Chapter 7 — Little Fish and the White Serpent

The warm, heavy breath of the man brushed against my neck, sending a shiver through my entire body. A thick, dark serpent's tail coiled tightly around my waist, slowly constricting with every passing second, the cold scales rubbing against my lower abdomen and involuntarily drawing a choked, helpless moan from my lips. Moonlight filtered through the gap in the curtains, illuminating his familiar face. He had grown somewhat thinner, and deep within those breathtaking, brilliant sapphire eyes, an intense, overwhelming emotion was desperately suppressed.

It is just me, he whispered, bowing his head to bury his face deep into the crook of my neck. I am back.

I snapped fully awake in an instant.

How did you manage to get out? Didn't those people capture and take you away? Have your wounds healed yet? You...

He lowered his head, silencing all my frantic questions with a kiss. It was a very gentle touch, his throat moving slightly, lingering as if he could never quite get enough. Then, slowly, he released me, looking down at me with a tender, triumphant smile.

You have far too many questions, he murmured. Which one am I supposed to answer first?

I remained flustered and panicked, grabbing at his shoulders. Do you have any idea how worried I was about you? Do you know I lost sleep every single night? Do you know I was this close to staging a break-in at the prison to rescue you?

I know, he kissed me once more, his lips brushing my skin. I know everything.

You do not know a damn thing!

He paused for a fraction of a second, and then his smile bloomed even more radiantly than before.

Little Fish, you look extraordinarily lovely when you are scolding someone.

You—

He bent down and kissed me again.

Little Fish... I have come back to have children with you.

His kisses traveled down from the outer corner of my eye to my lips, reverently brushing against the birthmark on my cheek. At that exact moment, a stinging heat flooded my eye sockets, and the warm tears that rolled down were gently swallowed up by him one by one.

That night, I finally came to understand a profound truth. The physical stamina of the serpent race was simply not something mere mortals could ever hope to compare with. And those anatomical traits unique to male serpents were indeed high-risk, hazardous undertakings. For the sake of my aging, fragile spine, I resolved that I could never spoil the night dragon again quite like this. I lost track of how long Nightfang kept me entangled in his embrace, driving me through wave after wave of intimacy. All I knew was that when I finally curled up deep beneath the heavy blankets, every single muscle in my body ached so terribly that I could not even muster the strength to twitch a single finger. Nightfang held me protectively and cautiously from behind, his snake tail gently, reassuringly wrapped around my waist.

Does it hurt? he whispered softly against my ear.

You tell me! His tail had nearly squeezed my backbone in half.

I am sorry, he murmured, hastily loosening his grip just a fraction. It was my first time, I... I did not know how to control myself just yet...

I turned around in the bed, reaching out a tired hand to stroke his cheek.

Fine. I am not really blaming you.

His eyes instantly flared with brilliant light. Then... may we do it again in the future? I opened my mouth and playfully bit down on his shoulder, murmuring in response, That will entirely depend on your attitude from now on. He was so overwhelmingly happy that his tail began to thrash uncontrollably behind him. Nightfang pulled me tightly against him, rubbing his cheek affectionately against mine, and began to recount everything that had transpired over the past thirty years, as well as the tumultuous events of the past few days. Three decades ago, the conflict between the dark serpent clan and the light serpent clan had erupted into all-out warfare. The light serpents, having secured powerful backing from the ruling elite of the interstellar federation, achieved a devastating victory over the dark serpents. The surviving remnants of the dark serpents had been forced to live lives on the run ever since, hunted relentlessly. The ultimate dream of the dark serpents had always been nothing more than to live a quiet, peaceful life; thus, most of them chose to conceal their true identities, find mortal partners, and quietly spend the remainder of their days in obscurity. Nightfang’s father had been the final chieftain of the dark serpents. Before sending Nightfang away to march into his own certain doom, his father had strictly forbidden him from seeking vengeance, wishing only for his son to live a happy, ordinary life. But Nightfang could not let it go. And so, for thirty long years, he had relentlessly sought ways to retaliate against the light serpents. He had succeeded; under his relentless provocations, the standing of the light serpent clan within the interstellar society had steadily declined. Consequently, Fanham, being a light serpent himself, had encountered misfortune and drifted into the rescue station, only to be picked up by me.

Little Fish, do you think I am terrifying?

He confessed everything to me, harboring a deep, underlying terror that I would abandon him in disgust. I merely looked at him and asked, Will you ever leave me again? Nightfang answered instantly without a shred of hesitation, Never! I will never leave you again! He had already met with the chieftain of the light serpent clan, and the two factions had finally forged a formal accord: the light serpent chieftain would permanently repeal the arrest warrant targeting the dark serpents, and in exchange, the dark serpents would forever cease their campaign of retribution.

I will never leave you again.

I want to stay with you, living just like this, a quiet and ordinary life. I want to be your husband, and the father of your children. I never want to be separated from you again.

I threw my arms around his neck, burying my face in his chest, and scolded, You fool. He tightened his embrace until we were fused as one, the corners of his eyes turning faintly red.

Then I suppose I shall simply be a fool belonging only to you.

Two months later, our little baby serpent successfully broke through its shell and entered the world. The snake egg had been incubated entirely by Nightfang’s own hands, sparing me from the slightest bit of wearisome labor. We decided to name our child Starswim, signifying a tiny fish swimming among the stars. Starswim was a miniature black serpent, save for a striking dark red birthmark nestled neatly upon its tiny belly. Every single time Nightfang fed Starswim, he would gently stroke that birthmark on the infant's stomach and murmur lovingly:

This is the special mark your mother left upon you, the one-and-only unique signature belonging to mommy and daddy's little darling.

Watching that heartwarming scene, my heart would invariably melt into a pool of profound warmth. Nightfang had carefully prepared a specialized miniature incubator for Starswim, placing it right beside our bed. However, Starswim stubbornly refused to sleep by itself. Every single time we placed the little creature inside, it would throw a fit of discontent, curling into a grumpy little ball and staring at us with huge, aggrieved, round eyes.

It seems it does not like sleeping alone, Nightfang observed.

What should we do then?

Nightfang pondered for a moment, gently scooped baby Starswim up, and placed it right in the dead center between the two of us. Starswim immediately wriggled forward, happily burrowing against my side. Nightfang let out a sour, aggrieved sigh and muttered, It is looking for you. I burst into laughter, stretching out a hand to settle Starswim comfortably right beside my pillow. The tiny serpent curled up in utter satisfaction, its microscopic tail wrapping securely around my finger. Nightfang watched this charming spectacle with a somewhat complicated expression on his face.

What is the matter?

Nothing, he murmured, lying back down and pulling me into his arms. I suppose I am just feeling a little jealous.

Are you seriously jealous of your own son?

Mm-hm. He buried his face back into the crook of my neck. The moment he arrived, you stopped paying any attention to me at all.