Hearing this, I suddenly stood up and demanded, "He has concubines?"
He Bi didn't expect me to react so strongly. Her speech became a bit unnatural. "A-after the legal wife, aren't the rest concubines?"
So he had a legal wife too.
My head "buzzed". I almost fainted on the spot.
He had so many wives. Then what was I? Which-ranked concubine was I?
"Sis, why are you so worked up?" I gritted my back teeth angrily and sat back down.
"Go on."
"That's all I know."
"What's the name of his legal wife?" I asked again.
"How would I know that? You should ask the Third Master. Aren't you also his..."
"Shut up."
He Bi obediently closed her mouth.
I regretted it so much. I might as well not have asked.
Gu Yuan actually killed his own concubine with his own hands. How could he do it?
"A couple for a day shares a hundred days of affection, yet he..."
I didn't finish, but He Bi understood what I meant.
"You know, the mother and daughter have harmed so many girls over the years. Didn't she also try to kill you that day? If it weren't for the Third Master, you might have become a human-skin lantern in the temple."
She really deserved to die, but at least she should have been given a decent way to die.
Forget it. I didn't want to hear any more. My good mood for the day was completely ruined by this bad news.
I was listless all day. That night, I lay in bed, looking at the cold and lonely full moon that shed a silver frost all over the ground. I felt extremely melancholy and couldn't fall asleep.
If I made a mistake one day, would Gu Yuan treat me the same way he treated Jin Yue?
Under the moonlight, I slowly fell asleep. In my dream, I saw Gu Yuan standing in the snowstorm in a silver battle robe. The cold wind blew by, and his black cloak fluttered.
He seemed to be injured. Blood dripped on the snow, leaving a long trail of blood.
However, standing at the other end of the blood trail was actually me. Gu Yuan's crescent weapon was spinning around me, making a humming sound.
I slowly lowered my head and saw blood gushing from my neck. Before I could say anything, Gu Yuan turned into a huge snake and swallowed me whole.
I was so scared that I suddenly sat up, covered in cold sweat. My chest heaved violently. An unprecedented sense of terror welled up in my heart. I pressed my chest and looked out of the window. It was already dawn. Fortunately, it was just a dream.
I hadn't recovered from the dream yet and wanted to wash my face to calm my nerves.
Just as I opened the door, Gu Yuan was standing right outside.
His sudden appearance scared me. For some reason, I both respected and feared him now.
I took a step back, and my heel caught on the doorframe. I fell to the ground on my butt.
His eyes were glazed. He didn't help me up but just stood there swaying.
"Ouch!" I groaned as I sat on the ground, my face contorted in pain.
"Does it hurt?"
Nonsense. Try falling on the ground and see if it hurts.
"It doesn't hurt." I quickly stood up, patted my pants, and tried to get around him.
But Gu Yuan stood there and refused to make way.
"What's wrong with you?"
He didn't answer. His face was deathly pale, looking like he wasn't feeling well.
I slowly leaned my face closer to Gu Yuan's chest and took a light sniff. He reeked of alcohol. Just as He Bi had said, he disappeared on the fifteenth and got dead drunk on the sixteenth.
Gu Yuan staggered. His originally hazy gaze gradually focused on my face. That look in his eyes was like a bottomless pool. I couldn't guess or fathom it.
He just stared at me straight on, his gaze menacing, as if he wanted to devour me.
I suddenly thought of that huge snake. I shivered and tried to dodge him.
Seeing that I was about to leave, he grabbed me into his arms. I was so scared that I struggled desperately.
"Let me go, Gu Yuan. You're drunk. Let me go." I shouted desperately, hoping he would sober up.
But the more I struggled, the tighter he held me. It was like a python seizing its prey. First, it would coil around it to death, use its powerful abdominal muscles to crush the prey's bones, squeeze out the last bit of air from its lungs, and then swallow it bit by bit.
I was so scared that I cried. Gu Yuan's hand gradually loosened. His slightly drunken eyes suddenly became full of affection.
He slowly lowered his head and sealed my lips with his cold ones. I instinctively wanted to dodge, but the faint aroma of wine was really sweet.
I slightly opened my eyes and looked at that face that could captivate the world. Finally, I was conquered by him.
It wasn't until I couldn't catch my breath that he reluctantly let me go.
My mind started to spin. My cheeks were flushed. It was as if a fire had ignited in my body.
Gu Yuan directly picked me up horizontally. I wrapped my slender arms around his neck and took the initiative to kiss him.
I didn't know why I took the initiative to kiss him. Maybe it was the right atmosphere, or maybe it was because his affectionate gaze had confused me. Anyway, at this moment, I had completely forgotten my fear.
It wasn't until Gu Yuan stared at my face and showed that tender smile, but called out someone else's name that I was completely stunned.
I heard clearly that the name he called was a girl's name.
"Manyue..." The voice was extremely gentle, and there was a smile on his face that I had never seen before.
That smile was full of doting, just like doting on his most beloved thing.
My heart had fallen into an ice valley and was completely frozen by him.
I don't know where I got the courage from, but I pushed him away.
He was really drunk. Even when I pushed him like this, he didn't react at all.
How could he treat me like this? He had clearly married me and said that he wanted me to be with him for a lifetime. But when kissing me, he was thinking about someone else in his heart.
That faint smile just now was so beautiful that it made my heart flutter. But it wasn't for me.
From the day I met him until now, I had never seen such a smile, not even on our wedding night.
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I opened the door and ran out.
I didn't know how long I ran. I finally sat down by the roadside when I was completely out of strength.
Thinking of the bitterness in my heart, I finally couldn't control my emotions and cried.
I took out my phone and called Yan Lin. She was my college roommate and my best friend who I could talk to about anything. She even knew about my marriage to Gu Yuan.
As soon as the phone was connected, I burst into tears and poured out all my grievances to Yan Lin one by one.
Maybe because my voice was choked with sobs, she didn't really understand what I meant. Instead, she couldn't believe that I had really married a snake. She thought I was just joking at that time, but it turned out to be true.
"Hey, are you my best friend? Aren't you sad for me? I feel like I'm just an accessory." I was really so aggrieved that my voice was choked with sobs throughout.
Yan Lin asked indifferently, "So what? Did you really get a marriage certificate?"
I said no.
She asked again, "Do you really think you can spend a lifetime with him?"
"I don't think so."
"That's right. Everyone is just having fun. Why take it seriously? Love is just about novelty. You're really into his looks now, but maybe you'll get tired of them in a few months. Don't think too much now. Everyone just gets what they need. Remember, he's not human. It's a good thing that he has no feelings for you. If he really did, it would be a disaster."
I sniffled and didn't say anything, just continued to listen to her.
"Remember to maintain a sense of awe and be on your guard. That's the way to go. You're about to lose your life, but you're still thinking about whether he has you in his heart. Are you stupid?"
After listening to Yan Lin's words, I suddenly understood. He was just a jerk. Our relationship was just an employment relationship.
I did things for him, and he extended my lifespan. It was good to maintain this kind of relationship. Thinking too much would just add to my troubles.
After hanging up the phone, I sat by the roadside for a while. Looking at the scenery by the river, I felt much more at ease.
It wasn't until He Bi called. "Sis, the Third Master wants you to go back right away. Hurry up. If you delay something important, you're dead."