DRIP.
A drop of water fell onto Ruan Fu's face. She slowly opened her eyes, her nose instantly filling with a damp, metallic scent. While she was still disoriented, fragments of unfamiliar memories flashed rapidly through her mind, giving her a splitting headache. From behind her came the suppressed, muffled groans of a man.
She quickly turned toward the source of the sound. In the center of the cave lay a naked man, face down. His fists were clenched tight enough to make the blue veins on his arms bulge. His long, pitch-black hair cascaded down, occasionally revealing the perfect musculature of his back. Beads of sweat slid slowly down his spine, disappearing where his lower half began. Unlike a human, his lower half was a thick, long snake tail. Ruan Fu had never seen this kind of being before. She subconsciously backed away, but accidentally stepped on a loose stone, making a sharp clatter.
"Who is it?" The man's head snapped up instantly, his emerald-green pupils narrowing into vertical slits.
Ruan Fu immediately turned to flee, but before she could even take a step, the icy snake tail struck from behind. The scaled appendage coiled around her legs in a flash, rendering her completely immobile. At that exact moment, the man appeared by her side. His long, slender fingers with pronounced joints clamped around her delicate neck, feeling as though they could snap it with just a little pressure.
"Let... let go," she rasped. Her desperate struggles only caused the man to press his body closer against hers. His warm breath brushed against her ear as he spoke. "Ruan Fu? What are you doing here?"
"I..." Ruan Fu was momentarily speechless. Before she could process the situation, the large hand gripping her neck released its hold and grabbed her hand instead. His broad palm wasn't freezing cold like his tail. He slipped his fingers through hers, guiding her hand down to rest on the thick tail tightly wrapped around her legs. The smooth, slippery texture instantly sent goosebumps erupting down the back of her neck. He leaned in further, the tip of his slender tongue swiping across her skin.
"Since you happened to show up, you can help me shed my skin."
A numbing sensation spread as his warm mouth enveloped her earlobe. Meanwhile, he guided her hands to stroke up and down his snake tail. As the movements gradually sped up, the man's breathing grew heavier behind her. Caught in this bizarre and intense atmosphere, Ruan Fu's cheeks involuntarily flushed with a deep crimson, and a misty haze clouded her eyes.
She avoided his gaze, her hands moving faster and faster under the guidance of his large palms. It wasn't until the very last moment, when a muffled groan escaped An Rui's lips and the final patch of snake skin peeled away, that he slumped exhaustedly against her. The female's body was far warmer and softer than he had ever imagined.
An Rui couldn't help but nuzzle gently against her. He looked up to examine her—her face was so small it could fit in the palm of his hand, and her almond-shaped eyes were misted over. The pitiful way she looked at him stirred an irresistible urge to bully her. He realized that even a useless female like her could be this beautiful. In fact, flushed with arousal, she was even more captivating than Ruan Ning, making it impossible to look away.
An Rui licked his lips involuntarily, savoring the lingering sensation while internally plotting how to ask his brother to give Ruan Fu to him. After all, she was just a useless female; he figured his brother wouldn't refuse. He reached out and pinched Ruan Fu's delicate chin. The forceful grip left red marks on her pale cheeks, but not a shred of pity flickered in his eyes. Instead, he forced her to look directly at him and asked, "Ruan Fu, how about I tell my brother that I'll be the one to marry you instead?"
"Ah... huh?" Ruan Fu froze, her white teeth lightly biting her lower lip. She had absolutely no idea what was going on, let alone how to give him the answer he wanted right now. She lowered her head, her long, slender eyelashes fluttering as they concealed her eyes.
During those few moments of hesitation, An Rui grew impatient. He tightened his grip slightly, his emerald eyes locked onto hers. "Do you not want to marry me? Or do you have your heart set on my brother because of his status as the Snake Clan Leader? Must it be him?"
The Snake Clan. Ruan Fu's throat bobbed as the realization hit her. She had actually transmigrated into the Beast World novel she had read a few days ago, becoming the female lead's foil. In the original story, because she was inferior to the female lead in every way, she had been bullied and verbally abused by everyone. Even after finally obtaining a Beast Husband, she had been thoroughly despised. Ultimately, just when she resolved to rise up and fight back, she had been mercilessly killed off as cannon fodder.
Thinking of her predestined tragic end, Ruan Fu decided she had to claim a piece of the pie from the female lead. In the Beast World, living well meant relying on powerful males anyway. She knew that the female lead's Beast Husbands were the cream of the crop. As long as she could make them her protectors, there was no way she would end up dead. She might as well start with the one right in front of her.
Blinking her eyelashes lightly, Ruan Fu curled her lips into a tentative smile and grasped An Rui's wrist. The freezing contact made her shiver slightly before she spoke in a weak, soft voice. "I was just... just worried that An Bei wouldn't agree. After all..."
"My brother won't mind," An Rui declared without a second thought.
Looking at his confident demeanor, Ruan Fu found it darkly amusing. After all, when it came down to claiming the final spot as Ruan Ning's Beast Husband in the original novel, An Rui had been sacrificed by his beloved brother without a moment's hesitation. Brotherhood was completely meaningless in the face of absolute self-interest.
Ruan Fu lowered her gaze to hide the coldness in her eyes. When she looked up again, she perfectly maintained her terrified, anxious facade. She gave An Rui a weak nod, her voice soft and timid. "Then, could you let go of me first? My chin hurts."
Only then did An Rui belatedly release his grip. He hadn't expected to leave marks on her tender, fair skin in such a short amount of time. He had only used a tiny bit of force; what if he...
His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily. He took a step closer, his gaze turning highly aggressive as it locked onto her face. However, in the next second, Ruan Fu suddenly spun around to turn her back on him, the tips of her ears burning red.
"You... you aren't wearing any clothes."
An Rui glanced down, smirked, and picked up a coarse outer robe from the ground, wrapping it loosely around his waist before walking over to her. Ruan Fu was covering her eyes tightly with her hands, her body trembling with tension. Her completely bashful display sparked his playful side. He reached out and forcefully yanked her hands away, yet she kept her eyes squeezed shut.
Her eyelashes fluttered as she asked timidly, "Are you fully dressed?"
"Yeah. See for yourself if you don't believe me."
Hearing his answer, Ruan Fu slowly opened her eyes. Seeing that he was indeed covered, she let out a long sigh of relief. Amused by her reaction, An Rui chuckled. "So shy? Didn't anyone in the clan teach you how to soothe males once you came of age?"
On the Tianbei Continent, once females reached adulthood, the clan elders would teach them methods to soothe males—which was essentially how to efficiently conceive and bear offspring. Because of this, all females were entirely accustomed to the male body and the act of mating. They wouldn't be shy in the slightest, making Ruan Fu's behavior an absolute anomaly.
At those words, Ruan Fu lowered her eyes, a teardrop seemingly rolling down the corner of her eye as her voice hitched with a slight sob. "I've never learned. You know that I'm just a useless female, so I didn't grow up in the clan. I was only brought back a few days ago, so I've never been taught any of those things you mentioned." She paused and looked up at him with immense trepidation, forcing a brave smile as she asked meekly, "You won't laugh at me for being ignorant, will you?"
"Of course not." Looking at her timid and fearful expression, a sense of pity swelled in An Rui's chest. He wanted to comfort her, but having never done such a thing before, he couldn't squeeze out a single useful sentence. Seeing a tear trace down her cheek and her tender lips nearly bitten to the point of bleeding, his heart stirred. The next second, he stepped forward and pressed his lips against the corner of her eye.
The slightly bitter tear rolled straight into his mouth.
The sudden intimate gesture caused Ruan Fu's body to go rigid, her lowered fingers intertwining tightly.
"You..."