SIATOWITF Chapter 7

Chapter 7 The Nine-Leaked Snake and the Real Contract: Offering My True Name

This was the day in Ji Mo Xin’s sixteen years of life that Ji Mo An most wanted to beat her up. He should have known better than to casually take in her book.

“The weather is getting colder, the Wang Corporation should go bankrupt,” Xuan Bai recited a line from the book, word for word.

“The Wang Corporation is doing well, the Wang Corporation won’t go bankrupt,” Ji Mo An said, holding his forehead with both hands.

“Okay, then do you have two lovers?” Xuan Bai continued to ask.

“?” Ji Mo An looked at him in disbelief, “Why would I have two lovers? I don’t even have one lover.”

“Oh. The book says that CEOs usually have a ‘white moonlight,’ and then they’ll spend money to find a substitute…” At this point, Xuan Bai gently swayed his legs, looking very happy.

“Stop reading this nonsense,” Ji Mo An couldn’t help but snatch the CEO novel away, “I just have a little money, I’m not above the law.”

“No, no, no, the book says that bigamy is what makes you above the law,” Xuan Bai said in all seriousness, pulling out a criminal law book from under his body.

“…”

Don’t you think these three books together are a bit strange? A thought bubbled up from the bottom of Ji Mo An’s heart.

“…Alright, I get it, you know how to read. Don’t read this kind of stuff anymore. The food’s here, go inside and don’t let anyone see you.”

Only when the doorbell rang did Ji Mo An finally heave a sigh of relief and rush Xuan Bai into the house.

—–

“Why did you turn into a snake again?”

A few minutes later, Ji Mo An, holding a wooden food box, stared wide-eyed at the snake peering out from the crack in the bedroom door frame.

“You told me to hide…” Xuan Bai slid out from a crack in the door no more than an inch wide.

“I meant for you to walk into the house in human form, just so the delivery guy wouldn’t see you,” Ji Mo An said, taking out the dishes from the food box and placing them on the table. The delicate dishes were still steaming.

“Okay.” Xuan Bai slid back through the crack in the door, and when he came out again, he had returned to the body of an adult man.

He only wore pants, casually tossing his shirt on the sofa.

Then, with extreme familiarity, he took a pair of chopsticks from the kitchen and squeezed next to Ji Mo An, “Can I eat that fish?” he asked.

“…Eat,” Ji Mo An said silently, moving to the side.

“Tomorrow I’ll have someone custom-make a few sets of clothes for you, to avoid the clothes not fitting properly. Whether indoors or outdoors, I want you to be dressed properly.”

He said this somewhat euphemistically; his real intention was, “Don’t walk around half-naked.”

“Okay,” Xuan Bai nodded, “Can I eat that rib?”

“Eat…”

Xuan Bai tilted his head, gnawing on the bone. The strands of hair that constantly covered his face swept aside with the movement, and a flash of silver-white light suddenly appeared on his skin.

Ji Mo An subconsciously looked over.

It was a palm-sized, silver-white star and moon tattoo. Countless stars and a single moon were cleverly combined, revealing a hint of sacred and mysterious beauty.

It stretched from the collarbone all the way to the neck.

Beautiful and ingenious design… Ji Mo An’s gaze followed the starlight down.

Have to say, the man had a great figure, his upper body was strong and powerful, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. The smooth lines of his muscles disappeared into his clothing along his waistline, and there wasn’t an ounce of fat on his sturdy waist.

Indeed, he was good material to be a model… very suitable for his company’s haute couture.

It was just that this tattoo on his neck was too ornate and would easily steal the show.

“What’s on your neck?” Ji Mo An looked away, taking the last rib.

“This?” Xuan Bai touched the tattoo, “My father… father had it tattooed on me, it represents my coming of age.”

In that space belonging to Infinite Flow, the birth of every high-level boss represented the upcoming opening of a new instance.

And when that boss no longer relied on the help of their companions, but independently and perfectly completed their own storyline, the Main God would personally bestow a totem.

That would be a grand banquet, and all of his companions would offer their best wishes.

[May blood and death always be with you, may you proudly ascend the throne made of corpses.]

*Flap.*

After finishing the meal, a thick stack of booklets was placed in front of Xuan Bai.

“Contract, first clause: the second party may not switch species at will. Conditions permitting, the first party must be notified,” Ji Mo An pointed to the bolded first clause, indicating Xuan Bai with his gaze.

“Second clause: the second party may not approach the first party’s family members through any means.”

“Third clause…”

“…”

“Xuan Bai.”

“I’m here.” Xuan Bai yawned, looking for a pen on the table with his eyes closed.

“Did you hear everything I said?” Ji Mo An gathered the scattered papers, arranging them neatly.

“I heard it.”

“Read it yourself,” Ji Mo An clearly didn’t believe him. He had watched the man close his eyes while listening, almost lying down on the sofa to cover himself with a blanket.

—–

Late at night, Ji Mo An opened his eyes.

He suddenly sat up, completely awake.

That’s not right, this snake doesn’t even have an ID card; he’s just a Nine-Leaked Fish.

That shady contract could only be enforced based on good faith… how could he have thought that Xuan Bai would definitely be able to carry it out this afternoon?

He got out of bed and took out the contract from the cabinet.

Under the cold moonlight, Xuan Bai’s name was neatly listed next to his own.

His heart rate gradually accelerated, and Ji Mo An felt a strange dizziness as he looked at the two words.

An inexplicable fear gradually gathered in his body, slowly crawling towards his limbs.

Tear it up, it’s a meaningless contract. Stay away from him, he will only push you into the abyss.

Ji Mo An trembled, stroking the snow-white paper, but fresh blood slowly flowed down.

It was a wound cut by the pages of paper, by that soft and thin piece of paper.

“Ji Mo An.”

Someone was calling his name.

“Ji Mo An.”

Ji Mo An turned around and collided with a pair of golden eyes.

“Go to sleep.”

Go to sleep?

He didn’t want to sleep.

He still had to find…

Find who?

Cold hands covered his eyes, and his body involuntarily followed the guidance of the external force.

Incomplete soul.

Xuan Bai withdrew his hand, his fingertips still retaining a trace of human warmth.

He knew it, the strangeness of Ji Mo An.

It was an incomplete soul.

But that shouldn’t be. People with incomplete souls were either idiotic and mentally retarded, or crippled and weak.

Ji Mo An was clearly not in this category, and he shouldn’t be.

Suggestion seemed to have a greatly reduced effect at night. Fear awakened the human from his sleep, forcing him to destroy the contract, even though it was originally just a formality.

Xuan Bai picked up the white paper stained with blood and covered it with his hand again.

“Offer my true name,” he whispered.

The dried bloodstain crossed through Ji Mo An’s name and approached the words “Xuan Bai” infinitely.

*Drip.*

A drop of blood mixed with gold dripped down, completely opening up the bloodstain.

Two names, pierced by blood.

The black writing on the contract suddenly jumped. They ran and danced on the paper, passing through the blood line, carrying a trace of blood to recombine into new sentences.

When the red color completely disappeared, the words also calmed down.

The man hidden in the darkness slightly curved his lips, locking the brand new contract back into the cabinet.

[The true contract has been completed. Violators will be punished by heavenly lightning.]

—–

In the morning, Ji Mo An propped himself up and sat up. A sharp pain suddenly came from his finger.

Ji Mo An’s first reaction was that Xuan Bai had secretly bitten him in the middle of the night.

But the fingertip was smooth and intact, without a trace of injury.

If it weren’t for the bloodstains on the sheets and the pain in his fingertip being too obvious, he might have thought it was a phantom pain spreading from his forehead.

How strange… Where did the blood come from… *hiss*… My finger hurts so much…

“Xuan Bai.” He walked into the living room and saw the little snake hanging on the branch at a glance.

It looked very well-behaved and hadn’t crawled around all night.

“I’m here.” The little snake gently bumped the glass with its tail.

“Come out. I’ve hired someone to cut your hair. Put your clothes on,” Ji Mo An said, lifting the lid of the terrarium.

“Don’t cut my hair.” Xuan Bai changed his size to about half a meter long, lying on the ground and acting like a spoiled child.

“Eggs, raw or cooked?” Ji Mo An automatically ignored Xuan Bai’s objection. The snake wrapped its tail around his leg, making him inexplicably think of Ji Mo Xin when she was little and loved to cling to his leg and act like a spoiled child.

“Don’t cut my hair.” Xuan Bai lay on the ground and was dragged back and forth.

“Your portion is fried with a runny yolk,” Ji Mo An said, unmoved, flipping the egg over with a spatula.

“Don’t cut my hair.”

The nonsensical conversation between the man and the snake continued until the end of the meal.

“Mr. Ji.”

At ten o’clock in the morning, the doorbell rang on time. Opening the door, he saw an old man and a young man standing outside with a large box.

“President An, I’m here,” Special Assistant Bai popped his head out from behind the two men, holding a box in his hand.

“President An, I’ve bought back the casual clothes as well,” he handed Ji Mo An a white box.

“Okay, give him a haircut later,” Ji Mo An gestured for him to put the box on the shelf, “Teacher Xu, thank you for making the trip so early in the morning. This is a model my mother is interested in. I asked him to come over in advance to adapt to the domestic environment.”

“President An, you’re too polite.”

The one who answered was a kind-looking old man. He wore a brown suit vest, and his silver-white hair was combed meticulously.

“Then this gentleman…”

“Behave,” Ji Mo An patted Xuan Bai, whispering a few words to him.

Suggestion was overdone… Xuan Bai was a little depressed. He just didn’t want Ji Mo An to be so afraid of him, but now the man not only wasn’t afraid but actually treated him like a ‘pet.’

And why did all these tailors look like this?

Xuan Bai stood up, and the little old man paused for a few seconds before smiling and asking the assistant for a footstool.

“A blue suit will definitely suit you very well. Come, raise your hand, sir, let’s measure your waistline.”

Blue suit…

Someone had said these words to him before.

Xuan Bai suppressed a snort. In his world, the gatekeeper boss of the instance “Midnight Tailor” liked to visit other instances, bringing more than a dozen of the freshest fabrics and dyes each time, and harassing his colleagues with his human bone ruler.

As for the fabric, it was naturally human skin, fresh and elastic skin.

The construction period of a human skin suit was seven days, which was also the length of time for an instance to open.

Every boss had unknown quirks, such as the tailor’s suits, the doll’s eyeball candies, and his…

“Sir, your figure is the best I’ve ever seen,” the little old man exclaimed sincerely, “We will send the subsequent fabric options and sample clothing drawings to you and President An as soon as possible.”

“Just send them to me,” Ji Mo An said, pushing Xuan Bai back without showing any trace.

“Okay,” the little old man agreed very readily.

“President An, Little Ye and Little Mu have arrived too,” Special Assistant Bai said, walking past the tailor’s assistant with his phone clipped to his ear.

“Tell them to wait a while,” Ji Mo An gestured to him and dragged Xuan Bai away.

“Unhappy?”

The closed wooden door panels isolated all external noises, and the room was so quiet that it was almost terrifying.

Isolated.

Alone in a room with the boss, a lone player was bound to die…

“I’m not unhappy,” Xuan Bai closed his eyes, concealing the trace of gold that flashed between his pupils.

Ji Mo An wasn’t a player, and everyone in this world didn’t belong to the players either.

“If you really don’t like it, I’ll send them back. Long hair… is quite nice too,” Ji Mo An touched Xuan Bai’s long hair, which was cold and smooth.

His gaze never left Xuan Bai, and he watched as the man’s gaze toward the tailor gradually became cold and cruel.

Although he didn’t know why it seemed somewhat familiar, Ji Mo An didn’t like that look.

“I’m not unhappy, I just thought of some things,” Xuan Bai tilted his head, and his eyes returned to normal.

“My snake form has problems with processing information, don’t worry about it. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, the hair has to be cut.”