04 Her Precious Money Vault

Chapter 4: Her Precious Money Vault

"Hmm, no no no!" Bai Feiyin suddenly sported a conflicted look, "Hold on a second. That's far too light." 

Her delicate nose wrinkled as she muttered. In her dimly lit chamber, Bai Feiyin's tear-streaked face contorted with conflicting emotions.

She swiped at her cheeks, smearing snot and tearstains across her skin. The aftermath of her lament left her torn between grief and resolve.

Bai Feiyin paced, her footsteps echoing off the old brick walls. Soon, her voice, laced with frustration, cut through the silence.

"En. It would be a waste to simply dispose of Hong," she mused aloud, her gaze fixed on an imaginary point in the distance. "To bury that peerless handsome face six feet below the ground, feasted upon by worms and ants…"

Her voice trailed off, revealing a grimace upon pondering it over.

Err, it was just unpractical, too wasteful!

The memory of Hong's captivating appearance was etched into her mind. Centuries spent together had imprinted every detail—beneath that silk-red long hair, the sharp angles of his jaw, the intensity of his dreamy scarlet eyes, and the arrogant curve of his lips brimming with confidence.

The same confidence that sold her.

"Great, why do I have to reminisce about that bastard's betrayal again? Argh! Just the looks, the looks to not ruin the view!" 

Taking a deep breath, her eyes flashed, "Hmmm, okay!" With newfound determination, she declared.

"I'll capture that damn snake and make him pay ten—wait that's too little! I have to get him back a thousandfold! That's right, Bai Feiyin, you have to surely make him pay for what he's done to you!"

The words spilled out, fueled by equal parts anger and hatred. Her swollen eyelids no longer hindered her vision; they now sparkled with conviction.

"I worked my ass off in vain," she declared, wiping away the last traces of tears. "He owes me. His body—yes, that's the price. And more. Much more!"

As if gotten her enlightenment, coins clinked in her imagination, like a jukebox stuck on repeat. Vengeance had a price, and Bai Feiyin was ready to collect.

Bai Feiyin's mind flashed with sly and wandered to Hong's well-toned physique—the sinewy muscles, the taut skin.

His face, peerless and haunting, eclipsed any living being she'd ever encountered. Not even modern idols or hunks could compare.

"Hehe," she chuckled, grinning with prospect. "I'll auction him off to wealthy matrons. Amass a fortune in dowries!"

Gold glittered in her eyes, a promise of retribution.

Then and there, the girl was flooded with anticipation—the thrill of meeting her snake beast partner, Hong. She even found herself singing that bastard's name as if he had become her most precious person in woosh.

His name danced on her lips, an unconscious hum. "Oh Hong, little Hong, my precious Hong… my treasure vault, Hong. I can hardly wait!"

Her ears almost clapped in glee, echoing the rhythm of her once bleak, now clear and desirable future.

***

Within the crumbling walls of their modest home, moonlight filtered through jagged holes, casting eerie shapes on the floor. The air hung heavy with exhaustion, but Bai Feiyin's screams shattered the silence, echoing through the night like a banshee's wail.

"Aish!" Bai Yifan grumbled, rubbing his bleary eyes in frustration.

"That little brat is at it again! Why must she unleash her unholy words during such an ungodly hour? It's maddening!"

Bai Fengyu, the eldest, echoed his groans from his own straw pallet.

"It's always our precious sleep time that's wasted!" he uttered tiredly.

"Did she encounter an owl spirit when she sneaked out and in turn got possessed by it? That girl, it's as if she's so bored that she's also keeping us awake to make a point. I don't even know what the time is. I still have to wake up before the sun rises to plow the fields," the eldest groaned in obvious complaints.

"Then Brother should make an example and talk to her already! She's too old to be sulking still. Mother and Father can't do anything either, they're too soft to that girly. It's been three days and I can't even focus reading," Bai Yifan rasped, not even masking his contempt and sheer annoyance.

Bai Fengyu rolled his eyes at his second brother's scrape and snorted.

"My body still aches from the day's construction work and you want me to go to her? You're here just dilly-dallying with your books all day at home. Why don't you go yourself see her instead of pushing it on me?"

Hearing his particular tone, the second brother gnashed his teeth, jolting upwards like a spring was attached to his back, and pointed at his older brother accusingly.

"Older Brother, I know you're still being sour but have you no conscience at all? You call burning midnight oil studying all day long, dilly-dallying?" Bai Yifan huffed aggrievedly, pointing out and correcting Bai Fengyu's claim.

"Even if you're the eldest, how can you say that to me when I'm practically wasting my youth with books and cooped up in our house? Do you think it's that easy to study, reading only those fading bamboo scrolls with creaking noise of the leaking roof as background?" his youthful, handsome face contorted as he roared.

"If you want to be in my place so bad, why don't we swap? I'll go help father in the field and you bury yourself in those damn boring chores!"

While everyone in their family knew how to read and write, all thanks to their father who was a scholar, as far as skills went, among the brothers Bai Yifan had been deemed to have the greatest aptitude and most suitable to be nurtured in an academic path.

Thus, for a poor family who could hardly afford to support their children's learning everyone decided to put all their eggs in the second son's basket in hopes that he would attain success.

Alas, only Bai Feiyin who had gone through this lifetime's ordeal knew how it was turning to a bleak end.

Triggered by the second's taunting words, a taut nerve bulged hatefully in Bai Fengyu's forehead, grabbing the former by the collar.

"You darn ingate, say that again!" he snapped and glowered, "Do you think I don't dare get that seat if not for Mother and Father's worries? You think you're special? You're just lucky because you're not the eldest and I had to yield the opportunity to you!"

His eyes flashed with pain and anger.

He and Bai Yifan had the most knowledge, being able to attend the academy before getting kicked out from the Bai Main Branch as compared to their younger siblings with the oldest of the few having over a four-year gap with the Second Brother.

"It's only because you were the only suitable spare part that you were able to snag that chance. Don't be cocky you little shit!"