Chapter Twenty-Four: I Don’t Really Understand You Monsters

"Gurgle..."

The rumbling in his stomach caused Feng Xue to cease his output of magical energy. Looking out the window at the twilight sky, he gave his nose a firm wipe; the candles of this era were hardly the smokeless aromatherapy ones of the future, and being this close, it was inevitable to end up with a nose full of soot.

After tidying up the trash in the room, Feng Xue suddenly remembered that the little white snake had been in his bedroom for several hours. Images of the "clumsy maid" tropes he had seen before his transmigration involuntarily filled his mind, and his face darkened.

He strode to the door and pushed it open. Feng Xue paused slightly. While the bedsheets weren't laid out symmetrically and the quilt cover was a bit wrinkled, it seemed... actually, it was decent enough.

In truth, Feng Xue had overthought it. Whether in films, animation, or manga, such things were merely exaggerated expressions used to define a character. As for "dark cuisine," that might result from improper heat control leading to carbonization, but for a simple task like making a bed, unless one was deliberately trying to make a mess, it was impossible to end up with a truly disastrous scene.

Seeming to notice Feng Xue entering, the little white snake, curled into a ball in the corner, looked up. She appeared to have completely forgotten that she was now in human form. Faced with this striking image, Feng Xue couldn't help but cover his face and sigh, "What are you doing curled up there?"

"Ah, well, I finished making the bed, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to cultivate for a bit..." The little white snake scrambled up in a hurry. Although her footing was steady, there was still a stiff, unnatural quality to her movements.

Though the little white snake's appearance was certainly eye-catching, Feng Xue didn't ignore the obvious oversight. He immediately asked, "Didn't you say you could only cultivate by absorbing moonlight? The moon isn't out yet, is it?"

"Gathering energy is one thing, refining it is another. I used to be very inefficient at gathering, so I got into the habit of refining it as I gathered. But yesterday, I refined it wrong, and then your vital energy filled the entire building. I stored a mouthful of moonlight—though it only equals about fifteen minutes of my usual intake—and I didn't dare refine it, so I had to take this spare moment to convert it..."

The little white snake seemed to feel guilty about slacking off while she was supposed to be working, and her voice grew increasingly timid. Feng Xue, having experienced the sensation of his spirit being unable to handle the influx of vital energy just the night before, could fully empathize. He nodded, showing no intention of blaming her. However, glancing at her again, he found it impossible to look at the plain, drab robe that looked like it had been fashioned from a torn piece of rag, and sighed, "Can you take off those rags?"

"Eek!" The little white snake let out a startled cry. Feng Xue felt a headache coming on and could only say, "What are you yelling for? It’s not like you wore clothes before you took human form. Tell me, do you monsters have a concept of 'chastity'?"

As if awakened by Feng Xue's question, the little white snake was slightly stunned. She tilted her head in a cute, dazed manner before asking with a puzzled expression, "I didn't have one before I took human form, but I do now. Besides, I only encountered the 'Imperial Flow' shortly after I was born and spent all my time cultivating, so I'm not that kind of snake!"

"I didn't ask you that, and isn't that explanation a bit too forced?" Feng Xue felt his headache worsening, even wondering if it was a side effect of overexerting his magical energy today.

The little white snake seemed to sense the dissonance in Feng Xue's question as well. She sat on the floor, deep in thought, before finally saying, "It's strange. I never thought about these things before I took human form... Oh, right! Grandmother Fox-Fairy once said that seeking a 'seal' to take human form uses the collective wish-power of humanity to trigger a resonance with the spiritual mechanism. So, perhaps these strange thoughts come from 'humanity'? Just like how I knew how to collect moonlight after consuming the Imperial Flow?"

"Is that so? So what is 'humanity'? Alaya?" Feng Xue faintly felt he had stumbled upon some of the world's underlying rules, but the little white snake knew nothing about that. Instead, she remembered Feng Xue's previous question and tugged at her white robe, "This is the skin I shed. I've been refining it as my life-bound artifact, but I haven't developed any innate monster arts yet, so it's mostly just good for defense... This transformation ability was something I gained during the 'seal' process." Realizing she had let something slip, she curled back into a ball and carefully poked her head out, "I can't give this to you, but... but I can give you my next skin!"

"Who wants your skin? And why is there a next one?" Feng Xue felt he couldn't keep up with the snake's train of thought. But the little white snake seemed relieved, "I shed my skin every three months. Every time I shed it, I refine it into my gear. Honestly, those creatures with fur have it easier; they lose so much without it hurting or itching..."

"You'd better not let anyone suffering from hair loss hear you say that."

Feng Xue rolled his eyes, pulled out his phone, ended its sleep mode, and brought up his favorite wallpaper. He turned it toward the little white snake and asked, "Since you can transform... can you look like this?"

"I can... but do I have to look like that?" The little white snake looked at the women in the strange outfits on the screen, feeling an indescribable awkwardness. "Is this what you called a 'highly transparent black silk qipao' when you gave me the seal?"

"Ah, you remember that?" Feng Xue felt a bit awkward at the question but shook his head, "These are maid outfits, worn by maids in wealthy households. And this one is wearing white silk. As for the black silk and qipao... let me find it. Oh, here it is, like this."

Feng Xue swiped the screen to another wallpaper. Seeing the figure on the screen—whose art style wasn't quite realistic but shared seven or eight points of resemblance to her current form—the little white snake's expression changed instantly. She shook her head vigorously, "White silk maid is fine!"

As she spoke, she hurriedly flicked her rags, and with a flash of light—resembling an unedited magical girl transformation—the White Snake Maid was ready for duty!

"Damn it! White Snake, get out of my head!"

(The White Snake that pops into a JoJo fan's mind)

Feng Xue forcefully shook the image of that dark version of White Snake from his head, staring at the little white snake to "cleanse his eyes." Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, she tried to change the subject, "Um, are you here to inspect the results? I followed the packaging to make the bed. Does it look okay?"

As the little white snake stepped aside, Feng Xue pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Forget that. Do you have a name? Whenever I think of a white snake, another image pops into my head."

"I do, Grandmother Fox-Fairy gave it to me, but I haven't used it much... I can't quite remember it. I think it's Liu... Liu something?"

Watching the little white snake struggle, Feng Xue didn't wait around. He deftly tidied up the bed once more before saying, "If you can't remember, just get to work for now. Come on, I'll show you how to cook. This will be your job from now on!"

"Don't rush, I'll remember it in a second! Right, I think I wrote it down somewhere..." The little white snake looked like a student struggling to finish a test as the final bell rang. She scrambled to keep up with Feng Xue, and only when they reached the kitchen did she suddenly clap her hands. She lifted the hem of her maid dress and, to Feng Xue's astonishment, pointed to the edge of the fabric, "Can you help me see what’s written here?"