I Picked a Female Beastkin to Take Home - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

She really was far too filthy.

I had someone take her away to be washed.

By the time she appeared before me again, she was clean of all grime, though hideous wounds still marred her face and body. Her skin was a bit dark, and she was tall and lanky; she looked like she still had some growing to do.

She watched me with a gaze full of wariness. Her lips were slightly parted, and the moment I moved an inch closer, she hissed at me, revealing venomous fangs between her teeth.

I couldn’t help but feel she was a complete beast, as if she couldn’t understand a word I said.

I reached out quickly and pinched her cheeks. She struggled, but she was exceptionally frail and heavily injured; her resistance amounted to nothing in my eyes.

“Can you understand me?”

Her eyes shimmered with tiny tears as she stared at me stubbornly. Suddenly, I felt a tightening around my waist and abdomen.

I looked down. Her black tail had coiled around me.

“Don’t hiss at me. Keep your mouth shut, or it’s going to keep hurting.”

Where I was holding her happened to press right against a wound on her face. As I applied a little pressure with my fingers, she teared up from the pain, breaking into a cold sweat.

Under my gaze, she obediently shut her mouth and withdrew her snake tail from my body.

I didn’t want to be like this, but kind words are meant for those who can communicate, not a Beastkin who seemed completely uncivilized.

“Since you understand human speech, I’ll lay it out for you now.”

“I’m giving you two choices. Bind yourself to me with a death contract, and I can guarantee that your mother’s clan will be safe from harm. If you don’t want to sign a death contract, you can leave this place, and I’ll have someone send you home.”

A death contract between a human and a Beastkin meant the Beastkin could never betray their master, or else their soul would be annihilated. It was a deeply unfair contract for the Beastkin; unless the master was willing to let go, it could never be dissolved in their lifetime.

In my previous life, Jiang Yang and I had signed an Ordinary Contract. It was merely a piece of paper that held no binding power over either party; a Beastkin could even dissolve it on their own.

A Werewolf’s loyalty is known to all, so at the time, I felt there was no need for a death contract. Besides, it felt rather strange to have someone else’s life and death tied to your own.

But now, as I looked at the snake before me with her inscrutable expression, I decided it was better to have one.

I was afraid she might bite me in my sleep and kill me.

“Contract.”

As expected, she didn’t hesitate long before she spoke.

I asked her, “What is your name?”

She was silent for a long time. “Snake.”

“…”

Did that mean she didn’t have a name?

I thought for a moment. “Then you shall take my surname. Your name is Gu Jing.”

During the contract ritual, I felt nothing, but she fainted from the pain.

I summoned people to take her away and apply medicine to her wounds. I had a feeling that raising her wouldn’t be much easier than raising Jiang Yang.

When it was time for dinner, I sent someone to wake the snake.

She was so frail; if she didn’t eat something, what if she starved to death?

Once Gu Jing arrived, I said, “Come and eat.”

Gu Jing stood still for a moment, then walked to my side and slowly knelt down.

I was startled, nearly jumping out of my seat.

“What are you doing!”

Gu Jing looked confused, her clear eyes full of innocence.

“Eating.”

It clicked instantly. She had likely never lived among people; this was probably how she had always eaten in the past. Like a dog crouching at a person’s feet, devoid of human dignity.

I made her stand up and sit in a chair. I told her to pick up the chopsticks and eat.

Gu Jing didn’t know how. She gripped the two sticks, looking utterly lost. Growing frustrated with the struggle, she frowned and roughly threw the chopsticks aside, reaching out to grab the food with her hands.

I reached out and caught her hand, stopping her from eating that way.

Her snake-like pupils instantly slit, and she glared at me with a fierce gaze. Just as she flicked her tongue at me, I gave her a sharp, measured slap.

It snapped her out of it. Realizing she had done something wrong, she lowered her head.

I stood up and circled behind her, embracing her from behind. I took a new pair of chopsticks from a maid, placed them in her hand, and adjusted her grip. Holding her hand in mine, I taught her how to pick up the side dishes and the rice.

Gu Jing wasn’t stupid; she learned quickly.

However, her table manners were still atrocious. I expressionlessly brushed away a grain of rice that had splashed onto my face.

Gu Jing sensed something. Her snake eyes blinked as she slowed her eating, quietly observing me.