A Serpent’s Pleasure

Xiyue seized her wrist, preventing any further struggle, and licked the trickling blood into her mouth. The taste was indeed sweet and coppery, somewhat better than the demon seeds Xiyue had consumed in the past, yet she felt no advancement in her cultivation nor any healing effect. ‘Rumors truly cannot be trusted.’

Xiyue released her. The mermaid before her had eyes brimming with unshed tears. Her small face was deathly pale from the pain, and she trembled, trying to pull away. However, the immense disparity in strength only intensified her agony.

“Tsk.” Xiyue finally let go, remarking with a hint of disdain, “How delicate.”

“It hurts, it hurts so much…” Su Xiaoxiao, having never endured such torment, made no effort to conceal her raw feelings.

Perhaps growing annoyed by her incessant cries, Xiyue conjured a spell, and black energy swirled around. The bleeding wound on Su Xiaoxiao’s hand instantly healed, transforming into a livid red mark, as if she had been scourged.

On that exquisitely fair and tender arm, the red mark appeared strikingly alluring. It brushed against Xiyue’s heart like a feather.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she yielded to her true nature. Reaching out, she grasped Su Xiaoxiao’s chin and gazed deeply into the profound sorrow and grievance reflected in her eyes.

Demonic beings were inherently bloodthirsty and cruel. Many among them relished preying on the weak, often keeping slender, defenseless races as pets to satisfy their inner compulsions.

Xiyue seemed to be no exception. Upon seeing this small fish, on the verge of fainting from terror, a deeper sense of amusement stirred within her.

A faint smile curved her lips. Her soft words, however, carried a venomous edge, “This is nothing. There will be far greater pain soon.”

“But don’t be afraid. As long as you’re obedient, this one bout of pain will ensure you only experience pleasure from now on.”

Serpents were inherently lustful. Even transforming into a flood dragon did little to curb this nature.

Poor Su Xiaoxiao, a three-hundred-year-old mermaid untouched by the world, utterly failed to grasp the implications of Xiyue’s words.

As her garments were slowly removed and her skin met the damp, frigid air of the Demon Realm, when Xiyue’s hand brushed against her flesh, Su Xiaoxiao slowly began to comprehend the other’s intentions.

Her eyes widened in terror, and she shrieked, “Get away—”

How could Xiyue possibly stop? Instead, her struggles only intensified Xiyue’s excitement.

“Ah—”

“No—”

Su Xiaoxiao shrieked in terror. Finding her excessively noisy, Xiyue sealed Su Xiaoxiao’s mouth with demonic energy.

Unable to speak, Su Xiaoxiao’s small mouth emitted muffled sounds within half a second—

“Wuu!!!”

“Wuwuwuwu!”

‘It hurts, it hurts too much.’

‘My maidenhood, it’s gone. Taken by this woman before me.’

‘Why, why is this happening?’

Su Xiaoxiao fainted within half a minute, only to be forcibly awakened by Xiyue’s demonic power, resuming her cries.

Xiyue, seemingly tireless, reveled in the moment. She particularly enjoyed Su Xiaoxiao’s anguished sounds.

Young mermaids were naive to the ways of the world. In the South Sea, they hadn’t even read storybooks. They had, however, heard snippets from experienced elders—mysterious hints about ‘certain tastes’ they would understand once they grew up.

At the time, the elders’ faces had been alight with happiness and joy, causing some of the younger, blossoming mermaids to blush. In any case, it was certainly not the agony Su Xiaoxiao was now enduring.

Her reactions particularly pleased Xiyue. In her daze, she heard Xiyue remark with displeasure, “So unresilient.”

Small pearls, shed from her eyes, tumbled onto the floor. The flickering candlelight in the bedchamber cast the intertwined shadows of the two figures.

Su Xiaoxiao could still struggle at first, but from the moment the pain felt as if her body were being torn in two, she lost all strength.

She had wept excessively. Ever since getting lost in the Upper Heaven, she had only eaten half a fruit given by Xiyue. Terrified and shocked, combined with this overwhelming, mountainous pain, Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t endure it for long before succumbing to unconsciousness.

On the bed, a significant amount of blood had flowed.

An unknown scent mingled with the coppery smell of blood.

Xiyue remained unsatiated, while Su Xiaoxiao was already unconscious.

Flood dragons were creatures of profound desire; once aroused, they would not cease until they had savored the very marrow of pleasure. Finally, Xiyue lowered her gaze and noticed the strange protrusion on Su Xiaoxiao’s lower abdomen, caused by her flood dragon tail, now transformed into a serpent’s tail, pressing against it. When even her demonic energy failed to rouse Su Xiaoxiao, this peculiar sensation filled her with an unprecedented exhilaration.

Su Xiaoxiao slept for a long time. Even in her dreams, she was plagued by fear and pain.

A moment before, she had dreamt of playing hide-and-seek with other mermaids among the coral reefs of the South Sea. But when she pushed aside the seaweed, it wasn’t a fellow mermaid who appeared. Instead, it was Xiyue, transformed into her true form—a monstrous flood dragon with a gaping maw, swallowing her whole.

In the pitch-black abyss, though she could see nothing, her body felt as if it were ablaze.

With every nightmare, she cried out the names of the elders and her fellow mermaid companions in her dreams, yet received no response.

In reality, the unconscious Su Xiaoxiao only emitted faint sobs and whimpers.

****

The Demon Clan’s ghost doctor was named Gu Yan. She was arguably the only one in several millennia who could converse calmly with Demon Lord Xiyue.

Xiyue, having satisfied herself, had initially been too indolent to bother with the mermaid.

However, upon hearing that Xiyue had brought back a mermaid, Gu Yan rushed over in great haste, intending to extract some mermaid blood for cultivating Gu worms and to verify the rumors about whether mermaid blood could advance cultivation or possess healing and restorative properties.

She hadn’t known what to expect, but her arrival brought a shock.

The mermaid’s hands and legs were still bound, and the blood on the bed had already turned a dark crimson.

Xiyue rose with an air of nonchalance, stretching her shoulders.

Gu Yan, sounding rather regretful, asked, “Did you just kill her?”

Xiyue didn’t even spare a glance at the bed. She replied nonchalantly, “She’s still alive, probably close to death. If you want to save her, go ahead. If not, when she truly stops breathing, I’ll have someone throw her onto Black Stone Mountain.”

“As long as she hasn’t stopped breathing, she can be healed.”

Xiyue knew what she was contemplating and abruptly cut off her thoughts, stating, “It’s useless.”

“What?” Gu Yan retorted.

“Mermaid blood.” Xiyue said coolly, “It cannot heal.”

Gu Yan simply said, “Oh.” She had a rule: either she didn’t treat someone, or if she did, she would ensure they were fully healed.

Xiyue had spoken too late. If she had said it sooner, Gu Yan wouldn’t have wasted her time.

Su Xiaoxiao finally began to stir after three full days of unconsciousness.

Her physical wounds had healed considerably after medication, but the marks left by Xiyue, that beast, had barely faded, remaining a horrifying sight.

She was in a side room of Xiyue’s bedchamber. After regaining consciousness, she couldn’t help but shed ‘small pearls’ (tears) for a while longer.

Her throat felt as if it were on fire. Having barely had any water for days, Su Xiaoxiao’s spirit was severely diminished. Her already sparse spiritual energy felt utterly drained, and her legs had transformed back into a tail.

Desperate to escape, yet with no water source in the bedchamber, she found herself unable to move even an inch, ultimately collapsing onto the floor.

The searing pain had not subsided. Instead, it had driven her eyes bloodshot, leaving her unable to even shed another tear.

‘So thirsty…’

Nothing in the bedchamber could escape Xiyue’s notice. She had known of Su Xiaoxiao’s attempts to move her inconvenient body and leave from the very start.

Xiyue showed no haste. As if enjoying a spectacle, she instructed someone to fill a pot with water, then leisurely walked in.

“You’re awake,” she said unhurriedly.

Upon hearing her voice, Su Xiaoxiao was instantly reminded of the moments before she lost consciousness. She felt a surge of despair. Having been tormented so brutally, her subconscious mind was consumed by terror, leaving her trembling like a sieve.