best, but her blood could work as well. However, females are too fragile to withstand much.”

“Hmph, looks like you escaped death by a hair.”

He sneered, his cold hand gently caressing Ling Yinyin’s pale cheek, savoring the fear in her eyes.

Ling Yinyin trembled even harder.

Mating with a snake? She’d rather be swallowed whole; whether the pain was brief or long, anything but agony!

“You may all leave,” the man ordered.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

A soft rustling echoed in the darkness, making Ling Yinyin’s scalp crawl, for she knew it was the sound of countless snakes slithering across the ground.

Soon, the forbidden domain fell silent again.

The man ignored her, lying on a stone bed nearby with eyes closed, resting.

Ling Yinyin curled up where she was, face pale.

She knew she wouldn’t die for now, so after calming herself, her fear slowly subsided.

She stole a glance at the snake man, and seeing his expression calm, guessed his anger had faded.

“Um…” Ling Yinyin hesitated, “I’m sorry, I really didn’t eat your fruit on purpose.”

After the harrowing ordeal, she guessed the cause: starving and cold, she’d accidentally eaten his Fruit of Desire, possibly endangering him. It was only natural he’d be angry. Now, with a sincere apology, maybe the snake man would forgive her?

Forget it… As long as he wasn’t so rough, she’d be grateful; her life was what mattered.

---

The man lifted his eyelids, glanced at her, said nothing.

Ling Yinyin couldn’t gauge his mood, so tried again: “Can I ask your name…”

“Shut up!”

Fine. So fierce.

She obediently closed her mouth, not daring another word.

The man nearly laughed at her stupidity. Who on the Sacred Beast Continent didn’t know the Serpent King, Mo Yin? This female’s attempts at begging for mercy were far too clumsy.

He wouldn’t let her off.

“Female, you’d best behave.”

Mo Yin threatened, “I’m not like other males; I won’t show mercy to females.”

“Oh.” Ling Yinyin pouted, aggrieved. “I know you’re not a good snake.”

“Good.”

Mo Yin said nothing more, and silence settled oppressively between them.

Night fell—

Mo Yin’s body gradually burned with heat, uncontrollable tremors wracking him.

The sound of scales scraping against stone was harsh; Ling Yinyin noticed his agitation and hurriedly retreated to a safe distance.

The man lay on the stone bed, ink-black hair disheveled, thick serpent tail twitching, face twisted in pain.

With a hoarse growl, she heard a crack; looking up, she saw the stone bed had been split by his grip.

Ling Yinyin marveled—seems earlier he’d shown restraint with her.

She tried her best to lower her presence, hiding in the darkness.

Meanwhile, Mo Yin’s condition worsened.

He lost control, sharp pain spreading through his mind, penetrating bone, indescribable. His brain felt crushed; he wished for death to end it.

“Ugh…!”

Ling Yinyin heard his anguished growls, anxiety mounting—the more frenzied he became, the greater her danger.

In the blink of an eye, the man, unable to resist, shifted back to his serpent form.

A soul-rending roar tore through the forbidden domain’s darkness—

His muscular snake body twisted and writhed across the ground, hard scales battering the stone walls, the entire domain quaking, stones and dust raining down from above, as intense as an earthquake.

Ling Yinyin couldn’t even stand; now she truly understood how terrifying the snake man was when he lost control.

Dodging falling rocks, she scrambled in panic.

Because of this, the giant serpent’s bloodthirsty gaze suddenly locked onto her small figure.

A moving target always stands out more.

A chill swept through her.

Ling Yinyin stiffly raised her head, meeting those sinister violet eyes once more.

“…Don’t come any closer!”